Ariana Grande Explained How Glinda & Wicked Changed Her Relationship With Makeup

Kara Nesvig
·2 min read

Courtesy of Universal Pictures

To say that the Wicked movie changed Ariana Grande's life is probably pretty accurate; the singer and actor has been very forthright about how much the project means to her and how she's wanted to play Glinda since she was a child. It turns out that the role also made a difference in Grande's relationship with makeup and her typical glam routine, as she revealed in a new “Get Ready with Me” featurette.

In the video, we join Grande in the makeup trailer as she preps for a day on set. As she gets in character, Grande reveals that the Glinda glam inspired the star to change her own daily and red carpet makeup looks.

“Glinda’s makeup kinda made me transform my entire look and my entire relationship to makeup. I just love it so much,” she says. “Love, love, love.” As any Grande fan will tell you, it does differ from her former go-to glam. “There’s no thick eyeliner. There’s no heavy crease. It’s just really warm and open and pretty.” She still gets her beloved cat eye shape, but this time, it comes from the lashes, not her eyeliner. “It's also just a more honest representation of what you look like. It’s just like, ‘Oh, this is an eye.'”

<h1 class="title">Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo as Glinda and Elphaba in the Wicked movie.</h1><cite class="credit">Courtesy of Universal Pictures</cite>

Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo as Glinda and Elphaba in the Wicked movie.

Courtesy of Universal Pictures

According to the star, her Ariana-to-Glinda transformation is one of the fastest in the cast, which makes sense given that she's not being painted green like her costar Cynthia Erivo. We get a peek at all the wigs she wears and watch as one is placed and styled, and at the end of the video, she's not Ariana Grande anymore — she's Galinda/Glinda Upland!

Grande has previously spoken about how her approach to makeup and fillers has changed in recent years. In a 2023 video for Vogue, she said, "I, over the years, used makeup as a disguise as something to hide behind, more and more hair … thicker eyeliner. That can be so beautiful, and I still have love and appreciation for it, but as I get older, I don't love that being the intention behind it anymore."

She also addressed her use of injectables and even teared up while talking. "I've had a ton of lip filler over the years, Botox…I stopped in 2018 because I just felt so…too much," she shared at the time. “I just felt like hiding. For a long time, beauty was about hiding for me, and now I feel like maybe it's not.”

Related: Ariana Grande Had the Best Response When Asked If She'd Gotten a BBL

Originally Appeared on Teen Vogue

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