I’m A Stripper — & I Spend $2,980 A Year On My Beauty Routine

For the past 10 years, Bianca Dagga has become an expert at artfully taking off her clothes — and putting on her makeup. For the burlesque dancer turned stripper, a great long-wear lipstick and body glitter are just as essential to her performance as the astounding upper-arm strength she needs to propel around a pole four nights a week.

"Sometimes I'm more bold and smoky for nights like Friday or Saturday, which are our most popular," Dagga, who goes by the stage name Raquel, tells Refinery29. "Then I have the girl-next-door look, which is all neutrals and pink lipstick on nights that I know are going to be a bit more low-key."

With the release of the movie Hustlers, which stars Jennifer Lopez, Constance Wu, and Cardi B as strippers who scam rich Wall Street clients, there's now renewed interest in routines like Dagga's, which take into consideration the kinds of beauty products that can safely withstand such a demanding job.

"That's one of the challenges," Dagga, 30, says. "Throughout the whole night, with the lights on me, I'm sweating so much when I'm dancing — makeup is the one thing that I always want to keep on."

Ahead, we asked Dagga for the products she swears by and tallied up just how much it costs to do makeup, skin care, and hair removal when you're a dancer. Hint: It's a lot.