How Griff Gets Ready for a Show, From Her Signature Ball Ponytail to Natural-Looking Contour

“I’ve just had a big hair crisis,” admits Griff as she begins her show-ready beauty routine. The singer-songwriter goes on to explain how a keratin treatment gone wrong has ruined her curl pattern and left her hair in a less than desirable state. “I’ve got quite coarse hair for someone who is mixed race. It should be like an afro, but it’s got a lot of treatment damage on it.” She applies two moisturizing formulas to keep it hydrated, then blow dries with a comb attachment and straightens the front and back with the L’Oréal Professionnel Steampod flat iron. 

“People say that they know Black hair, and they don’t,” Griff reflects. “Countless times that people don’t really know how to nourish and care for curls, so I’ve had to go through that journey figuring out how to love my curls and look after them.” The 21-year old thanks music for allowing her to embrace her individuality and her Chinese-Jamaican heritage. 

Griff describes her regimen as “quick and easy”—basically what she would do while getting ready on a bustling, bumpy tour bus. Her skin care here consists of only three products: a cleanser, a sculpting gel, and a Glossier moisturizer. “My makeup is always ten times better when my face feels fully borderline wet—like very, very hydrated.”

“Growing up in a very white area, I just think I didn’t feel that beautiful…ever. As soon as I realized I could access makeup, I was like damn, I can make myself way prettier,” she says as she blends a Dior foundation. “And I loved it. I guess it was a bit of a safety thing for me.” She opts for an old mascara to coat her brows and fills any remaining sparse areas with a brown-hued Nudestix Magnetic Matte Eye Color. 

She perfects a natural-looking contour by spraying Charlotte Tilbury’s setting spray on a brush and her wrist before buffing a darker concealer across her cheekbones—followed by bronzer if she wants a more chiseled result. For eyes, she reaches for a Givenchy eyeshadow palette, Glossier liquid eyeliner, individual lashes by Ardell, and mascara. 

Now that a nude lip and bit of setting powder complete her makeup, the star styles her hair—slicking it back into a her signature ball ponytail. “I showed [Tomi Roppongi] a picture of what I wanted about two to three years ago, and she whipped it up in an amazing way,” she says of this look perfected by the hairstylist. Braiding hair wrapped around styrofoam balls and secured by ponytail holders creates the dreamy bubble pony cut bluntly at the end. Griff smooths any flyaways with the timeless Blue Magic Conditioner and Shine ‘N Jam gel, then sets it all in place with a bit of hair spray and edge control. Now, all she has to do is find an outfit.