Have you found yourself saying “gnarly” quite a bit recently? If so, it’s probably thanks to the global girl group Katseye. Birthed through the tears and tribulations of winning The Debut: Dream Academy (a talent reality show which whittled down 120,000 hopeful applicants into six), Katseye members Lara Raj, Daniela Avanzini, Sophia Laforteza, Manon Bannerman, Yoon-chae Jeung, and Megan Skiendiel each came from a different part of the world to form one happy, mega-pop family.
Lara tells me, “It’s like Manon has said, ‘We’re a friend group that somehow got famous and made music together.’” They’ve also continued to bond through shared experience, no matter how exciting or strange. Their most recent hit, “Gnarly,” widely confused the internet. Upon first reception, people were puzzled by the unusual lyrics (which include repeating the word “gnarly” up to 40 times). But over the past few weeks, the song has become a TikTok ear worm, with singers and fans like Laufey praising the track and creating their own versions. Now that the world has come around to their side, Katseye is partnering with beauty brand Glossier as the new faces of Lip Glaze, a serum-like lip oil, and just announced their second album, Beautiful Chaos. ELLE talked to the group about their secret lip combos, their feelings on the “Gnarly” about-face, and why chaos can be beautiful.
Do you guys have any shared beauty behaviors?
Manon: Recently, we’ve all been rocking straight brows.
Lara: Manon did it, and it is kind of her thing. Mine was definitely in the SIS and “Touch” era. It wasn’t my look. I was so inspired by her and thought it looked so cute and snatched so well. Then I tried it, and it was not “it.” But for some people, like her, it really gives.
Sophia, the internet has widely requested your lip combo. Can you share what it is?
Sophia: My lip combo is literally not a combo. It’s literally just lip care. I always say, “You will never gonna catch me with a chapped lip.” If your lips are hydrated, it makes anything that you put on your lips look good. When I sleep, I use a thick, thick lip mask, and I look crazy. When I wake up, I exfoliate, and put on a lip oil like the Lip Glaze, so it sits perfectly.
So you don’t use a lip liner?
Sophia: No. Lip hydration is my secret. When I don’t drink enough water, my lips get a little more dull [in color]. When I do drink water, the natural pink of my lips comes out. I can tell how I’m taking care of myself [by what color] my lips [are.] I don’t know how to use lip liner. Actually, I was trying to do Lara’s brown lip liner on myself, and then I looked crazy. It was not my thing.
What are your various lip combos?
Daniela: For me, I use the Anastasia Lip Liner in mauve. I either use a lip balm or Aquaphor, and then I’ll use the Lip Glaze and blend it all out. Or if I want more of a matte [look], I’ll put some balm on my finger and tap it in, so that it still smears around but isn’t that glossy.
Lara: Recently I’ve been using Cloud Paint in the center of my lips. Then I always do a brown lip liner—literally any brand, from the drugstore or Amazon. It just needs to be dark brown. Then I’ll over line, and I’ll use the Lip Glaze or the Laneige mask, and I’ll put it on over top.
Yoon-chae: I put foundation on first. I use a soft, lighter pink lip liner. Then I’ll put on a really soft, light color lip balm and a lip tint in the center.
Megan: I didn’t really have a lip routine because I didn’t really like the feeling of anything on my lips. Now, I’ll put on more sheer things, like the Lip Glaze or Clinique Black Honey.
Manon: I’m the same as Megan. I just use Aquaphor.
Manon, you’ve said that people might be “in shock” after hearing your most recent song, “Gnarly.” What did you mean by that?
Manon: We felt like people had to see the performance, and us dancing it, because it is such a performance-heavy song. At first, they were a little shocked, which I get. We were too. But also, it’s not a song for everyone, and that’s totally okay. It doesn’t need to be. We don’t want to shove it down anyone’s throat. It’s a very weird, odd song, and if you get it, you get it, and if you don’t, you don’t.
Lara: I feel like the song’s purpose is more of a statement. Yes, I blast “Gnarly” in my car all the time, and I love to listen to it. But for some people, it doesn’t digest as much as a [regular] listening song. The purpose of the song is to show our identity as Katseye. This is our new era.
What kind of statement do you think “Gnarly” makes?
Lara: “Gnarly” is very jarring, but it’s also carefree. It’s chaotic, and that’s the whole message of this new era: beautiful chaos. This who we truly are as Katsye. We’re loud, funny, and always extremely, extremely chaotic. As we’ve developed our identity as a group, we’ve learned that more and more. We tried a lot in the early days to be cool and nonchalant, shove down that part of ourselves, but I don’t think we could. “Gnarly” is the perfect way to show that and own it.
Megan: We have a lot of moments where we’re [high frequency] and we’re like, “Oh my god, we have to reel it back. Let’s gain back the aura.” But every time that we try to do that, we literally can’t. It’s in our personalities to just be loud and crazy, and we have just decided to embrace that at this point.
Sophia: We have tried. When we do fan meets, we used to be like, “Okay guys, we have to be like mystical beings.” But when we get there, we’re yelling and [acting like we are] hanging out with our besties. We are cheesing. When we come out on the stage, we’re supposed to be like, Aura. But then we start smiling so big that our photos are like [extremely huge smiles].
Lara: A big reason for this is that we are genuinely friends with each other. With each day, we become closer. That really shows, and it’s hard to suppress.
You’ve said that the word “gnarly” can have many meanings and be open to interpretation. Do you feel like that’s also the case with the word “chaos”?
Sophia: When you think chaos, it gets messy and [feels like] a lot, as in, there’s so much going on. It’s overwhelming. We define it by putting it along with the word beautiful. Beautiful chaos [means] even though it’s all over the place, it’s something that is truly captivating. It’s beautiful because there is a juxtaposition of push and pull. Individually, each of us are beautifully chaotic.
Do you have an overall theme for your makeup looks for your videos?
Lara: Before each show or video, there’s always some sort of mood or Pinterest board. It has an overall cohesive look. [For example,] we are all going to do a really bold eye look. Our makeup artists always find a way to individualize it for each of us.
Can you guys tease anything from the mood board for your next song?
Lara: I will say: a red lip.
This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity.
