Lady Gaga’s makeup artist reveals ‘aftermath’ of bare-faced Oscars performance

Singer put on makeup-free performance at 2023 Oscars just moments after walking red carpet in full glam

Lady Gaga’s makeup artist has given fans a behind-the-scenes look at the singer’s makeup-free transformation at the 2023 Oscars.

Sarah Tanno – who has done glam for celebrities like Priyanka Chopra, Alexandra Daddario, and Sydney Sweeney – posted a photo to her Instagram Story on Monday, where she shared a picture of the makeup wipes, cotton pads, and Q-tips she used to achieve Lady Gaga’s bare-faced look for her performance of her Oscar nominated song, “Hold My Hand”.

On Sunday evening, Lady Gaga hit the red carpet outside the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles ahead of the 95th Academy Awards ceremony. The Star is Born actor was dressed in a black Versace gown with boning down the corset-style bodice. For her makeup, Lady Gaga donned a black smokey eye with black liner and pink blush on her cheekbones – which Tanno described on her Instagram as the “Addicted to Blush” look.

She paired the dramatic eyeshadow with a bright red lip, which Tanno achieved using the Atomic Shake Lip Lacquer in Cherry Shine from Lady Gaga’s beauty brand, Haus Labs.

However, the “Shallow” singer opted for a more laid-back ensemble when she took the stage for her performance of “Hold My Hand” from the Oscar-nominated movie, Top Gun: Maverick. Lady Gaga – whose real name is Stefanie Germanotta – appeared on stage in jeans, a grey T-shirt and Converse sneakers, while her face was seemingly makeup-free with her hair in a simple braid down her back.

Taking to Instagram, Tanno captioned her Instagram story of the soiled makeup wipes and cotton pads: “The Aftermath…” However, the quick transformation had many Oscar viewers asking the same question: What makeup remover does Lady Gaga use?

Lady Gaga’s makeup artist reveals behind-the-scenes of her Oscars transformation (Instagram / Sarah Tanno)

“I just really want to know what makeup remover Lady Gaga uses,” tweeted one person. “Because this was her a couple hours ago. Then she sang with no makeup on. Mine is still on my pillow from last night.”

“Sorry how was Lady Gaga able to get all this makeup off so fast with no smears?” asked someone else. “If I wash my face like five times I still go to bed looking like the Joker.”

While Tanno didn’t reveal which makeup remover she used on Gaga, the artist has previously spoken about her go-to products for easy makeup removal. In a 2019 interview with Harper’s Bazaar, Tanno shared that she goes for the Lancôme Bi-Facial Double-Action Eye Makeup Remover.

“I like to kick it old school, I like the Lancôme Bi-Facil,” she said. “Also, argan oil – Gaga taught me that. If you have heavy eye makeup or waterproof products, just straight up argan oil is really great to just remove everything and melt it off. I learn so much from her!”

Following the 2023 Oscars, producer Glenn Weiss revealed that it was Lady Gaga’s decision to put on the stripped-down performance of her Oscar-nominated song. “Honestly, when she came in, we had a conversation about it,” he told The Hollywood Reporter. “She was really appropriate about the fact that this is a meaningful song to her and she wanted to really strip it down and do it not as an ‘Oscar performance,’ but as her. And that’s exactly what we tried to capture.”

However, the Oscar for Best Original Song ultimately went to the song “Naatu Naatu” from the movie RRR, which became the first song from an Indian film to win in the Best Song category. In addition to Lady Gaga, Rihanna was also nominated in the category for her track “Lift Me Up” from Black Panther: Wakanda Forever.

Here’s the full list of winners from the 2023 Oscars.