Egypt<\/a>. Her aesthetic is influenced by her upbringing in Cairo and, specifically, that one fabulous auntie that everyone looks forward to seeing at a family dinner.\u00a0<\/p>\n ![\"Ana](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/1433432.webp\")
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\n When Egyptians see Ana Masreya, they immediately know who and what she is – everyone has her in their life in one way or another.
\n by Ana Masreya\n <\/p>\n
\u201cEveryone has Ana Masreya in their life, whether it\u2019s their mom, their mom\u2019s friend, or an aunt at the nady (social club),\u201d she says. \u201cShe walks into the room and lights it up by being loud, hot, glamorous, kind of crazy, but really funny. You know when she shows up, there are some ridiculous things that will be said.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Ana Masreya designs her own sets and makes all her costumes herself, spending days, weeks, and sometimes months on a single outfit once she has envisioned it. Inspiration comes from daily interactions, things people say, and whatever she\u2019s currently interested in. With rhinestones, corsets, and ostrich feathers, any prompt can be turned into an Ana Masreya look.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
The diva recently wore an Americana-inspired costume drenched in over 200 000 rhinestones, which she glued onto the fabric by hand. To add her own touch to the cowboy hat and boots, she created a cape from a kuffiyeh, which she attached to her shoulder; it was also completely covered in rhinestones. \u201cIt took me over 2200 hours to make this outfit. The kuffiyeh alone took me 80 hours. I do it out of the complete love for creating the glamor,\u201d she says. \u201cIt\u2019s therapeutic, but it can also feel overwhelming.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Until recently, Ana Masreya crafted from her small New York City apartment, contending with the messiness and loudness of drag and often not finding space to exist outside it. \u201cIt was very overwhelming not to have a separation between where I live and the space it requires to create all these things,\u201d she says. \u201cIt\u2019s not like a guitar that you put on the side, and it looks pretty. There\u2019ll be 20 wigs and 20 heels and big outfits.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Now, she has a studio, a sort of outside-wardrobe, from which she can operate. Most importantly, she has a dedicated space where her beloved ostrich feathers can shed without colonizing her apartment. As she says this, she looks around and picks up a red thread, holding it in front of the camera. \u201cIt\u2019s been eight months since I created this red cowgirl outfit, and they still come out of nowhere,\u201d she says. \u201cSometimes I\u2019ll be at the gym opening my duffle bag, and I\u2019ll see a red feather on the floor, and I say \u2018mostaheel!\u2019 [Impossible!].\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
When the outfit is ready and the night of the performance arrives, Ana Masreya spends another four to five hours getting ready. Much of this time is spent on the enormous task of covering her thick eyebrows. \u201cThe most important part of drag makeup for any professional or beginner is figuring out how to do your eyebrows,\u201d she says time and time again.\u00a0<\/p>\n
![\"Ana](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/1433433.webp\")
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\n \u201cI do drag for the creativeness and the performance of it all.\u201d – Ana Masreya
\n by Ana Masreya\n <\/p>\n
Ana Masreya\u2019s favorite memories are the early days of her drag existence, when she was \u201cjust a little drag queen in a bar in Williamsburg.\u201d \u201cI felt so fearless,\u201d she remembers. \u201cIt was so exciting to meet and dance with all these queer Egyptians and Arabs and Muslims.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
She most cherishes the interactive parts of her shows, such as inviting people onstage for a bellydance competition. \u201cI love when they get over any embarrassment or nervousness and have their own moment to express themselves, too,\u201d she says, passion rising in her voice. \u201cThey get a touch of Egyptian culture.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Ana Masreya exists for these moments, when she gets to celebrate all that she loves about Egypt. \u201cI find Arab women so generous, hospitable, and kind,\u201d she says. \u201cI\u2019m so proud of my background, and Ana Masreya was the first way I knew how to show that in a way that made sense and felt authentic. I\u2019ve been building her in my head since I was a child.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
She has not gone home in a while, but Ana Masreya regularly visits Cairo. \u201cI close my eyes, and I literally get in the car and drive every single turn, shop, and building, all the way from home to school, just to make sure I remember,\u201d she says. \u201cAnd sometimes, I swear to God, I\u2019m there for a split-second.\u201d<\/p>\n