When you first see Yuri Guaii, it’s hard to stop staring at her face. After you’ve taken in her spooky, goth, over-the-top glam, you realise what you’re looking at is artistic perfection – a map of geometric lines, curved shapes and perfect symmetry right down to the teeny tip of her contoured-carved nose.

“I think some people would say it's a bit clowny, but I think I'm so beautiful. People say that I am so unapproachable but honestly, I'm probably more scared of you than you are of me. It’s just because of the way I paint.”

The entirely self-taught queen started getting into drag when she was just 17, stealing makeup from their mum and sister’s bedroom and practising for hours in front of the mirror. 

“I always loved playing with makeup, even if it's just doing some random weird looks and painting my face blue or red… [American drag queen] Raven was a big inspiration when I first started, I was like, ‘I want to look like that’. Then as my makeup sort of evolved I wanted to look like Amanda Lepore – she's just so beautiful – her, Trixie Mattel and Raven, all of them mixed together I guess that's what my face is. But maybe a little bit like, goth.”

Inspired by Lepore’s exaggerated and unreal beauty, Yuri discovered the power of makeup to completely reshape her face like she was her own (low stakes) plastic surgeon.

“I had this [drag] show where I had to do a plastic surgery-inspired makeup with all these harsh contour lines and I was like, this actually looks cute. It was what I was already doing but more over exaggerated, so I kept playing with that and sort of cleaned it up. 

“It took me three or four years to find the face that I have now. Once I found it I just stuck with it, and it’s taken me places.”

One of those places was on the second season of  RuPaul’s Drag Race Down Under, where she made quite the entrance in her “weird, darkly beautiful way.” Despite not making it past episode five, being on the show taught her a valuable beauty lesson. 

“I think on Drag Race, I painted quite soft a few times and I don't feel as beautiful when I paint really soft as I do when I have my normal hash contour. That's when I feel the most beautiful.”

• Yuri Gaii will appear in the RuPaul's Drag Race Down Under - Live On Stage show on October 20, at Auckland's Spark Arena, and October 21, at Wellington's Michael Fowler Centre. See full details and buy tickets here

‍Yuri talks us through her 3-hour beauty routine, and must-have products: 

“I always give myself four hours to get into drag, three of that is just makeup. I like to spend a lot of time just making sure everything's perfect. Sometimes I will watch TV shows or movies but most of the time I just listen to terrible emo music.

Honestly when I first started, I would just use anything – eyeshadows from the $2 store, it doesn't matter, if it works it works. I forgot who told me to use Prose Aid cream, $16, but it's literally what I've been using to block my eyebrows for years and you can glue prosthetics on with it, gems and rhinestones, it's a great adhesive for everything. I use a toothbrush to brush it in between my hairs and then I smooth over the top with the knife.

For ages I was using the Kryolan TV paint stick as a base – I still use it as my contour. I had never used a liquid foundation before, but when I was on Drag Race we got given all this makeup and I got three shades of this Anastasia Beverly Hills Luminous Foundation, $73. Oh my god these are amazing – it's like full coverage and it doesn't feel as thick on my face. 

I love a good sharp contour. I've been using Kryolan TV Paint Stick in N1,$58, since I first started, they’re a drag makeup staple. I don't know how people contour with powder, why would you do that? I like to do everything in cream, and then if you make any mistakes you can easily just easily clean it up. I honestly couldn't do anything without contour. I know my face and my structure so it’s like paint by number for me – everything has to line up.

I use maybe like 10 different brushes for very specific things. If I lost this one brush then I wouldn't be able to contour my nose – it’s pointy but it’s flat and it sort of goes on an angle. I don't know. Do brushes have names? A pointy one is my best friend. 

There's a lot of tape used in drag just to like, pull your face up. I use duct tape. I duct tape my head and it's cheap.

I've been using this Deadly Sins Cosmetic Liquid Eyeliner Pen, $28 for the past month and it’s actually really crazy. It's vegan, cruelty free and it's just so black. It's great. Sometimes when you overdo it on your eyes with liner, blinking and what not, it comes off on the crease. But it hasn't happened with this yet, so I'm really happy with it. 

I love a red lip, it’s what I’ll always do. This Anastasia Beverly Hills Liquid Lipstick in American Doll, $39, is a really nice, bright red. And it's a liquid matte which is great because I overdraw my natural lip so I find that I can’t actually wear creamy lipstick or lip gloss, it goes everywhere.

All drag queens spray hairspray on their face [to set makeup], but I recently got this Kryolan Fixing Spray, $28, and it’s really good. And a lot of powder I reckon – I know you’re not supposed to use baby powder because you might get ‘cloud lung’ but I use baby powder as a setting powder. And make sure that you have a good primer underneath. I actually just use Nivea cream, $9 as a primer because it's really heavy and thick, and it helps my face not crack under all the makeup.

Everyone’s going to hate me but I take my makeup off with Silk Baby Oil, $3. Apparently it’s bad for your face. I’ve tried coconut oil but I don't like the smell of coconut and this is cheaper and it feels good. And then I wash my face with water and wet wipes – all the baby products are great for drag queens! Then I just put on the Nivea cream again because… I don't know, that's all I do. I don't have a great skin routine, I should but I have really sensitive skin. That’s probably why I use all the baby products.”