Why Lady Gaga's Critics' Choice Awards Look Was So Surprising

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(Image credit: Getty Images)

last updated 23 September 2021

Over the years, we've seen Lady Gaga's hair in every color of the rainbow: Blue, purple, pink, yellow, orange, you name it. She's made very clear that bold beauty looks are her thing, and further confirmed it when she wore electric blue hair (opens in new tab) to the Golden Globes last week. But last night at the Critics' Choice Awards, Gaga took a surprising turn from ~daring~ glam, going with a minimalistic, classic look.

Gaga, who won Best Actress in a Drama for A Star is Born and also collected a gong for Best Song, showed up at one of Hollywood's biggest nights giving a nod to Old Hollywood. She stepped on the carpet with her platinum hair swept into vintage, Old Hollywood-style curls. Her makeup was fresh and natural—no bold winged linger, bright eyeshadow colors, or out-there lip colors in sight—a shocking departure for the singer.

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Wondering what inspired this unusually natural, retro look? "Old Hollywood Grace Kelly elegance" is what her hairstylist Frederic Aspiras (opens in new tab) told us. Since Gaga's pale pink, strapless dress was simple and elegant, he wanted her hair to look the part.

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To perfect this pin-curled look, Aspiras started by applying Joico's Blonde Life Brightening Veil (opens in new tab)and Blonde Life Brilliant Tone Violet Foam Styler (opens in new tab) to prep Gaga's hair. After drying her hair with GHD's Air Blowdryer (opens in new tab), he separated her strands into a deep side-part. As far as those curls, he took a curling iron to achieve these pin curls throughout her hair. And he used a styling lotion in the palm of hands to sculpt those "S" waves in the front of her face. After combing and brushing-out her curls, he sealed the style in with some hairspray. The result = a timeless beauty.

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Retro curls paired with this understated, no-makeup makeup look is gorgeous on Gaga. Maybe going makeup free in A Star Is Born inspired her to embrace her natural beauty more in real life? Either way, I'm so into the simplicity of her look and can't wait to see how Gaga's beauty evolves even more this year.

Shop the Products Used to Create Gaga's Retro Curls

Joico Sculpting Lotion

ghd Classic Curl Iron

Joico Blonde Life Brilliant Tone Violet Smoothing Foam

ghd Air Dryer

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Maya Allen is the former Digital Beauty Editor at MarieClaire.com where she covered makeup, skincare, haircare, wellness, you name it! She has a 15-step skincare routine, owns over 200 red lipsticks, and enjoys testing the latest and greatest in beauty. On most weekends, you can find her at her happy place, which is her makeup vanity. There, she’s usually blasting her speakers while singing along to lyrics at the top of her lungs, and making sure her highlighter is on point.