Times Lady Gaga Looked Nearly Unrecognizable Makeup-Free

When she takes the stage or walks the red carpet, fans never see the same version of Lady Gaga, whose stunning transformation is constantly turning heads. Much of that has to do with her makeup, which has been so over-the-top at times that it's hard to picture the "Born This Way" singer bare-faced. 

In a July 2019 Instagram post, Lady Gaga, born Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta, shared the heartbreaking reason she loves to get dolled up. "When I was young, I never felt beautiful. And as I struggled to find a sense of both inner and outer beauty, I discovered the power of makeup," she wrote. Lady Gaga recalled being a kid and watching her mom put on her face every day, which inspired her to do so as well later on. "I then began to experiment with makeup as a way to make my dreams of being as strong as my mother become true," she continued.

Lady Gaga showed off her vulnerable self when she filmed "A Star Is Born" mostly sans makeup. She revealed to the Los Angeles Times in 2018 that when auditioning for the role, Bradley Cooper, who had nothing but praise for Lady Gaga's on-set behavior, insisted on wiping her face clean. "It put me right in the place I needed to be, because when my character talks about how ugly she feels — that was real. I'm so insecure. I like to preach, but I don't always practice what I preach," she admitted. Since then, Lady Gaga has rocked her natural self several times and shown just how different she looks without makeup.

When Lady Gaga filmed "A Star Is Born," she was almost unrecognizable without her signature platinum blond locks and flamboyant stage makeup. Instead, her look was pared down, with her hair dyed chocolate brown and practically no product on her face to play the aspiring singer Ally. In May 2017, she shared a selfie of herself in character looking nothing like the Lady Gaga that fans know. "And that's a wrap for today," she captioned the photo. "Natural Beauty," a fan commented.

If Lady Gaga looked like she wasn't wearing any makeup in the 2018 film, that's because she hardly was. Her longtime makeup artist Sarah Tanno told Grazia exactly what she used on the pop star. "I would use chapstick and brow gel. Then I would sweep a bit of cream bronzer across the cheeks and nose to add warmth so it would have a different shape of what we usually do," she revealed. Tanno added, "Rarely did she even wear foundation. She has the most gorgeous skin!"

With her love of makeup, it's no surprise Lady Gaga launched her own cosmetics line in 2019 called Haus Labs. The brand doesn't just consist of fun colors but it also boasts vegan, cruelty-free products that don't wreak havoc on the skin. In June 2023, the 13-time Grammy winner shared a series of selfies highlighting her lit-from-within glow and told fans, "I started @hauslabs as a company that is also bold and innovative in its artistry and formulas, combining beautiful colors with skin-loving ingredients that make our makeup good for your skin!"

It's clear why Lady Gaga has no qualms about showing off her makeup-free face. When she is made up, her cosmetics line works overtime by repairing her skin. In an interview with Allure, she revealed that Haus Labs' products contain healing ingredients like hyaluronic acid and vitamin E. She and her team even figured out how to put arnica into the products as a way to help treat Lady Gaga's serious medical condition. "I use regular arnica on my body all of the time for fibromyalgia. I used to take prescription medication to take down inflammation, and I actually found that didn't really work and that arnica was much more powerful," she stated. Lady Gaga explained that arnica helps temper the redness on her face and added, "So it's treating my skin, but it's also a very high-performance artistry product."

2019 was a big year for Lady Gaga. She was nominated for two Oscar awards for "A Star Is Born," so she naturally had to pull out all the stops. Fans are used to seeing her all made up on the red carpet, but the "Paparazzi" singer posted a pre-Oscars selfie a few days after the event with her hair wrapped in a towel and face devoid of makeup, which further highlighted the enormous yellow diamond necklace around her neck. "For the Oscars, @tiffanyandco offered to go into their vault and let me wear their iconic, 141-year-old Tiffany diamond. The last person to wear this was Audrey Hepburn while promoting Breakfast at Tiffany's," she shared. Lady Gaga, who won best original song for "Shallow" that year, added, "It was an honor to wear it and made my unforgettable night even more special."

Keeping the focus on the stunning diamond necklace, Lady Gaga opted for a simple Oscars makeup look: bold eyebrows, soft eyeshadow, and pale pink lips. "We didn't want anything to distract from this special moment," her makeup artist Sarah Tanno wrote in a now-deleted Instagram post (via Allure). Just like the "Million Reasons" singer that night, this look was a winner.

In a bold move for any entertainer, Lady Gaga performed at the 2023 Oscars with no costume or makeup at all. Instead, she sang "Hold My Hand" from the "Top Gun: Maverick" soundtrack in a plain black T-shirt, jeans, and a bare face. The whole performance was without any pomp, and she took to the mic with just a small band behind her. "The first years that Lady Gaga was becoming known as an artist must have been difficult for her in a way. I feel that the person we are seeing now is the authentic Gaga...just her and her voice. No need for the funky outfits and makeup when you have that voice!" a fan commented on YouTube.

Lady Gaga's onstage look was completely different from her red carpet appearance, which featured dramatic smokey eyes and a bold red lip. While her stripped-down performance was jaw-dropping, what was even more amazing was her ability to quickly go from glam to singing without a trace of makeup on her face. The "Poker Face" singer's makeup artist Sarah Tanno must have used her go-to tricks, as she once told Harper's Bazaar, "I like to kick it old school, I like the Lancôme Bi-Facil. Also, argan oil — Gaga taught me that. If you have heavy eye makeup or waterproof products, just straight up argan oil is really great to just remove everything and melt it off. I learn so much from her!"

It's been over 15 years since Lady Gaga came out with her banger "Just Dance," and she's still continuing to release mega hits. In August 2024, she debuted her collab with Bruno Mars, "Die With A Smile," and it finally made it to number one on January 6. The following day, Lady Gaga shared the good news on Instagram with a selfie of herself lying on the grass with a huge smile on her makeup-free face. "Thank you to all of the monsters and hooligans for helping make 'Die With A Smile' #1 on the Billboard Hot 100! We love you and are so grateful," she gushed to her fans.

The "Monster" singer also made sure to thank her fans in a TikTok video. This time, she had just a hint of mascara on her lashes as she stated, "I am so incredibly grateful that my song 'Die With A Smile' with Bruno Mars, my friend, is number one on the Hot 100. I can't believe that I've had two number-ones in three different decades." With her bleached eyebrows and clean face, Lady Gaga looked like an ethereal fairy. We need to know her skincare routine, stat.