Griff Paints the Walls With ‘Last Night’s Mascara’ in Cathartic Video

Griff takes an unorthodox approach to interior design in the cathartic video for her latest single, “Last Night’s Mascara.” Directed by Candice Lo, the clip captures the singer-songwriter in a moment of release as she paints the walls — and floors, and couch, and every other surface in sight — with jet black streaks of mascara.

In a windowless room, the musician swirls and twirls around in a once-white dress painted with the same dark splatters. “Sunday morning, got me looking crazy/I’m on my knees at the altar, baby/Asking God to wash you from my soul,” she sings. “Oh, would you look at me now?/Wake up in the morning, oh, would you look at me now?/I’m rubbing it off like it’s a memory of you/Look at me now.” For a brief moment, she’s transported to a warmer location where golden sunlight pours into the room.

“I had the idea of makeup being a metaphor for all of your anxieties and worries, or a person that’s completely hurt you,” Griff previously told Rolling Stone about the single, which arrived in November. “It’s describing the time period between a Friday or a Saturday night to a Sunday, and the emotional lull of what can happen

in your weekend.”

When Griff first premiered “Last Night’s Mascara” in what would come to most closely resemble its final form, it was on arena stages while opening for Sabrina Carpenter on the Short n’ Sweet tour. The record, her first since the release of her debut album Vertigo, wasn’t even complete at the time. It began as a demo that was left on the cutting room floor during album sessions where Griff battled bouts of creative doubt.

“Honestly, I felt like I was going crazy for a lot of last year because I was like, I’m pretty sure these songs are good. There’s so many good songs here that, for some reason, I’m not getting the affirmation on it — and I’m annoyed that I’m letting that affect my decisions, but I am, still,” she said. But after a few live performances and viral videos, there was an audience hungry for “Last Night’s Mascara” to be theirs in all of its booming pop glory.

“It’s been the most empowering thing, if I’m totally honest,” Griff added. “There have been moments seeing members of my team now and being like, ‘Oh, what do you think of what’s happening with ‘Last Night’s Mascara?’’ And they’re like, ‘Yeah, you know, I guess I didn’t really hear it that way when I first heard it.’ It’s a nice bit of power going back to the relationship between me and my fans, and not letting that middleman gatekeep and confuse that process.”