Lady Gaga's Jet-Black Baby Bangs Are a Time Machine Back to 2012

Kara Nesvig
·2 min read

Getty Images

Picture yourself back in the early 2010s. Instagram has not been invented yet. Everyone's reblogging indie sleaze outfits on Tumblr and wearing big fake glasses with American Apparel minidresses. Lady Gaga is the reigning pop queen, fresh off the release of her much-anticipated sophomore album Born This Way. You're thinking about cutting baby bangs. Even though the Tumblr era is far behind us, Gaga's latest red carpet look just sent me reeling back to her Artpop era.

For the world premiere of her Gaga Chromatica Ball concert film in Los Angeles, Gaga put her chameleonic powers to work and transformed into a blast from the past, swapping her usual platinum blonde hair in favor of a jet black shade with super short, super choppy baby bangs courtesy hairstylist Frederic Aspiras — bangs so short, they left most of her forehead entirely bare. Her hair, which fell to mid-shoulder, was styled in loose, undone waves. Baby bangs were everywhere in the early 2010s; even Beyoncé had them, and Gaga has worn the style multiple times.

Gaga's typically dark, full brows brows were invisible, though she did show off a bleached brow in late March. Makeup artist Sarah Tanno painted a terracotta shade all over Gaga's lids, up to her brow, and kept her skin matte and pale with little to no bronzer or blush, just a coral pink lip. The finishing touch was a very Tumblr-chic short black manicure via nail artist Miho Okawara.

<h1 class="title">Lady Gaga Black Hair Baby Bangs</h1><cite class="credit">Getty Images</cite>

Lady Gaga Black Hair Baby Bangs

Getty Images

Is it just me, or does this feel like a return to the avant-garde Gaga of the 2010s? (The impossibly high platform shoes and sculptural gown don't hurt either.) It's making me so nostalgic, and I'm not alone; fans on Instagram flooded her comments with Artpop references and praise for the old-school Gaga looks. "Straight from ARTPOP era oh my god,” commented another. “I need a stronger word for MOTHER,” wrote one. Agreed!

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Originally Appeared on Allure