Ever wondered how pop icon Ariana Grande achieves her signature glow and those iconic eye looks, all while maintaining her skin under the pressures of a demanding schedule? In her recent Vogue “Beauty Secrets” video, Ariana shares a remarkably candid glimpse into her personal skincare and makeup routine, offering not just product recommendations but also a heartfelt reflection on her evolving relationship with beauty. It’s more than just a tutorial; it’s a journey into the philosophy behind her glamour. Below, we’ll dive deeper into Ariana Grande’s beauty secrets, expanding on her routine, techniques, and the powerful message she conveys about self-expression.
Ariana Grande’s Skincare Prep: The Foundation of Flawless
Ariana Grande begins by emphasizing the critical role of skincare, particularly given the heavy makeup demands of her career. She highlights the Sarah Ford Biocell Oxygen Serum, a product she credits with transforming her skin’s texture over several years. This serum, known for its revitalizing properties, helps keep her skin as clear and non-reactive as possible, despite frequent breakouts.
Following the serum, Ariana combines La Mer moisturizer with SPF, a crucial step she attributes to growing up in sunny Florida. Protecting your skin from sun damage is paramount, not only to prevent discoloration and freckles but also to maintain overall skin health. UV rays are a leading cause of premature aging, so integrating SPF into your daily routine, even when wearing makeup, is a non-negotiable step for lasting radiance.
Her routine continues with the REM Beauty Under Eye Cooling Balm, a product she adores for its plumping and line-smoothing effects. Eye balms and creams are essential for the delicate skin around the eyes, which is often the first area to show signs of fatigue and aging. Paired with Shiseido eye patches, which she applies during her early morning meditation, these products work synergistically to create a refreshed and hydrated canvas for makeup, effectively minimizing fine lines and puffiness.
Ariana Grande’s Makeup Essentials: Building a Picture-Perfect Base
After her meticulous skincare routine, Ariana transitions to makeup, beginning with her own brand’s REM Beauty Sweetener Foundation. Choosing the right foundation shade is crucial for a natural look, and she opts for Light 8 NW. Foundation acts as the canvas, evening out skin tone and providing a smooth base for subsequent products, offering coverage without feeling heavy.
Next, she applies Sweetener Concealer in Light 4G to brighten and perfect. Concealer is like a magic wand for spot-treating blemishes, dark circles, and any areas needing a little extra coverage. Following this, she sets her base with Anastasia Vanilla Setting Powder to ensure longevity and prevent any product movement, a trick especially vital for those long days on set or under stage lights. Setting powder is a non-negotiable for locking in your look, especially if you have oily skin or desire a truly immovable finish.
Shaping the Narrative: Ariana’s Audrey Hepburn Brows
Ariana reveals her current “half Glinda” look, a nod to her role in ‘Wicked,’ which involves bleached eyebrows. While this is a dramatic choice for a character, she uses a MAC Eyebrow Styler in Fling to recreate a defined, “Audrey Hepburn-ish shaped brow.” This involves shortening the ends and drawing a straight, lifted shape. Brows frame the face, and like a well-composed painting, they provide structure and expression. Whether you’re filling in, shaping, or simply taming, well-groomed eyebrows instantly elevate any makeup look.
The iconic Audrey Hepburn brow is known for its natural fullness and slightly arched, yet straight, presentation. To achieve a similar effect, focus on extending the inner part of your brow upwards slightly and maintaining a relatively straight line towards the tail, avoiding a sharp, angular arch. This provides a youthful, elegant lift to the face.
Contour and Highlight: Sculpting Light and Shadow
Ariana then moves into contouring, using a product she “stole” from her makeup artist. With a playful acknowledgement of her “massive forehead” and receding hairline, she contours strategically to create dimension and balance. Contouring is a masterful play of light and shadow, much like a sculptor chiseling away at stone, to define features and create the illusion of different facial structures. It can subtly reshape the nose, jawline, and forehead, adding depth where desired.
Following contour, she applies her REM Beauty Miss Mercury Highlight. Highlighting draws attention to the high points of the face, such as the cheekbones, brow bone, and cupid’s bow. This creates a luminous, radiant finish that catches the light beautifully, making the skin appear healthier and more vibrant. The strategic placement of highlighter can instantly elevate a look, providing that coveted, ethereal glow.
