Evilyn? Me!

Greetings Damnlings!

I am Evilyn Carnate, Queen of Damnation and Cornwall's foremost queen of darkness with a sinful sense of humour, wicked way with words and hellishly high heels! Typically sporting a vintage sillhouette from the victory rolls to the a line dresses, but always with my signature pallette of red and black, you'll find I'm dressed for any occassion - hosting events, giving speeches or performing on stage. 

I'm often asked what were the inspirations behind my creation, there were a few ingredients (my own little 'sugar, spice and everything nice'... 'darkness, gruel and everything cruel'): Firstly, watching the ravishing Roxie Moron perform on stage at Newquay Pride back in 2021, that was the inspiration to do drag. The opportunity to try it came shortly after for Halloween that year, where I went as Bette Middlers' Winifred Sanderson from Disney's Hocus Pocus. I remember thinking at the time I looked amazing (I certainly felt it!) but I'd like to think I've come a long way from that hard front wig and out-of-the-bag costume! 

Next came character: a devilish combination of Devine's (via Ursula the Seawitch) sass, Lily Savages' sharp wit, Jafar's (yes, from Aladdin) disdain, and a good helping of Robin Williams' pop culture references and disney quotes, all neatly bound in the professionalism instilled in me by my drag mother Roxie,  and great- great- great- great drag grandmother (on my wicked side) Felicia of Cornwall. What a pedigree!

Off-stage, it takes a whole process, both physically and mentally to become Evilyn. From selecting the right outfit for the occassion and wig (and shoes!) to match, to getting the makeup to at least resemble the pictures of the last time I was out and about. 

It all starts with the eyebrows, gluing (Elmer's glue is awesome) and combing them flat then crush (don't dab) the setting powder to get them really dry and flat. two layers ought to do it, but its not unusual to need to do the whole thing twice when the first attempt goes lumpy! Then comes the layers of colour corrector, foundation, contour, more setting powder (the vanity table looks like Amy Winehouse sneezed at this point!). Next comes the powders - countour, blush and highlight to get those cheekbones nice and clear. Then, drawing the eyebrows on (I use a brown eyeshadow for this!) this helps to mark out the shape of the 'eye', for the next step which is to use a black eyeshadow and small brush to sketch out the eyeshadow area (I clean up the lines of the wings by edging them with a liquid eyeliner) then fill in with colours (red and black of course!) then finish off with mascara on my own lashes before attaching my (massive) false lashes from Morphe! 

The finishing touches include my signature ombre lip (the black is an eyeliner pencil!) and red liquid lip stain (suck your finger to avoid lipstick on your teeth!). A heart shaped beuaty spot (liquid eyeliner again) on my right cheek, and sometimes a quick kiss of my finger coated in foundation to give a more muted / pastel effect to the lip. 

All this takes around 3 hours (sorry Roxie!) to complete. 3 hours in front of a mirror is a long time for anyone - enter the mental process. I gave a talk on this at the Royal Cornwall Hospital for LGBTQ+ History Month this year (2024). Its easy to forget that what I see, won't be what you see: the whole process under bright lights at less than two feet and stationary! Every line and blemish of my skin, then every line and stroke of makeup is considered and scrutinised. I need to get from anxious and critical to confident and... critical (of everyone else!), this takes a good playlist, an upbeat and relaxed atmosphere in the werkshop, and then keep that positivity going on arrival at the event in question. Evilyn thrives on the enthusiasm of the crowd!

The key driver that keeps Evilyn in her famously high heels til the very end, is the desire to improve opportunities for LGBTQ+ youth across Cornwall, by bringing drag to wider audiences and performance skills workshops through her community interest company House of Damnation CIC. 

If you've made it this far - thank you! - I'll be posting weekly about what goes on backstage, Evilyn's latest shenanigans and future appearances, and sage advice on lifes little lessons. So check your newsfeed and there'll be Evilyn Me! 

yours for now,

Evilyn x