Every time award season rolls around, I start setting up folders on my desktop to correspond with each event so that I can file my favorite makeup looks into them. Just this past Sunday, we saw some of the most famous musicians and singers make their way onto the red carpet for the 2015 Grammy Awards. I decided to do an Ariana Grande Makeup Look & Tutorial because I absolutely loved her dramatic cat-liner and very demure face makeup. It is surprisingly sophisticated looking since she kept the rest of her face quite bare and neutral. I am also using my all-time favorite liner today, Tarte Cosmetics’ Tarteist Clay Liner, which is a brand new product I have fallen in LOVE with over the past few weeks. Hands down, no liner compares to this one in my collection. The full tutorial and product breakdown is inside,
THE MUSE: Ariana Grande at the 2015 Grammy Awards. Her skin is kept neutral with a satin-finish foundation, a bit of contour and bronzer, and skin-toned blush. Her lips are a nude shade with a hint of gloss in the middle. The spotlight is her eye makeup, which is a thick, dramatic cat-eye drawn along the top and lower lash-line.
HOW TO GET THE EYE MAKEUP: You will need a matte skin-toned eyeshadow to place over your entire eyelid. You should just barely see this color against your skin. You will also need a nice dark black eyeliner that you feel comfortable using. It’s all about your preference, as some people feel more comfortable using liquid or gel. I personally am using the brand new Tarteist Clay Liner which is my holy grail liner. I purchased this a few weeks ago and I cannot express how pigmented, black, and long-wearing it is. It also comes with a brush that works fantastically with the product and I find the application to be incredibly simple. I cannot recommend this product enough, especially if you struggle with eyeliner application.
- Apply your skin-toned matte eyeshadow over your entire eyelid and along your lower lash-line. You should just barely be able to see this shade. I used my Tarte Cosmetics Tartelette Matte Palette for this.
- Using your favorite black liner, line your upper lash-line and flick the ends out into a dramatic cat-eye that extends to the end of your eyebrow. Focus this cat-flick upward so that you are giving your eyes a lifted appearance. I personally used the Tarteist Clay Liner and this stuff is so easy to apply with the fine angled liner brush it comes with. Just take it slow with short strokes and you can’t go wrong.
- Line your lower water-line with the same liner and also line just underneath the lashes as well. Ariana has quite a thick line of eyeliner underneath her eyes as well. Make sure you connect the cat-flick in the outer corners with the eyeliner on your bottom lashes.
- Go back and correct any mistakes you made with your eyeliner by using either a makeup wipe or a cotton swab dipped in makeup remover. I like to clean the edges up and make them super sharp, so I always complete this step.
- Curl your lashes and apply mascara. Apply a pair of false lashes that have good length but not too much volume. I used Ardell Demi Wispies.
HOW TO GET THE LIPS: Ariana’s lips were kept a “your-lips-but-better” shade. This will be different for every single person, depending on your skin tone and what your natural lip color is. A slight gloss was applied to the middle of the lips to make them look fuller.
- Apply a mauve-nude brown shade. I used Sephora’s Cream Lip Stain in “Marvelous Mauve.”
- Since Ariana had a slight glossiness to the center of her lips, I applied Gerard Cosmetics “Buttercream” Lip Gloss to the center of my lips.
HOW TO GET THE FACE MAKEUP: The face makeup is very, very understated but clean. Use a good satin foundation to erase any imperfections or redness. Contour your cheekbones and apply some bronzer to your forehead and cheeks. Fill in your eyebrows. The face is kept very clean with no blush and no highlighter.
Products used:
- Revlon Airbrush Foundation in 006.
- Kat Von D Shade & Light Contour Palette (also used as a bronzer on the cheeks)
- Anastasia Beverly Hills Brow Powder Duo in “Auburn”
THE FINISHED LOOK:
The main focus is that thick, dramatic eyeliner. Normally eyeliner all around the eye can really make the eyes look small, but because the cat-flick is angled so high and brought out to the end of the brows, it has an elongating effect on the eye shape. And, if you’re looking for an awesome liner to create this look with or just for everyday, don’t forget to check out my new favorite Tarteist Clay Liner. I’ve already sold several people on this liner and they are extremely pleased with it!
[ALL PHOTOGRAPHY ON THIS SITE IS TAKEN BY REBECCA KAZIMIR. NO PHOTOGRAPHS ARE TO BE REPRODUCED WITHOUT WRITTEN PERMISSION.]
stacie says
You look absolutely beautiful! And your skin looks amazing!
BeautyGala says
Thank you so much Stacie!