Mastering the ’60s Cat Eye: A Nod to Vintage Glamour
One of Ariana’s favorite things to do is create a ’60s-looking cat eye, a timeless and captivating style. She uses her multi-use eye stick in Intergalactic for this, initially confessing she’s “just coloring like a four-year-old.” This emphasizes that even pros sometimes feel a bit messy during the process, but trust the vision! The ’60s cat eye, famously sported by icons like Sophia Loren and Brigitte Bardot, is distinct from its modern counterparts due to its exaggerated length and often a thicker, bolder wing.
Instead of a sharp liquid line, Ariana also favors a “shadowy version” of the cat eye, mixing different Bobbi Brown pink shades for her lid and extending it outwards. This technique softens the look, making it more wearable for everyday while still providing that dramatic, elongated effect. To achieve this, use a small, angled brush to apply eyeshadow along the lash line and flick it outwards and upwards, blending softly for a smoky finish. This provides a softer, diffused wing, reminiscent of a subtle siren eye.
Blush and Lips: The Finishing Touches and a Candid Confession
Ariana’s approach to blush is playfully unconventional; she uses Dior Rosy Glow and applies it “in my eyebrows and my my this and kind of everywhere.” While most apply blush strictly to the apples of the cheeks, her method might be a creative way to ensure a cohesive, all-over rosy flush, connecting the color across her face for a natural, sun-kissed appearance.
Perhaps the most poignant moment of the video comes as Ariana discusses her relationship with lip fillers and Botox. She openly shares that she stopped in 2018, feeling “too much” and that beauty had become about “hiding” for her. This candid revelation offers a powerful counter-narrative to the often-unrealistic beauty standards prevalent today. It underscores the idea that beauty treatments are a personal choice, but the intention behind them can profoundly impact one’s self-perception.
She celebrates her “well-earned cry lines and smile lines,” embracing the idea that “aging is such a beautiful thing.” This philosophy promotes a healthy perspective on growing older and finding joy in authenticity. Her current lip routine involves Juicy Tubes and Pink Razor for a fair, sweet hue, often topped with a favorite lip mask like Hailey Bieber’s Rhode product. She mentions her love for the “chocolate brown eye pencil” she created, a product praised by RuPaul himself—a testament to her artistry.
Beauty as Self-Expression: Ariana Grande’s Evolving Philosophy
Throughout the video, Ariana reflects on her changing relationship with beauty, evolving from using makeup as a “disguise or as something to hide behind” to viewing it as “self-expression.” This profound shift in perspective is a powerful message for anyone navigating the complex world of beauty. She recounts starting in theater at eight years old, associating each character with a different makeup kit, and later finding inspiration in drag culture – experiences that cemented makeup’s role in storytelling and artistry.
Her journey reminds us that makeup is not just about concealing imperfections; it’s a tool for creativity, confidence, and embodying different facets of ourselves. It’s a personal journey, much like her decision to step back from cosmetic enhancements in 2018, allowing her to appreciate her natural features and “accentuate what is here.” This emphasis on celebrating innate beauty resonates deeply, encouraging others to explore their own intentions behind their beauty choices.
Ultimately, Ariana Grande’s beauty secrets extend beyond just products and techniques. They offer a refreshing perspective on embracing authenticity, celebrating the aging process, and harnessing makeup as a powerful form of self-expression rather than a mask. It’s a message that encourages everyone to define their own standards of beauty, finding what makes them feel their best, inside and out. Her honest dialogue contributes to a healthier discourse around celebrity beauty and the pursuit of true self-love.
Ariana’s Beauty Secrets: Your Skincare & ’60s Cat Eye Q&A
What is an important first step in Ariana Grande’s skincare routine?
Ariana Grande starts with a serum, like the Sarah Ford Biocell Oxygen Serum, which she credits with improving her skin’s texture and clarity over time.
Why does Ariana Grande emphasize using SPF in her skincare?
She considers SPF non-negotiable because it protects her skin from sun damage, preventing discoloration, freckles, and premature aging, especially important since she grew up in sunny Florida.
What kind of eye makeup look does Ariana Grande enjoy creating?
Ariana Grande loves to create a ’60s-inspired cat eye, often using a softer, “shadowy version” with eyeshadows for a diffused, elongated effect instead of a sharp liquid line.
What is Ariana Grande’s philosophy on beauty and makeup?
She views beauty as a powerful form of self-expression, having evolved from using makeup to hide, to celebrating authenticity, natural features, and embracing the aging process.
