Ariana Grande gets emotional as she admits to ‘hiding’ behind lip filler and Botox

Ariana Grande has opened up about her experience using lip fillers and Botox, and revealed why she no longer uses cosmetic injections anymore.

On Tuesday (12 September), the singer walked through both her skincare and makeup routines for Vogue’s “Beauty Secrets” YouTube series. When it came time during her makeup routine to do her lips, Grande got personal with her fans about beauty standards.

“Full transparency, as a beauty person, as I do my lips, [I’ve] had a ton of lip filler over the years and Botox. I stopped in 2018 because I just felt so… [it was] too much. I just felt like hiding, you know,” she said in the video.

The 30-year-old then paused, as her eyes began to fill up with tears. “I didn’t expect to get emotional,” Grande continued. “For a long time, beauty was about hiding for me, and now I feel like maybe it’s not since I stopped getting fillers and Botox.”

The Wicked star explained that she also began to hide behind her makeup too, using makeup as a “disguise” and “something to hide behind” with “more and more hair” and “thicker” eyeliner.

“I think as I get older, I don’t love that being the intention behind it anymore,” she said. “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?”

She admitted that maybe “one day” she would get Botox or lip fillers again, adding that “people should do whatever makes them feel beautiful.” For now, the Victorious alum said she would like to see her “well-earned cry lines and smile lines.”

“I hope my smile lines get deeper and deeper and I laugh more and more,” Grande said, as she referred to ageing as “beautiful”.

However, the “7 Rings” singer did take a moment to consider getting a “facelift” when she’s older. “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,” Grande added. “If we’re sitting here talking about beauty secrets, f*** it, let’s lay it all out there.”

This isn’t the only time Grande has opened up about her appearance. Last month, the “Thank U, Next” singer admitted that consistent fan bullying was what ultimately led her to change the cover art for her debut album, Yours Truly.

In celebration of the record’s 10-year release, the pop star answered fan questions related to the album in a two-part TikTok video. In one question, she was asked what made her change the 2013 record’s original cover art to the newly-released one.

“[But] you were right. You guys got very angry when you saw it. I was very sad about that, and I changed it,” Grande said. “You were right, but you’re not always right. Your bullying has been consistent for the past 10 years. So there’s that.”

She continued: “You hated it, you were like, ‘This is f***ing ugly, mom, change it.’ So I did. Sometimes that works; sometimes it leaves me with wounds that make me question everything I’ve done since. Just kidding.”

Last April, Grande issued a rare statement about body image after fans shared much speculation about her appearance. In a TikTok video, she addressed body shaming comments she’s received and discussed the mental health toll that such negative remarks have on someone.

“I think we could be, I think we should be, gentler and less comfortable commenting on people’s bodies, no matter what,” Grande said in the clip. “If you think you’re saying something good or well-intentioned, whatever it is - healthy, unhealthy, big, small, this, that, sexy, not sexy - we just shouldn’t. We should really work towards not doing that as much.”

The Grammy-winner also asked her fans to stop comparing her current body to the one she had when they considered her most healthy. “Personally for me, the body that you’ve been comparing my current body to was the unhealthiest version of my body,” she said. “I was on a lot of antidepressants, and drinking on them, and eating poorly, and at the lowest points of my life when I looked the way you consider ‘my healthy,’ but that in fact wasn’t my healthy.”

She admitted that she “shouldn’t have to explain” that different types of bodies are beautiful, and that she chose to address critics in the hopes that she can help change the conversation around bodies.

“You never know what someone is going through,” Grande said. “So even if you are coming from a loving place and a caring place, that person probably is working on it or has a support system they are working on it with.”