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Ariana Grande’s transformation into Glinda for the onscreen adaptation of Wicked has been closely followed since her casting news broke three years ago. Since then Grande has changed her style and hair color to embody the bubbly and blonde Good Witch. As the movie’s November 22 premiere date quickly approaches, Glamour has exclusive details on the exact products that were used on Grande during filming.
Frances Hannon, the lead makeup and hair designer for Wicked, revealed that Grande used none other than her own brand R.E.M. Beauty to create Glinda’s beauty look. “I do remember one product very well because it was a lovely finish to her,” Hannon says. “It was like the final touch of when she became Glinda for the day, and it was her Interstellar Highlighter Topper in Miss Mercury.”
R.E.M. Beauty Interstellar Highlighter Topper in Miss Mercury
Ariana Grande used the highlighter on one spot in particular to put her own personal touch on Glinda. “She used to rub her finger in it—she’d always do it herself—and add it to just the tip, the end of her nose,” says Hannon. “We did use it in other places for her makeup too, but it was something that she often liked to add when we were doing a final check just before a take. A little bit of if it was something that she’d do without thought, but it was very much part of Glinda.”
Hannon described Glinda’s look as “very iridescent, shimmery, and princess-like.” In a Get Ready With Me featurette for the movie, Grande explains how Glinda changed her whole makeup aesthetic. “There’s no thick eyeliner,” she says in the video. “There’s no heavy crease. It’s just really warm and open and pretty. It’s also just a more honest representation of what you look like. It’s just like, ‘Oh, this is an eye.’”
Hannon echoes Grande’s thoughts, adding that she used a mix of professional makeup and R.E.M. Beauty. “As you could see from the film, it’s not complicated makeup, but it is very intricate mixing of her R.E.M. products and other products for covering tattoos because she has so many,” says Hannon. “There was a lot of groundwork before you actually got into the beauty side.”
To cover Grande’s tattoos, Hannon used MAQPro Creamy. “It’s tubes of tattoo cover that you can buy in a huge range of skin tones,” she says. “It’s got a really high pigment density. It’s a product that we recommend. In our industry we use it all the time. You don’t need too much of it, so you don’t have that problem with transfer onto costumes. [Ariana’s hand tattoos] are covered—and with all that touching with Elphaba in a black costume, that’s something you’re very aware of.”
MAQPro Creamy Full Cover Makeup
And as the character grows and changes through the film, so does her beauty look. “Her eyes grew stronger, and her eyebrows grew stronger,” says Hannon. “We tried for a very youthful look for the opening, but she maintains a general princess-style shimmer and opalescence, which really complemented her costumes.”
Ariana Yaptangco is the senior beauty editor at Glamour. Follow her @arianayap.
