Selena Gomez Debuted A Sleek New Look At The Critics’ Choice Awards

Selena Gomez knows her way around a hair transformation. After starting the year with a big chop, the Only Murders in the Building star added some length to her hair on the 2022 Critics’ Choice Awards red carpet. Gomez’s hairstyle was somewhat of a throwback to her earlier years and featured a side part and low ponytail. While the star has gone sleek on the red carpet before, her ponytail was a bit unexpected given that Gomez was sporting an above-the-shoulder blunt lob just a few months ago.

I’m used to seeing celebrities regularly change up the length of their hair with extensions, but that doesn’t make it any less exciting when it happens. In the case of the Rare Beauty founder, it seemed like the point of adding some inches wasn’t to make a statement, but rather to let the rest of the look speak for itself.

Gomez’s gorgeous caped gown is custom Louis Vuitton and, according to Kate Young, her stylist for the event, her jewelry — including that stunning arrow earring — is from French luxury brand Boucheron. A more heavy-handed hairstyle, or one where Gomez’s hair fell at its natural length just around her shoulders, could have obscured her jewelry or pulled focus from that stellar cape moment. All in all, Selena Gomez’s look is a masterclass in sleek styling.

Gomez attended the 2022 Critic’s Choice Awards as a nominee for Best Actress in a Comedy Series for her role on Only Murders in the Building, but her look on the red carpet owed some thanks to another one of her projects: Rare Beauty. Gomez’s rosy glow was created by makeup artist Hung Vanngo using only products from her beauty collection. Lately, it seems like every celebrity has a skin care or makeup line out, so it’s refreshing to see someone actually using the products they’re selling, especially when the result is so glow-y and gorgeous.

While Gomez’s gown is giving old school Hollywood glamour — seriously, I may never recover from that cape — her sleek ponytail is also a throwback, albeit not as far back as Old Hollywood. The Disney alum has been memorably rocking slicked back ponytails on the red carpet for a while. Gomez rocked a bouncy low pony at the 2016 American Music Awards and a longer slicked back ponytail at the Met Gala that same year.

While the actress and pop star has been playing with length and color more in recent years, it’s nice to see Gomez return to a style that lets her fashion choices and makeup really sing.