A make-up artist who is a dead ringer for Ariana Grande says their likeness is so extreme people “scream” at her in the street, while others accuse her of “impersonating” the star.
Dara Mackenzie bleached her eyebrows as a joke after watching Wicked but hadn’t expected the extreme response from fans of the 32-year-old actor and singer.
Suddenly, she was approached by people saying she looked like Ariana on a daily basis – with one fan even coming up to her at work to ask if she was working as the star “undercover”.
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While she finds it “flattering”, the make-up artist also finds it “annoying” when trolls tell her she is purposefully “trying to be” Ariana – with some going so far as to saying the singer is probably “bothered” by Dara’s very existence.
One of her recent TikToks has over 8.1m views and 208,000 likes with people stunned by the resemblance.
“Prior to seeing Wicked, I was told by two people that I resembled her, once by someone in the movie theatre before the movie started, and once by my mom,” Dara, who has 15,200 followers, told What’s The Jam.
“After the first Wicked movie came out, I decided to bleach my brows for a Glinda-inspired look.
“After I did that, I was told pretty much every day that I resembled her.
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“Someone once asked me if I was Ariana Grande undercover while I was at work, that was pretty funny – and sometimes kids will also get excited because I look like Glinda/Ariana.
“I’ve definitely heard gasps and even a scream or two while out in public or at work, despite being several inches taller than she is and being blonde.
“I do get told by strangers pretty much every day that I look like her (even with minimal makeup) but the reactions from people IRL [in real life] have all been positive, unlike online which has been very mixed.”
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Dara, who hails from Atlanta, Georgia, decided to use her skills to transform herself into Glinda for online skits, with a make-up routine that she estimates would cost $1,800 to replicate.
She said:.” I’ve tagged Ariana Grande in a few videos where I’ve done makeup looks inspired by her, but I haven’t DM’d her or anything.
“I’ve gotten comments saying that she’d be bothered by my existence, but I doubt she cares either way, considering she’s busy being an international pop star.
“I don’t mind being mistaken for her at all.
“She is stunning, so it’s honestly so flattering, but it does sometimes get annoying when people accuse me of impersonating or trying to be Ariana Grande on videos that don’t have anything to do with her.
“We have a similar makeup style and I definitely take inspiration from her, but I see that as completely different from wanting to be her.
“It just doesn’t make sense to me, considering we dress completely different and have completely different hair.”
When asked if she feels it’s harder for people to see Dara, rather than just the resemblance to Ariana, she added: “I feel like in person it’s very easy because I have a huge, outspoken personality and I love making new friends.
“Online however, I feel it is difficult because it is through a screen, and people do sometimes assume a lot from a five second video.”
