Okay so today I wanted to try something different, right? Everyone’s always talking about Ariana Grande’s signature makeup look. You know, the dramatic eyes, the super perfect skin, that ponytail. I saw this post like “Ariana Grande before and after makeup secrets revealed!” and figured, hey, I’m not a pro or anything, but why not give it a whirl myself? Let’s see if I can even get close.
Step 1: The Bare Face Situation
First things first, gotta start clean. Washed my face with my usual stuff. Skin felt okay, bit dry like always. So I grabbed my plain old moisturizer – nothing fancy, just drugstore stuff. Slathered that on real good. Ariana always looks crazy dewy in her “before” glimpses online, so I went a bit heavy hoping it’d help later. Fingers crossed!
Step 2: Trying That Famous Base
Alright, base time. Her skin looks flawless but super natural? Supposedly she uses, like, just concealer strategically? Dunno if I believe that for stage stuff, but okay. I grabbed my trusty cheap foundation (light to medium coverage) AND a lighter concealer.
- Smeared a tiny bit of foundation all over. Like, real thin layer. Blended it in hard with my slightly damp beauty sponge.
- Used the lighter concealer just under my eyes, down my nose bridge a bit, and dabbed a tiny bit on my chin and forehead center. Again, blended like crazy with that sponge. Took forever! Fingertips got messy.
- Set the super shiny spots (T-zone, under eyes) with a loose powder. Barely touched it though! Didn’t wanna look cakey.
End result? Skin looked smoother, way brighter under eyes! Still had my freckles peeking through which felt kinda Ariana-ish maybe? Wasn’t that heavy “mask” feeling, so that was promising.
Step 3: The Eyebrow Drama (And Oh Boy)
This part scared me. Her brows are like dark, defined, fluffy arches? Mine are kinda sparse. Her trick seems to be feathery strokes? I got my skinny brow pencil.
- Started super gently, drawing tiny upward strokes just where my brows are thinnest. Tried so hard not to make them look blocky.
- Then grabbed a clear brow gel and brushed them up real hard. Like, crazy volume? Felt silly for a sec, but brushed ’em.
They looked… darker? Fuller? Maybe? Honestly dunno if I nailed it. Less messy, for sure! Progress?
Step 4: The Eyes – Here’s Where Things Got Messy
Ariana’s eyes are her THING. Big, doe-eyed. Lots of brown shadow, massive lashes. Okay, deep breath.
- First, a light, kinda peachy shade all over my lid. Simple.
- Then, took a soft brown eyeshadow. Real small brush. Tried to focus it right in my crease, sorta blending upwards and outwards? Trying to make my eyes look bigger. Blended it like mad till my arm hurt. Added a bit more brown just on the outer corners for depth.
- Liner. Oh geez. She has that thick wing, often going into a cat eye. Tried using my brown gel liner (thought brown would be easier). Drew the thinnest line possible close to my lashes. Then attempted the wing. First wing looked like a sad slug. Wiped it off. Tried again. Second one was crooked. Wiped it off. Third time? Okay-ish. Passable. Good enough for me today. Tightlined the upper waterline too – felt weird, but made my lash line look darker.
- Mascara time! Layers. Curled lashes hard. One coat, waited a bit, second coat, waited, third coat just on the outer lashes. Tried to wiggle the wand like they say for volume. Lashes looked pretty damn long and thick!
Step 5: Finishing Touches & The Big Reveal
She always has that super blended blush/highlight thing going on.
- Grabbed a shimmery peachy-pink blush. Smiled big and dabbed it on the apples of my cheeks, sweeping it back towards my temples a bit.
- Then went full magpie – took my favorite creamy highlighter. Dabbed a tiny bit on the tops of my cheekbones, the tip of my nose ever so slightly, and the cupid’s bow. Blended it out till it wasn’t a stripe.
- Lips – she does nudes mostly? Found a rosy-brown nude lip liner and lightly traced my lips. Then slapped on a matching gloss. Simple.
Took a deep breath and looked in the mirror. Whoa. Okay, so I definitely don’t look like Ariana Grande. Not even close! That was never gonna happen. BUT here’s the thing:
- My skin looked way more even and kinda glowy?
- Eyes looked bigger and more defined, even with my wonky liner.
- The lashes! The lashes made a huge difference.
- That highlighter trick? It’s legit. Makes everything look perkier.
Boyfriend walked in and literally said, “You look… sparkly?” So there’s that. Would I walk out like this? Maybe! Learned a bunch actually. The base technique feels great. Blending is EVERYTHING. And gobs of mascara really work. That winged liner? Still needs practice. Lots of practice. Overall, kinda fun experiment. Would maybe try it again without the pressure of looking like her!
