I might be showing my quirkiness a little bit here, but believe me when I say that I’m always prepared (with notes) to argue with anyone who tells me they didn’t like Ariana Grande’s iconic video for her hit single “Thank U, Next.” I know I’m being a tad dramatic, but when a piece of *art* captures and re-creates the iconic movies of your teen years perfectly, you tend to go a little overboard on the love and affection.
Although it has been years since the video’s release, I was delighted to learn recently that Grande and her brand R.E.M. Beauty decided to give the people what they want in the form of a gorgeous new Thank U, Next collection that pays homage to the video. In addition to receiving the news about the launch, I was also excited to learn that Grande’s longtime makeup artist Daniel Chinchillashared a few tips in a YouTube video on how to create one of Grande’s iconic looks using the new collection. Don’t worry, I made sure he didn’t stop at just one look, either. I asked Chinchilla for a second look he would choose to re-create, along with the products he’d use to do it. Keep scrolling—lots of invaluable makeup advice ahead.
Chinchilla brought Grande’s iconic look up to date for 2023 by using a few key products listed below. In addition to his recs, I’ve included a few of my own favorites you can use to achieve it too.
Chinchilla would start with a neutral matte shade on the lid as a base. This time, he used R.E.M.’s liquid shadow in l8r and blended it on the lid using a small brush.
Next, you can take your dark brown (or black) eyeliner of choice and create a triangle shape on the outer corners of the lid like Chinchilla demonstrates in the YouTube video. You can then smudge it out with a brush to soften the look. A darker liner can also be used later to redefine the liner.
Chinchilla obviously used the Thank U, Next palette for this next step, but you can use any palette of choice with similar colors. Define the wing using the darker shades, and then go in with a pink or rose-gold shimmer shade and pack it all over the lid. For extra drama, you can even take a darker pink shade and pop it above the inner corner of your brow bone on each side.
Armani Beauty’s Eye Tint in this rose gold could also work perfectly all over the lid to add extra shimmer.
Define, sculpt, and shape the brows for this look using one of my favorite brow pencils of all time, Brow Wiz.
Set using Benefit’s clear brow gel.
No look is complete without blush. Go in with your pink shade of choice to add warmth.
For highlight, try Charlotte Tilbury’s new highly pigmented formula and dust it over the cheekbones and high points of the face.
Chinchilla likes to go in with a lip liner before adding a lipstick or gloss because it adds an extra wash of color to the lips. He’ll sometimes use a darker and lighter shade to give the lips an extra-creamy look.
Chinchilla loves this glowy look he created on Grande for Coachella in 2019 and would bring it back in a heartbeat. “I would re-create her Coachella look because it was gorgeous and glam,” he says. “It’s also a look that is very wearable! It was so bronzy and sun-kissed.” A few products you could use to re-create the look are below.
To get that extra-bronzed look, opt for a creamy contour and bronzer stick like this one from LYS.
You can use a few pink hues (similar to look one) and a shimmer shade or two to make the eyes pop here. Try Tarte’s rosy-colored palette or Chinchilla’s favorite shades of R.E.M. Beauty’s Lustrous Liquid Shadow, Comet and Labcoat.
Sephora Collection also offers some really gorgeous shimmer shades for only $10 if you’re looking for something a bit budget-friendlier.
Chinchilla says, “I would use the Interstellar Highlighter Topper in Miss Saturn for this look and put some of the liquid shadow in Comet from R.E.M. on the cheekbone for extra glow.”
And last but not least, Chinchilla would finish with a gorgeous liquid lipstick in a nude color like the shade Wifey. He describes it as the “perfect mauve nude shade.”
