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Since ascending to meteoric fame, Bella Poarch has come to be known for not just her TikTok and burgeoning pop career, but also her signature “Bella” makeup look. In other words, the megawatt highlight, rosy cheeks, and doll-like lashes she sported during her star-making, record-breaking “M to the B” lip-synching video, the platform’s biggest hit of 2020. Here, the Filipina American and third-most-followed person on TikTok breaks down her full beauty routine, from skin prep and makeup to her symmetrical ’90s hair.
“Growing up I wasn’t allowed to wear makeup in school, so all my friends would have like lipstick and eyeliner on, and I wasn’t allowed to. So I was always jealous,” explains Poarch, who was born in the Philippines, moved to Texas when she was 13, and joined the Navy as a teenager. To create a dewy canvas, she hydrates her skin with a spritz of Evian facial mist and Tatcha the Dewy Skin Cream. As she adds a veil of Shiseido Ultimate Sun Protector sunscreen, she preaches the importance of reapplying throughout the day—wisdom she learned from her aunties back home. “The difference between Philippine makeup and U.S. makeup is that Filipinos don’t really like foundation or really thick makeup,” explains Poarch, filling in her brows and deftly blending a few drops of Morphe Filter Effect foundation and Nars Radiant Creamy Concealer with a makeup sponge to second-skin effect. After sculpting her cheeks with bronzer and shading her pout in deep nude Charlotte Tilbury Lip Cheat liner and matching Gucci Rouge de Beauté lipstick, she moves on to the most important step of all: blush. “I grew up watching anime, and the girls in anime have really rosy cheeks,” she explains. “That’s how I got inspired to do my rosy pink cheeks on TikTok. I think it’s really cute.” She swirls Tarte’s Amazonian Clay blush on the cheeks and across the bridge of her nose for a full-on flush. “A lot of people ask me what I use and how I do my classic ‘M to the B’ Bella sunburn look,” she explains. “The trick to it is you put it not too close to your undereyes and make it look like you just got sunburned.” To up the wattage on her complexion, she taps Dior Diorskin Nude Luminizer on the tip of the nose, along the highs of the cheekbones, and in the inner corners of the eyes, continuing to use her fingertips “because you can control how much you put in it and make it look natural,” she says. The final step is brushing through her thick, doll-like lash extensions with a spoolie brush to doe-eyed perfection.
To create her signature symmetrical hair, Poarch combs a straightening brush through her dark lengths one section at a time. “In the military, I had to do my hair every morning,” she says. “I had to put it in a bun and I can do it in two minutes easy. The military also taught me how to be a perfectionist. Everything has to be perfect.” After she twists a duo of face-framing strands and leaves them hanging along the cheeks in ’90s redux fashion, she’s ready. “This is the final look, so now you know my secrets to my classic ‘M to the B’ Bella Poarch look,” explains Poarch, flashing a few funny faces and a wink. “Thank you guys for watching! Bye!”
