Ariana Grande Proves She’s the Queen of Retro Beauty With a Giant Updo

@arianagrande/instagram

It’s undoubtedly the summer of the retro updo. Keke Palmer just wore a beehive in the most chic 2023 way. Celebs like Dua Lipa, Beyonce, Adele, and Rihanna have all worn one on the red carpet. And Elle Fanning remixed ’70s with Princesscore for her baby beehive. Now, Ariana Grande is the most recent celeb trying her hand the trend, sporting the most avant-garde ’60s-inspired hair.

To announce the launch of her makeup brand r.e.m. beauty’s venture into foundations with a groundbreaking 60-shade selection, Grande pulled out all the stops, serving her biggest hair yet in the campaign images.

In the photos, she pulled all her strands back, and twirled them into the biggest, abstract honeycomb design. On top of her head sat three larger swirling curls—each the same size; they had an outer ring of dark brown and an inner ring of light brown hair. Then, the rest of her hair formed looser curls and waves as they spiraled around the back of her head and behind the three big curls.

@r.em.beauty/instagram

Though this look is new for her (and honestly everybody?), it is right on par with Grande’s personal style and r.e.m. aesthetic. As we know from her Positions album cover, the packaging of her beauty products, and past r.e.m. shoots, Grande takes lots of stylistic inspiration from the ‘60s and ‘70s. She often fuses these retro motifs with the silver chrome colorways of today as well as updated silhouettes like crop tops—which is why this latest look makes perfect sense, given the modern take on a classic look.

This also came through with the makeup and outfit. Her eyes had a slight gray-pink-nude tinge to the lid with a lighter shade on her inner corner in addition to her voluminous eyelashes and thin winged eyeliner. Her skin was matte perfection, and the look was finished off glossy plum-red lips and semi-bleached brows.

For her outfit, she wore a silver chrome strapless dress. It ruffled along her entire body, forming waves of silver sheen as it reflected light. It plunged into a rigid, deep diamond shape on her chest and formed a seashell-like cup along the top—serving up Femmebot-chic.