Musician Makeunder

Gimmicky flashy outfits and crazy-over the top wigs may be a thing of the past for all our favorite musicians.  While these crazy looks certainly grabbed our attention in the past, our favorite stars are turning back from their extravagant ways and trying on a softer look.

Nicki Minaj is known equally for her rapping skills as she is for her envelope-pushing outfits, neon-colored wigs, pink lips, and all. Sometimes, she has been a blonde, other times she has favored pink wigs and then there were the occasions her hair was two (or even three) tones, forming colorful stripes … or mixing together to resemble cotton candy.  No matter what Minaji did, it was sure to be big, with fake lashes, colorful eye shadows, and lots and lots of pink! Recently, Minaj updated her style to something unexpected; she went au natural to promote her film the “Other Woman.”  Now, she didn’t show up in her birthday suit as expected—or should we say very close to naked—but she did ditch the wigs and bright colors to reveal that she actually is quite beautiful.  Oscar James, the hairstylist behind her new look explained that she came to him looking for a new and improved image.  “We did a video recently for a song she has out called ‘Senile.’  My inspiration for that was Sophia Loren, a little Amy Winehouse, but even then she wanted to tone down.  She was like, ‘I just want to be softer.’  And she’s really adamant about [being] softer and more natural,” explains James.  “Maybe she’s trying to reach a broader audience, I don’t know.  But I’m taken aback even myself because she’s so pretty …”

By no means was Minaji the first to play with bright colors and over-the-top makeup.  Gwen Stefani played up her image in the beginning of her career with colorful hair and makeup, loosely inspired by South East Asia.  The 90’s were full of buns, bindis, and bright hair for Stefani before she found inspiration from Japan and its Harajuku Girls.  Since then, Stefani has kept her platinum blonde locks and retro style (including her bright lips) shedding the splashy extras for a glam alternative.

While Lady Gaga, the queen of crazy, hasn’t officially made the transformation to mainstream looks, she did shock the internet with a makeup free (or perhaps minimal makeup) selfie earlier this month and was spotted walking around New York City in a (somewhat) natural state—if you excuse the sheer nipple baring top and ostentatious jewelry.)  With her hair piled in a top bun rather than covered by a wig, Fashion Reverie wonders if Lady Gaga is the next star to show her softer side.

—Janine Silver