The $9 Lengthening Mascara Ciara Swears By

We’ve long been fans of Ciara’s brand of breezy, tomboy beauty. Her low-maintenance approach to makeup seriously has us inspired. We caught up with the new face of Revlon on everything from how she puts herself together to beating her beauty insecurities. Here, she walks us through it all.

My Five-Minute Routine:
I like a fresh face. That’s my go-to. The idea is that I apply my makeup so that it looks like I’m not wearing any. First up, I believe when a woman’s eyebrows are in place, you have the base for the face; everything is good from there. I’ve been using Revlon ColorStay Brow Pencil for years—it’s very natural looking. What I like about it is that the pencil is very light, so when you fill them in, it doesn’t look too heavy. It gives me a super-natural brow. Then I set everything in place with the brush on the opposite side.

If I have any little dark marks on my skin, I’ll tap them with concealer. I don’t put on foundation, but I do like a little highlighter under my eyes and over my T-zone. That still keeps everything fresh. And it depends on the day and what I’m feeling, but I like my lashes to be more elongated. Revlon’s Super Length Mascara is great for that. And then I like to add a swipe of liquid matte lipstick in a mauve-y shade. I like that you apply it like a gloss, but it dries down matte. Finally, I put a touch of bronzer around the perimeter, and that’s it. It takes only five minutes. Even if you dress up or down, the fresh-face look always works.

My Soft-Skin Secrets:
When it comes to my skin, I like to moisturize a lot, since my skin can get a little dry. I rotate between three lotions and two of them are actually my son’s: Eucerin baby lotion, Cetaphil, and Kiehl’s Ultra Facial Moisturizer. And I also try to drink tons of water.

My Beauty Icon:
I’m kind of a tomboy when it comes to beauty, but my grandmother will always be my beauty icon. She was always dressed to the nines. Every detail, from her rings to her accessories to her nails. She always pampered herself. She was definitely more girly than I am—I’m pretty low-maintenance—but since I’ve gotten older I think of how she took care of herself. My thing now is that I make sure my nails are done, especially if I have a work thing. My grandmother was a big inspiration to me. She was beautiful on the outside, but she was also so strong on the inside. I think that your strength is part of what makes you beautiful.

My Biggest Beauty Regrets:
When I was younger, I definitely had some questionable beauty moments. I used to wear these superlong spider eyelashes, then I would apply my eyeshadow all the way to the brow bone. Like, what was that, you know? I think I learned that not everything works on me. That was pretty cringeworthy.

My Beauty Outlook:
I really feel that we are in this time of realness. Flaws are embraced rather than frowned upon. Sometimes it gets too real too. [Laughs.] I do think we are living in a more diverse and expressive world. Growing up, I wasn’t the most secure about my body: My legs were too muscular, I was kind of skinny, and I was taller, so I used to walk with my back hunched over. I definitely felt like I stood out. As I got older, I learned to embrace those unique things. The insecurities don’t go away, you know, but when you’re a young woman, you’re still discovering your body and yourself and the world. And I didn’t used to be as expressive because I worried what people would say. Now I’m like, You know what, I am who I am, take it or leave it, but I’m good with me. It’s definitely been a process over the years, but I think showing your individuality is very important.

My Beauty Namesake:
Another part of my beauty identity is my name, and I’ve held on to the connection for a long time. The story is that my mom was in the Air Force, and my father was in the military. When she was pregnant with me, he went to the commissary on the military base and brought back the fragrance Ciara by Revlon. She loved the scent but then also really loved the name and said, “This is what I’m naming her!” She was like, “I’m throwing those other names out the window.” When I understood where my name came from, I was really blown away. I was always a huge fan of Halle Berry, who was a face of Revlon for forever. I remember thinking, Maybe I could be the face of Revlon someday. It sounds crazy, but it was on my goal sheet. I always held on to the idea. I’m just thankful my mom put that energy in the universe.

—as told to Simone Kitchens