Ariana Grande Tears up While Admitting to Cosmetic Procedure

Ariana Grande couldn’t help but get emotional as she discussed her previous use of cosmetic injectables and why she no longer gets lip filler or Botox done. The 30-year-old pop singer, who is set to star as Glinda in the upcoming film adaptation of Broadway’s Wicked, spoke candidly about her relationship with beauty in a Sept. 12 Vogue Beauty Secrets video.

Going for “full transparency” as the founder of R.E.M. Beauty, Grande admitted to having “a ton of lip filler” over the years in addition to Botox. In 2018, however, she stopped getting both injectables because it felt like “too much” and like she was “hiding.” The “Thank U, Next” singer began to get choked up as she revealed that she “didn’t expect to get emotional” but that beauty had felt like it was about “hiding” for her for a long time.

“I, over the years, used makeup as a disguise or as something to hide behind,” The Voice alum admitted, explaining that over the years she used big hairstyles and big makeup to disguise herself. “More hair, more and more, [the] thicker the eyeliner… and that can be so beautiful at times and I still do have love for it.” Much of that instinct stems from being in the public eye as a child, the former Nickelodeon star shared. “Being exposed to so many voices at a young age and especially when people have things to say about your appearance and stuff at a young age, it’s really hard to know what’s worth hearing or not, but when you’re 17, you don’t really know you don’t know that yet,” she said.

As she’s gained more self-confidence over the years, Grande said she’s changed the way she uses and sees makeup. “I don’t love [disguise] being the intention behind it anymore,” she explains in the video. “I think of it as self-expression now and accentuating what is here. Our relationships to beauty are so personal, like we’re here talking about beauty secrets, isn’t the secret that we all just want to feel our best and be loved?”

Grande clarified she doesn’t judge others who use Botox and fillers. “To each their own, whatever makes you feel beautiful, I do support, but I know for me I was just like, oh, I want to see my well-earned cry lines and smile lines,” she explained. “I hope my smile lines get deeper and deeper. And I laugh more and more and I just think aging can be such a beautiful thing.”

The Grammy winner isn’t ruling out anything for herself in the future either. “Now, might I get a facelift in 10 years? Might, yeah! But these are just thoughts that I feel like we should be able to discuss,” she said. “If we’re sitting here talking about beauty secrets, f- it let’s lay it all out there.” Grande shared portions of the video to her Instagram page, revealing that it was the “most nervous” she had been in a long time and “definitely not the best i’ve ever done my makeup,” thanking Vogue for “making space for my very Cancerian humanness.”