Awards season is all about glitz and glamour and waitーgoblins? The Emmys saw a number of well-dressed stars strutting their stuff on the red carpet, but one stood out among the rest. Perhaps because they were painted a luminescent green.
Drag is for everyone
RuPaul’s Drag Race season 15 stars were out in force on the carpet after the show picked up a nomination for Outstanding Reality Competition Program, which it went on to win, marking the show’s fifth Emmy win in the category. Now, when you think of drag queens, the first thing that comes to mind is probably big hair, sequins, and sparkles, but what you don’t typically immediately think “goblin.”
You may want to reassess that thought, as one of the stars of the season, Princess Poppy, went full goblin chic with their look. After much debating over the identity of said goblin, they revealed themselves on Instagram.
Princess Poppy is an American drag queen based in San Francisco, and a contestant on the 15th season of RuPaul’s Drag Race. She was one of the funnier queens of the season despite being the second eliminated, losing to Amethyst while lip-syncing to a song by Diana Ross.
After the loss, the Poppy became rather quiet on social media and revealed at DragCon 2023 that, at the age of 27, they would be retiring from drag. In their last interview ever (or so we thought), Poppy said, “I am very grateful for the experience. I’m really glad for the opportunity that it gave me. I also now know that drag is no longer the career path that I want to do. Thanks Drag Race! I [also] think there’s queens that should quit. You know who you are. I just genuinely think that I reached my peak. I wore jeans on national TV, so it’s all downhill from there.”
This isn’t the first time that Princess Poppy has gone a little more grunge than glam, appearing at DragCon 2023 looking like an unhinged figure skater. It seems they stayed on theme with their head-turning Emmy look.
How was the goblin look achieved?
Poppy was covered from head to toe in bright green paint, with what appears to be painstaking prosthetics that transformed them into a character you may be more familiar with seeing in Middle Earth than at an awards ceremony in L.A. The look featured elongated ears, warty skin, and thinning hair, and it was fabulous.
On top of the makeup, Princess Poppy wore an iridescent satin green dress, pearls, and emeralds, as well as a stunning set of false lashes which made the whole look pop. They made sure to credit their team in their Instagram post.
Standing beside fellow Drag Race stars Luxx Noir London, Jax, Marcia Marcia Marcia, Aura Mayari, and Salina Estitties, Princess Poppy made sure to stand out—though honestly, with that look, how could you not? If you are going to come out of retirement, then you may as well give the people something to talk about.
(featured image: Neilson Barnard, Getty Images)
