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Candis Cayne is used to being an innovator. As the first trans actress to land on prime-time TV, Cayne made history with her role in the nighttime soap, Dirty Sexy Money. Opening doors for LGBTQA talent and introducing audiences to her glamorous on-screen persona, Cayne was groundbreaking. Nine years later, Cayne is still leading the way, this time as an author.
Conceived as a guide to developing self-love, in addition to mastering winged eyeliner, Cayne’s first book, Hi Gorgeous!, which includes a touching forward by good friend Caitlyn Jenner, merges practical style advice with a retelling of her journey from suburban Hawaiian kid to ’90s drag queen to celebrated performer. While Cayne, 45, wasn’t quite ready for a memoir, she knew that sharing her story was necessary—especially after a revealing moment during DragCon 2016. Approached by a young fan who offered Cayne compliments yet refused to accept any in return, the star had an epiphany: “I realized that this little girl needs to know how gorgeous she is,” says Cayne over the phone from her home in Malibu, California. “I thought it would be amazing to write a book where I talk about confidence and inner beauty to give women of every age, every color, every gender, the inspiration to work on themselves.”
Though she’s poised in front of the camera, Cayne’s journey of self acceptance took time. “It's not like I woke up with this kind of confidence—it was work,” says Cayne, who credits her family with helping her live authentically. “Being raised by amazing parents, they taught me to always trust in who you are and [that] what you’re doing is the right thing. I came to the realization that I’m okay and nobody can tell me otherwise.” That conviction has served as Cayne’s biggest beauty secret, she says, and the idea that a positive inner monologue can have an impact on the external dialogue. “True beauty can only exist if it started and developed [from] within,” says Cayne. “There are a lot of amazing beauty books out there, but what makes mine different is that it is almost a self-help book, too.”
Self-help may be the focus, but Cayne doesn’t skimp on the essentials. Detailing her love of cosmetics and providing step-by-step instructions on how to get a series of classic looks, and through sharing advice from her roster of expert fashion friends such as makeup artist Scott Barnes and costume designer Patricia Field, Cayne offers an easily digestible overview on how to look, and feel, polished.
And if the book’s unapologetically sexy photos of Cayne call to mind supermodels and their perfectly contoured visages, it’s deliberate: The model squad of Naomi, Christy, and Linda helped nurture Cayne’s interest in fashion growing up. “My girlfriends and I would pick up Vogue knowing we could never really afford to buy the clothes or accessories, but we knew how to put ourselves together,” says Cayne. “This was in the early ’90s, mind you, the explosion of all the supermodels. We’d recreate the feeling of what was going on in the fashion industry at that time through beauty and by going to vintage and thrift stores. Sometimes we would almost exactly replicate a look.”
Unleashing an inner Evangelista may seem daunting, but the personal beauty routine Cayne unveils in her book is refreshingly down-to-earth. “I want to be able to go to a red carpet event and then run down to the beach and play a game of beach volleyball,” says Cayne, who advocates the power of simple treatments like fresh cucumber masks and a pared down skincare routine.
A fan of Kiehl’s Midnight Recovery Concentrate, Make Up For Ever’s Face and Body foundation, and a great nude lip, Cayne looks to her Maui roots for inspiration. “I was raised going to the beach every day,” she says. “[I love] salty hair that’s tousled. . . . [it’s] natural but high-glamour.”
Before filming a new role on SyFy’s third season of The Magicians, Cayne is set to head cross country to promote Hi Gorgeous!, which hits stores today. With it, she hopes her message will reach the masses. “My biggest hope is that people will realize we all have the potential to be gorgeous. Hands down, that is what I want people to get from this.”