If you’ve spent any time on TikTok lately, you’ve seen the "Glinda-fication" of the internet. Pink everywhere. Feathers. Bubbles. But when it comes to the actual Ariana Grande Wicked makeup, there is a massive gap between the sparkly fan recreations and what was actually happening on that set in London.
Honestly, it wasn't just about throwing on some glitter and calling it a day.
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I’ve been obsessed with the technical side of this. Most people assume Ariana just walked on set wearing her usual R.E.M. Beauty wing and high ponytail. She didn’t. In fact, the lead makeup artist for Wicked, Frances Hannon, made it a point to strip away the "Ariana Grande" brand to find Glinda-Butera. This meant no signature cat-eye. No massive lashes that touch the eyebrows.
It was a total pivot.
The No-Wing Policy and Why It Matters
Let’s talk about that wing. For over a decade, Ariana has been the queen of the sharp, black liquid liner. But for the Ariana Grande Wicked makeup, Hannon and director Jon M. Chu wanted something that felt ethereal, not "pop star."
Instead of a harsh line, they used what Hannon calls a "ghostly waterline." Basically, they focused on making the eyes look huge, round, and slightly vulnerable—very 1930s film star meets modern-day sorceress.
They swapped the black ink for soft, blurred browns and purples. If you look closely at the "Popular" sequence, her eyes aren't defined by a line; they’re defined by shadow. They used a "smiling eye" technique where a neutral brown is swept under the bottom lash line to mimic the natural crease you get when you grin. It makes her look perpetually bubbly.
It's subtle. It's genius. It’s also incredibly hard to pull off if you have oily lids, but that’s a different story.
What Products Were Actually on Ariana’s Face?
There’s been a lot of chatter about whether she was just wearing her own brand. The answer is kinda yes, but also no. While the r.e.m. beauty x Wicked collection was "dreamt to life" by Ariana, the actual film makeup involved a mix of high-performance kit staples and her own formulations.
The Glinda Essentials
According to breakdown videos and interviews with the hair and makeup team, several specific products (or their direct inspirations) were used to keep Glinda looking "positively radiant" through 16-hour shoot days:
- The Glow: It wasn't a strobe-light highlight. It was a skin-centric glow. They used the Galinda Glow Drops (now sold in the r.e.m. collection) but often layered it under a very light, satin-finish foundation to make the shine look like it was coming from inside her soul.
- The Brows: This is the most controversial part. People hated the bleached brows at first. But they weren't fully bleached; they were lightened and straightened. Ariana’s natural arch was softened with light powder and gold tones to make her face look more open and youthful.
- The Lips: Glinda’s lip combo changes as she evolves. In Shiz University, she wears a more natural, stained look. For the Ozdust Ballroom, it’s a high-shine, opalescent pink. The team used a lot of the Practically Permanent Lip Stain in shades like "Booked and Busy" or "Miss Berry," topped with the Poppy Plumping Lip Gloss.
Dealing with the "Ozdust" Humidity
Filming a massive musical is sweaty work. You’ve got hot lights, heavy costumes, and the physical toll of singing live.
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To keep the Ariana Grande Wicked makeup from sliding off her face, Hannon relied heavily on traditional film techniques like baking with Ben Nye powder. Ariana has mentioned that she stayed in "Glinda mode" for years, which meant her skin had to be treated with extreme care. You can't just slap heavy stage makeup on someone for two years without their pores staging a revolution.
They used the Luxury Beautification Undereye Masks—yes, the ones from the collab—to prep her skin every single morning. It wasn't just marketing; it was maintenance.
The Secret Color Theory of Glinda-Butera
Here’s something most people miss: the makeup isn’t just pink.
If you look at the Ozian Forest Eyeshadow Palette, there are these weird, shifting duochromes. Lilacs with blue shifts. Corals with gold. Hannon used these "interfering" colors to make Glinda feel slightly "other."
She’s not just a girl in a pink dress; she’s a powerful fairy-to-be. By using a lilac shimmer with a blue shift (like the shade "I Come and Go by Bubble"), the light hits her face differently every time she moves. It gives her that iridescent, soap-bubble quality that defines the character’s entrance.
How to Get the Look Without Looking Like a Costume
If you want to recreate the Ariana Grande Wicked makeup for real life, you have to resist the urge to go full-on Barbie.
- Skip the heavy wing. Use a taupe or soft mauve shadow to create a "shadow wing" instead. It lifts the eye without the harshness.
- Focus on the nose. Ariana’s Glinda look features a very specific nose contour. It’s rounded at the tip and connected to the eye sockets. It’s a "button" look that adds to the comedic, doll-like aesthetic of the character.
- Blush placement is key. Instead of the usual "clean girl" temple placement, Glinda’s blush is more "doll-like"—centered on the apples of the cheeks and blended slightly downward. Use a cool-toned pink like the Cherry Blossom Blush Palette.
- The "Pink Is This Year's Pink" Lip. Use a pH-adaptive lip oil (like the So Popular one) to get a custom pink that actually suits your skin tone. It looks more natural than a matte lipstick.
Honestly, the biggest takeaway from the Wicked set is that Glinda is a mask. As the story progresses, the makeup shifts slightly. It becomes a bit more refined, a bit more "Good Witch," and a bit less "popular girl at school."
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If you’re looking to buy the collection, the Glinda Makeup Set is the obvious choice, but don't sleep on the At The Borderline Kohl Eyeliner in "Not Your Basic Witch." Even though it’s technically an Elphaba product, using a metallic olive or deep plum near the lash line is actually closer to the "depth" they built into Ariana's eyes than a flat black liner would be.
The magic of this look isn't in the sparkles you can see from across the room. It’s in the way the light reflects off a very specific shade of lavender when Glinda realizes her world is changing for good.
To really nail this at home, start with a tacky primer to get that "bouncy" skin finish. Blend your contour until you think you’ve blended too much, then blend some more. The goal is to look like you were born in a bubble, not like you spent two hours in front of a vanity.
Grab a cool-toned pink stain, a bit of iridescent gloss, and leave the heavy eyeliner in the drawer for once. Trust me, it’s "confusifying" how much better it looks.