Ariana Grande Gave Us All the Details of Her Wicked Makeup Collection

Photography by Katia Temkin / Courtesy of r.e.m. beauty

Ariana Grande does not do things halfway. When she releases an album, it goes platinum. When she launches a makeup line—r.em. beauty, in 2021—she gets an Allure cover. When she signs on for her first starring role in a major motion picture, it’s as Galinda—later known as Glinda the Good Witch—in the screen adaptation of Wicked, widely-considered the most-anticipated film of the year.

And when Grande launches a makeup collection to coincide with the launch of said film, well, you can see where we’re going with this: It’s a well-curated, highly-considered range that includes a glistening highlighter, shimmering eye shadows, and a color-changing lip oil all housed in totally fantastical, Wicked-coded packaging.

“Wicked is something that I think deserves everyone’s best at all times,” says Grande when we meet over Zoom a few weeks ago. During the early days of shooting in 2022, she recalls, Universal Pictures proposed r.e.m. beauty create a Wicked-themed makeup collection to coincide with the film’s release. She leapt into action immediately: “I knew we had to start [right then] to get it right.”

Because for Grande, “right” did not mean slapping together a green and pink eye shadow palette and calling it a day—it meant transporting users to Oz by way of makeup. “I wanted it to really feel like part of the world [of the film],” says Grande of the limited-edition collection. “I wanted it to be a means for the fans to feel closer to it than they ever could.”

With that in mind, Grande’s first order of business was to get her r.e.m. beauty product development team to London so they could experience the magic firsthand. “Everything was so secretive, but [Universal] allowed them to see the sets and the props and the costumes in person and feel what it was like to be there,” she says. “I really think it affected how everything turned out in a big way.”

What was it like to witness her two previously separate worlds—r.e.m. beauty and Wicked—come together? ”It was special and also kind of hilarious because since the last time I had seen my beauty team in person, I was completely bleach blonde and an entirely different human being,” says Grande.

That was on purpose. When creating her beauty look as Galinda—a collaborative effort between Grande, hair and makeup designer Frances Hannon, hairstylist Gabor Kerekes, and makeup artist Nuria Mbomio—it was “important to completely erase familiarity,” says Grande. “To look in the mirror and see someone else, and for people watching to see a character and not me.”

“We tried many different eyebrow shades, so many different toner concoctions,” says Grande. “And so many different wigs because they all tell different stories. I’ll never forget when we finally landed on the perfect combination. Our director, Jon M. Chu, was like, ‘That's her.’”

So, yes, consider this official confirmation that Grande did not just cover up her naturally-dark brows for the film: She bleached them. And even though filming wrapped in January, she still is. “I actually am still bleaching them, but I'm toning them a little bit in between brown and blonde,” she says. “[I’ve got] sort of like gingery, strawberry blonde eyebrows right now, just because I really like it and I got very used to it.”

“When I see dark brows on me, I feel like I'm looking at an alien,” she continues. “It's quite interesting… so [now] I'm somewhere in the middle, but I plan to keep it up for quite some time. I'm doing it myself now. I have a little brow kit labeled ‘Galinda brow.’ I have a pink spoolie. It’s very fun.”

Today, her brows are complemented with a wash of duochrome eye shadow across her lids that shifts from pink to silver depending on the light—it’s “Save Me This Dance?” from the Ozdust Eyeshadow Palette ($55), Grande tells me. The shade names (like “Thrillifiying!” and “Darlingest”) are “all very specifically and Wicked-ly Ozian,” she says. “There’s lots of Galinda-ified language.”

Cut to the metallic matte lipstick ”You’ve Been Galinda-ified” from the Galinda Makeup Set ($60), which Grande is also wearing when we chat. “I'm not a lipstick person, but this is my favorite lipstick I will ever wear,” she says. “It's a gorgeous blush pink with these champagney shimmers in it and it's just the creamiest, most hydrating formula.”

Speaking of lips, the collection includes three lip stains ($18 each) in shades inspired by the tulip fields of Munchkinland (according to Chu, nine million bulbs were brought in to create the very-real fields) and one pH-adaptive lip oil that Grande calls “magical” for the way the color transforms depending on the wearer. “It's actually jarring. I'm not kidding. I put it on for the first time and I turned away from the mirror for a second, smacked my lips together…,” says Grande. “And I turned back and they were the color of Galinda’s peignoir [outfit] in the ‘Popular’ number. I was like, ‘Oh my God, it worked.’”

Elphaba gets her flowers, too, in the form of the Elphaba Makeup Set ($60) with a lip balm, liquid eye shadow, eyeliner, and multi-use stick in the deep-plum shade “Destined to Fly,” which was inspired by the makeup used on the Broadway show. “When I was 10, I got to go backstage, and when I went past Idina [Menzel]’s dressing room, I saw [something] purple on her makeup station,” Grande says. “And I was like, ‘Wait, what's the purple for?’ And she said, ‘Oh, Elphaba's contour.’”

That’s just one of many full circle moments Grande has experienced since embarking on a project she’s clearly been unknowingly preparing for all her life. “The other week I was visiting my family in Boca and I was up late one night with my headphones on because the mixes had just come in for the soundtrack,” she says. “I was sitting in my childhood bedroom with the poster across from my bed signed by the original Broadway cast and listening to our mixes of the soundtrack. It was really emotional. I just burst into tears.” No problem: “Not Your Basic Witch” gel pencil liner is waterproof.

The limited-edition r.e.m. beauty x Wicked collection will be available on rembeauty.com beginning October 1st at 12am ET/September 30th at 9pm PT and at Ulta Beauty stores and on ulta.com in early October.

Originally Appeared on Allure