Ariana Grande may have built a career on her singing and acting skills, but it’s her signature look that cements her status as a pop icon. The waterfall ponytail. The winged eyeliner. Eyelashes that flutter.
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But has anyone ever actually seen Ariana Grande without makeup? Even when she’s not on stage, she rarely goes beatless (save the occasional selfie). We’re quite confident she’s still a beauty underneath her fully made-up face, and we’d bet that fans would love to see Ari au naturel more often. Check out a few rare examples of Ariana Grande’s no makeup looks throughout the years.
Ariana Grande’s Signature Makeup Look
While style addicts tune into red carpet events to see what amazing outfit Ariana Grande will be wearing, they can always rest assured that she won’t shock us with her makeup. Grande sticks to a tried and true routine, and one permanent mainstay is her winged eyeliner.
“Eyeliner is just Ariana’s thing, she loves a cat eye,” her makeup artist Daniel Chinchilla told Popsugar. “In the beginning, it was a little more natural, and as time went by, we just went with it and kept pushing it to give her a very iconic wing look. It was something that was gradual but is now something she’s known for.”
Not that she’s trying to bore you. In 2018, another one of her makeup artists, Ash K Holm, told Refinery29 that Grande is often “working on ways to play off of her staple look using different products, colors, and techniques.”
“Eyeliner and eyes in general are a main focus for our looks,” he added. “I think we are always in the process of evolving and trying new things.”
Ariana Grande Without Makeup
You can almost always expect Grande to step out with a complete face of makeup, both on and off stage. Even when she’s caught in sweats and scrunchies on the street by paparazzi, she’s not without dramatic eyes. But on rare occasions, she’s willing to share a bare face.
Ariana didn’t go the makeup-heavy pageant princess route as a little girl. Here she is, fresh-faced as flashing a rare smile.
Could this be the era when the super-high ponytail got its start? Ariana looks darling as a makeup-free tween with her large doe eyes and a slight smirk. “If anything …. she’s consistent,” she wrote in the caption.
Stars: they’re just like us. Ariana takes it easy during the holiday season by stripping off the makeup and donning a face mask while wrapping gifts.
Ari literally lets her hair down in this 2012 photo, ditching her famous ponytail and swapping a beat face for a bare one. The photo is presented with just a simple caption: “Morning :)”.
Grande claims to be “daydreamin'” as she gazes into the camera for this stripped-down black and white selfie. Without the ability to detect bronzer or stained lips, she looks like she’s got a makeup-free glow.
Here’s Ari in 2012 with hairstylist Paul Norton. As he preps her locks for her signature ponytail, she shares a couple of different expressions for the camera. Frankly, we think she looks great without the eyeliner.
Here’s a blurry but bare-faced pic Grande posted on the same day her album Sweetener dropped. Ari appears to let tears wash away whatever mascara or liner she’s wearing, writing in the caption, “mood :’) gonna to cry all day lol. thank you for your warmth. thank you for listening and hearing me. happy sweetener day and i love you.”
Did you do a double-take? Us too. Ariana kills it on the cover of British Vogue in 2018. The blonde tresses and freckles on her cheeks give her the look of a sun-kissed Californian.
Ariana bared her freckles again in a 2020 Instagram story, along with puckered lips and a cute butterfly filter.