Ariana Grande is big news. Big News. Since the start of her Musical career in 2011 she has shot to fame and she has even gotten her hands into fashion with her Lipsy collection (which sold out immediately FYI) and fragrance with her debut perfume 'ARI'! She has even released her very own (now sold out) MAC Viva La Glam collection this year which includes a lipstick for your inner bad girl and a shimmer lipglass for the sweeter side of you.

But, what she is really known for is her glowing, youthful skin and her trademark feline liner flick! So how does she achieve her look? Let's catch up with Daniel Chinchilla, personal makeup artist to Ariana, and discover the secrets to her look.

SKIN

“Skincare is such a major part of a great makeup look," says Daniel Chinchilla. "Dehydrated skin equals dry, flakey makeup. So before any color goes on the face, I like to apply a thick cream, so makeup glides on and looks smooth." - you heard it from the best ladies, moisturising is key!

"Priming is the next important step, it creates this barrier between skin and makeup and it’ll prevent makeup from entering and disappearing into pores. It allows for the foundation to look much smoother and last way longer.", we love a good primer and you can see Daniels favourite in his kit guide at the bottom of this post.

Daniel also says "Even though it’s a couple of extra steps, it’s going to make a world of difference in how your makeup stays on." - we agree!

Choosing your tools
What you apply your makeup with is super important and Daniel says, "I’m obsessed with the Beauty Blender, it doesn’t absorb too much makeup."

"Once the sponge is coated in foundation, I like to stipple on the base. Sometimes people swipe and smear foundation over the face, but really, you’re just moving it around and taking it off."

"Stippling gives instant coverage placed right where you want it. After you put on a light layer, stipple more where needed so it doesn’t look too heavy."

Beauty Blenders at the ready girls ;)

Setting your makeup

We all want our creation to stay in place for as long as possible, especially for those special occasions or events. Daniel says, “Finish with a dusting of translucent powder; it makes your foundation budge-proof,"

"I think the Laura Mercier loose powder is amazing; it's so light and it doesn’t change your foundation color." 

Daniel says the best way to apply your powder is to, "grab a small flat powder brush and use it to press the powder onto the skin. That way it doesn't move the foundation around. With this method, you can go hours without any touch-ups."

Daniel even took to his Instagram page to share a photo of L’Oreal Paris True Match, which he reportedly uses on Ariana Grande’s youthful complexion! Can we go shopping? Like, now?!

LASHES

So what about Ariana's gorgeous lashes? How does Daniel style them?

He says its all in the technique; the first thing he does is curl the lashes while asking the client to look downward.

He says, "Next, apply mascara, wait one to two minutes for the formula to dry, curl again… then apply another coat of mascara."

How about falsies? What does Daniel recommend?

Choosing your size ... 

We can all agree that strip lash can be a little fiddly to apply but, Chinchilla says he tells his clients to cut them in half - genius!

He tells, “First, measure the strip to make sure it fits your eye. If you need to cut it, always cut it from the outside, you don’t want to cut the short part off, because it will take away from the flare effect.”

After you’ve cut the lash to fit your eye perfectly, Daniel says to apply the outer half first. Apply a thin line of eyelash glue to the strip, wait 20 seconds for it to get tacky, then apply it directly to your eye.

Daniel continues,“Depending on how long your eye is, this might be all you need—or you can apply the inner half. It’s all about customizing the lash strip for your own eye."

Choosing your volume ...

Some of us girls like our lashes to be thick and flirty, but don’t go picking the thickest strip lash you find.

Daniel warns that super-voluminous strip lashes are the hardest to apply. “The band isn’t as flexible, and it’s not going to fit on your eye easily,” he says.

Instead, he suggests picking a more natural-looking lash then building the volume after you apply by layering two natural-looking lashes on top of each other. “Get two pairs of the thin ones and layer them on top of each other, instead of going for the crazy-heavy ones,” he says, swearing it’s an industry secret!

EYELINER

We all love Ariana's signature cat eye, but how is it achieved?

“A lot of girls try to put on their eye liner all in one swipe! " says Daniel. "But it’s better if you do little strokes — look at it like a painting, you won’t mess up that way, and if you do, it will be easy to correct it doing it that way because you are doing little tiny lines."

He continues "Keep it really close to the eyelashes, as close as possible, because you’ll be able to control the thickness of it. Start off really thin and build it from there as opposed to one thick line that you can’t really correct afterwards.”

How about the wing part? That's what we were dying to know!

Daniel reveals "The wing is definitely something I tell people you have to practice with. It’s not something you will get right away because there is a certain technique to it and it can be a little tricky especially for the people who aren’t very steady handed."

He instructed to "Start off with a pencil and create the shape. That is going to be the easiest way to get started with the wing. If you jump into the cat eye with a cream or a liquid it is going to be a disaster because its harder to deal with, even for the most steady handed person. A pencil allows for a little more room for error. Start at the end of eye and wing up towards the end of the eyebrow to lift the eye up; create the line of the wing from the end of the eye towards the eyebrow and then bring it inward." 

Makeup Kit

Josie Maran Argan Oil / Smashbox PhotoFinish Foundation Primer / MAC Paint in Bamboom / Too Faced Chocolate Bar eye palette / Beauty Blender / MAC Pro longwear concealer / Laura Mercier Brightening Powder / Bobbi Brown Bronzing Powder / Bobbi Brown Brightening Brick / Bobbi Brown Finishing Powder / Urban Decay 24/7 Glide on Pencil / Too Faced Better than Sex Mascara / Anastasia Beverly Hills Brow Powder Duo / L'Oreal True Match Foundation / 

Here is our kit guide, which includes all of Daniels favourites to use on his clients - as well as Ariana. Click on any of the links to shop them!

We hope you loved this article - you can tag us on Insta (@Bella_andbear) with your best Ariana inspired cat eye - don't forget you can use your Bella&Bear Caracal eyeliner brush to get that gorgeous design - we'd love to see!