Subsequent Gen
Welcome to Byrdie’s sequence, Subsequent Gen, the place we profile Gen Z celebrities, influencers, and entrepreneurs. As a collective, members of Gen Z are dynamic trendsetters and tradition shifters. And in the case of magnificence and wellness, they’ve ushered extra creativity, inclusivity, and transparency into the trade. On this column, we’re moving into the minds of a number of the most notable Gen Z’ers to study extra about how they’re redefining magnificence, the merchandise they swear by, and their plans for the long run.
Mariangela is not simply the primary character in her life—she’s the music supervisor, composer, and writer-director, too. A self-taught guitarist and pianist, Mariangela channels her richly layered, multicultural experiences—whether or not joyful, sorrowful, irritating, or humorous—into songs that forge highly effective connections with listeners. Her objective? To ask everybody into uncooked, vivid moments via melodies impressed by her Monterrey, Mexico roots and her San Antonio, Texas upbringing. “I really feel like I romanticize my life quite a bit,” she shares. “After I write a tune a couple of second, I need individuals to really feel as current as I did after I skilled it and wrote about it.”
Her debut album, Smart, launched in February 2024, brings her mix of pop various and rock to life with an authenticity and vitality that displays her influences—assume Hayley Williams, Taylor Swift, and fellow Gen Z icon Olivia Rodrigo. This artistic spark and talent at mixing instrumentals and emotional depth lately earned her a spot on Grammy’s record of girls artists main a Latin pop revolution. As they put it, “Mariangela’s electrifying spirit is reviving Latin pop like a shock from a defibrillator.”
Now, the rising star is bringing her expertise and charisma into one other inventive area: magnificence. She was handpicked by e.l.f. made, e.l.f. Cosmetics’ new leisure division, to contribute to Get Prepared With Music, The Album—a various mixture of genres from pop to ballroom, crafted to soundtrack these ever-popular “prepare with me” moments. Her first monitor, “ojos. labios. cara,” (translating to “eyes. lips. face” in English), provides a stripped-down piano cowl of reggaeton artist Manuel Turizo’s tune of the identical identify, infusing a wistful, craving twist into the unique’s get together vibes. For her second album monitor, Mariangela teamed up with Cola Boyy, the late Afro-Latino musician celebrated for his trippy disco sounds and incapacity activism, to create “Fragíl,” a bilingual, genre-blending anthem underscoring how cosmetics are as a lot about aesthetics as they’re empowerment and confidence. “Certainly, this venture has a particular vitality and is a huge achievement for me as a Mexican songwriter and, clearly, make-up lover,” Mariangela shared in an Instagram submit.
Forward, Mariangela opens up about how her multicultural background shapes her music, her favourite components of Gen Z tradition, why she’s embraced the brows she as soon as acquired teased for, and her go-to GRWM music.
Your music is an unimaginable fusion of cultures and sounds, which clearly displays your bicultural upbringing between Monterrey and San Antonio. How does your heritage affect your music, magnificence, and elegance?
“In my twenties, I’ve grow to be extra linked to my heritage, particularly by way of magnificence, largely as a result of I have been spending extra time with my grandparents and household. While you’re younger, as a teen, it is all about pals, going out, and having enjoyable. However now that I am extra conscious of my household’s tales and what they’ve completed to make my life doable, I attempt to discover little methods to really feel linked to them—and a type of methods is thru how I look. For instance, I used to be bullied for having thick eyebrows and a unibrow in center and highschool. That led me to shave them utterly off after I was youthful. Then I came upon I’ve the identical eyebrow form as my grandpa. So I have not touched them in three years aside from plucking a couple of hairs within the center. It is a method of maintaining him with me in my on a regular basis life. Embracing these options that hint again to the individuals I really like has been a method for me to see my heritage and roots come alive in my life.”
Courtesy of Mariangela / Byrdie
Gen Z is all about breaking norms and redefining every little thing from magnificence to self-expression. What do you’re keen on most about being part of this era?
“I’ve seen that in previous years and former generations—and I am not judging them in any respect—there’s been a development of feeling the necessity to change who you’re a bit to succeed, particularly for artists. However now, it feels prefer it’s all about simply enhancing who you already are. I really feel like I’ve completed a whole lot of therapeutic round who I’m as an individual, and as a substitute of hiding the components of myself that may hassle others, I am now targeted on enhancing them. So, I would say this era is all about accentuating authenticity and actually embracing who we’re.”
Your latest partnership with e.l.f. Cosmetics’ “Get Prepared With Music” marketing campaign seems like the proper match. Are there any songs that aid you really feel empowered earlier than a efficiency or going out?
“What I made with e.l.f. is certainly a giant a part of what I usually like to take heed to, whether or not with my pals or household, on the brink of exit, or simply doing my make-up or hair. It makes me really feel empowered, and I feel it superbly expresses what it means to be a lady in a poetic method. Despite the fact that the tune is experimental, in the event you look carefully on the lyrics, you will note a whole lot of my background, like being born in Mexico and being influenced by poetry like that of Frida Kahlo. I additionally love listening to accommodate music after I’m on the brink of exit or hanging out with pals. It simply places me in temper. Music is such a giant a part of my life. I take heed to a little bit little bit of every little thing.”
Courtesy of Mariangela / Byrdie
Are there any make-up or skincare necessities you swear by on your on-stage glam?
“My venture is all about glitter, shining, and all that, so the Halo Glow merchandise (just like the Liquid Filter) are actually vital to me on stage. Different merchandise I really like are the Lip-Plumping Gloss and Holy Hydration Eye Cream. I have been touring quite a bit lately, with flights lasting 9 to 10 hours, making my eyes puffy. The eye cream is my go-to for that. I also have a video on my TikTok the place I am doing my skincare routine on the airplane, and I am utilizing it.”
What magnificence tendencies are you most enthusiastic about?
“I really like drama—drama in your hair, drama in your eyes, drama in your lips. There’s a lot romanticism and drama in make-up tendencies proper now, and I find it irresistible as a result of it enhances your magnificence. I really feel like my era is all about that.”
What’s been essentially the most shocking factor you’ve got found about your self via music? And is there part of your story or character that you simply really feel shines via in your songs?
“Even after I write completely satisfied or upbeat songs, a way of nostalgia all the time comes via. I really feel like that is what shines in my work. Even when it is a enjoyable tune about going out, there’s nonetheless a contact of nostalgia, which displays who I’m as an individual, too.”
Courtesy of Mariangela / Byrdie
How do you see your profession evolving? Are there any dream collaborations in music or magnificence in your radar?
“In October, I launched three songs which can be vital to me, however the e.l.f. collaboration was enormous as a result of I’ve all the time dreamed of working with a make-up model. It is thrilling to consider the long run, however I want to take issues daily and keep current. Proper now, I wish to get pleasure from this second and let every little thing else come to me in its personal time. I’ve desires, however I am going to maintain these to myself for now.”