When I log on to my Zoom call with Ariana Grande, she’s chatting with her publicist about her hands being “so Italian.” Before I can launch into a discussion about our shared Sicilian roots, she compliments me on my headboard (it’s shaped like a giant fan, if you’re curious). And it’s not just a “break the ice” compliment but a totally genuine gush. Within seconds all my nerves about talking to one of the world’s biggest pop stars disappear.
Speaking to Grande, it’s obvious that she’s not just being nice to me—she’s a woman dead set on spreading kindness. Her makeup line, R.E.M. Beauty, is a shimmering, candy-colored dreamscape, but it’s also a vehicle for self-love, creative expression, and freedom. “[I want people] to feel like their most beautiful, honest, and expressed self,” Grande says when I ask how she wants her customers to feel when they use the products. “I think makeup is about self-expression. It’s not about following trends per se. The point of it is to express yourself and feel beautiful. It’s personal.”
The first drop—or chapter, as Grande refers to it—from R.E.M. is called Ultraviolet and launched in November with an assortment of eye palettes, liquid shadows, lip markers, false eyelashes, and more. The newest chapter, which is called Goodnight n Go and drops March 21, expands on the first collection with a mix of shade extensions and brand-new products.
Ahead of the launch, I caught up with Grande for a rapid-fire round of Big Beauty Questions. Read on for her favorite product from the drop, how she takes a moment of peace, and why she doesn’t believe in beauty rules.
Tell me about the new chapter!
The new chapter expands our color story. We have some new makeup products—we have our cheek and lipstick, we have our metallic little pots of eye shadow, and we have some eye-gel-topper situation. We also have some new palettes, expanding the color story, really having some fun there. But also we’re introducing some skin prep and treatment products, which is so exciting. To me, those are some of my favorites from this drop because I feel like it’s such an important part of the picture. And it’s fun.
What was the inspiration behind the new shades?
A lot of bold ’60s colors, in the eye shadow palettes. I love the ’60s. I love having a bold pastel lid, with an intense cut crease. It is so classic and fun and beautiful to me. And then monochrome ’90s blush and lip pairings, with the cheek and lipsticks, because you can use them for both. Those are really fun, and the names are funny—there’s Broadway Baby, Stage Mom, Audition, Callback.
What are your favorite products from the new chapter?
I really love our face mist. And I really love the under eye balm. This is such a peculiar product to me. It almost glows, it looks so interesting. It’s very cooling and refreshing and energizing. If I don’t have time to get a full night’s rest or if I have a big workday or an early call time, or just if you naturally have dark circles under your eyes or puffy eyes—I have all of the above. I’m never sleeping enough, because we all are doing our thing. It’s the perfect way to prep your eye for makeup. And it gives you that little zhuzh. I love it; it feels so good. It’s not quite a balm; it’s not a jelly. It’s a whipped cloud or something. It’s the most impossible thing to describe. It feels like whipped ice, or some foreign, intergalactic thing that you found in Superman’s cave.
Is there a beauty trend right now that you’re obsessed with?
I love seeing everyone doing the Euphoria makeup, Y2K glam. It is so fun. I just think the makeup story on that show is so brilliant. It’s so cool. It’s just so much evidence that makeup is storytelling and is such an important part of the arts in any scenario—music videos, movies, TV shows, drag. These become our Halloween costumes. It’s what sets the tone.
Do you feel like makeup helps you get into character, as Ariana Grande, capital A capital G?
Yeah, I think so. I think there are so many versions of what that looks like, for sure. When creating other characters, or having to strip that down sometimes for other work, is so much fun. It creates that separation—it’s characters, it’s storytelling.
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What’s your favorite way to take a moment for yourself?
I really love to make time for my meditation and my bubble baths. Those are some of my favorite self-care moments.
What’s one beauty rule that you swear by?
Oh gosh, it’s going to sound so corny! I don’t want to say it, but I think you can’t be beautiful on the outside if you’re not good to one another. I suppose that is a very helpful beauty trick. It doesn’t really matter how pretty you are on the outside. I know that’s very corny, but probably that. And do your skin care.
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What about a beauty rule that you don’t believe in?
Oh, any. I don’t love beauty rules, really. It should be so personal. And I don’t know that you have to follow any rules. I think we create and then we see what works and what doesn’t for us.
Originally published in Glamour.com
