What Pentatonix's Kirstin Maldonado Looks Like Without Makeup
Kirstin Maldonado has undergone a stunning transformation as part of Pentatonix. After dazzling audiences as a high school trio, the group's membership grew to five, and they exploded in popularity. When she's performing, Maldonado has rocked a range of dynamic makeup. In the group's "Please Santa Please" video, she paired a smoky eye and a red lip to channel classic Hollywood glamour. During a 2018 appearance on "The Late Late Show with James Cordon," Maldonado went even more dramatic and wore a deep purple lipstick.
When she's on tour with Pentatonix, Maldonado relies on pros, like makeup artist Nicole Faulkner, aka Lipsticknick. Faulkner toured with the band three years, and in November 2016, she and Maldonado teamed up in a "no mirror makeup challenge." At the start, Maldonado showed her makeup free face. The singer's dark eyelashes highlighted her eyes, and her brilliant smile lit up face. Without the aid of a mirror, Maldonado wasn't confident in her makeup skills. "I'm going to do it very poorly," she predicted in the YouTube video. "I don't know how I can do this without embarrassing myself." However, Maldonado was pleasantly surprised by the end of the experience, even after the tricky task of applying eyeliner without being able to see what she was doing.
Beyond briefly appearing sans makeup at the start of this challenge video, the Pentatonix singer's gone makeup free on a number of other occasions, particularly when she's hanging at home or with her family. Let's take a look.
The singer ditched the makeup during quarantine
In April 2020, during the early months of the COVID-19 pandemic, Kirstin Maldonado posted a makeup free selfie on Instagram. Her hair was dyed a coppery red shade, and she accessorized with oversized glasses. "I like your look without makeup as well...you are a natural beauty!" commented one fan. "You so pretty if no make up... more beauty and natural... i like it," said another. Her followers also praised her hair color and stylish frames.
During this time, Maldonado published a Tumblr blog where she got candid about the highs and lows of life during quarantine. Since she wasn't touring, Maldonado rediscovered her loving of baking and reminisced about childhood experiences baking with her grandmothers. She also admitted her struggles, noting that had put too much pressure on herself to take on too many big projects while she had to stay home. Maldonado reached out to fans, writing: "I want you all to know you're not alone. Everyone is riding this emotional rollercoaster together." As the weeks went by, Maldonado and her fellow Pentatonix members found comfort in singing. The group each made use of home studio setups and recorded "At Home." The EP consisted of six catchy Pentatonix covers of diverse artists like Dua Lipa and The Cranberries.
Kirstin Maldonado celebrated her birthday without makeup twice
Kirstin Maldonado celebrated her 32nd birthday in May 2024 with a trio of pics on Instagram that showcased her natural face. She posed with her birthday cake, cuddled her dogs, and took a photo with her young daughter, Elliana, who she shares with her partner Ben Hausdorff. Elliana was born in June 2022, and she's spent much of her young life traveling with Pentatonix. "She gets over jet lag faster than all of us, and she's just really thriving on the road. I'm just so thankful for that because it would be really hard if she wasn't," Maldonado explained to People in 2023. Besides going sans makeup with Elliana, her daughter's sometimes emulated her glam performance looks. For instance, in March 2023, the mother/daughter pair posed in matching pink wigs on Instagram.
Previously, in May 2020, Maldonado celebrated her natural face in honor of her 28th birthday. Amid pandemic quarantining, Maldonado treated herself to a home facial. "I remember in the past thinking that skin-care took such a loooong time and felt not worth it," she wrote on Tumblr. Over time, Maldonado changed her mind, and now she set to replicate a skincare pro's regimen at home. However, even before the treatment, her skin looked glowing and stunning. Maldonado documented each step, including cleansing, moisturizing, and applying a chemical peel. "Now that this is posted a week later ... my skin has NO JOKE been FLAWLESS!" she proclaimed.
She promoted Penatonix's holiday tour sans makeup
Kirstin Maldonado went makeup free when she posted a short video on Instagram to encourage fans to buy tickets for Pentatonix's holiday 2024 tour. With her hair pulled back in a casual ponytail and her exuberant expression, fans were blown away by her natural face. "Wow!! She's beautiful even without make up!!!!" gushed one. "You look better than before," praised another. A couple months earlier, Maldonado provided another glimpse of her makeup free face, when she took fans on a tour of her home theater. She paired her makeup free look with comfy sweats, perfect for lounging, and she and her husband, Ben Hausdorff, kicked back in comfy reclining chairs.
Some of Maldonado's fans would like to see her ditch the makeup even more often. Back in 2019, the Pentatonix singer posted a sans makeup photo on Instagram where she was cuddling one of her dogs. One fan observed, "I know Kirstie uses makeup frequently but I think it just covers up her natural beauty."
However, makeup or not, Maldonado's down-to-earth personality always shines through, and she hasn't let fame go to her head. "I want people to see that we're regular people just like everybody else," she explained to Asian Fusion Girl in 2014. "I want people to see that I'm just a girl who went for her dreams ... people are worth so much more than what social media shows."