Gwen Stefani says she's been 'controlling' of makeup artists because she thinks she looks better when she does her own glam

• Gwen Stefani spoke with Glamour about her makeup line and her history with beauty.
• She said she's been "controlling" of makeup artists in the past because she prefers her own skills.

Gwen Stefani knows quite a bit about makeup — so much that she hasn't always trusted beauty professionals.

The 52-year-old musician spoke about the latter in an interview with Glamour promoting her new beauty brand GXVE. According to Stefani, she rarely worked with makeup artists throughout most of her career.

"I've just been very controlling about it," she said, noting that she had a bad experience with a makeup artist while working on No Doubt's first album.

"This guy came and did my makeup for the artwork and I remember thinking I looked ugly," she told the publication. "I was like, 'I look prettier when I do my makeup,' but I was too scared to say something."

"I still look at those pictures and I'm like, 'Ugh.' After that, I took it into my own control," Stefani said.

Her mistrust might have also stemmed from her brief time spent as a department-store makeup salesperson.

"I was a fake makeup artist in the sense that they never trained me and I didn't ever report to anybody," Stefani said.

But the musician has grown to appreciate beauty professionals and works with them often.

"Nowadays I'm the opposite because I've met some makeup artists that are so unbelievably gifted," she said. "I think it comes down to the fact that the community is so open to sharing."

Still, she isn't opposed to doing her own glam. Stefani even did her own makeup as recently as the Met Gala, which was held in New York City on May 2.

"I got in a situation at the Met Ball where I did a trial with a new person because the makeup artist I wanted to use wasn't available," Stefani told Glamour. "We did a makeup play date with this new girl. It was so fun and they're both super talented and I learned so much."

"But when it came to the Met Ball, she had an emergency and couldn't do my makeup," she continued. "And I brought my kit, thank God. I had to do my makeup."

Stefani is now one of countless celebrities to turn her passion for beauty into a product line. Stars like Selena Gomez, Rihanna, and Jennifer Lopez have also entered the beauty industry in recent years.