‘Grateful’ Adele goes makeup-free for candid birthday photos

Adele has gone make-up free in celebration of her 34th birthday, taking to Instagram to share two new photos of her radiantly fresh face. 

The British singer treated her 49.8m followers to a rare social media check-in on Friday, marking her first personal update in nearly six weeks. The exciting post comes just a few months after Adele revealed her plans to be less private ahead of her postponed Las Vegas residency, Weekends with Adele. 

"What a difference a year makes! If time keeps healing and smoothing out all the creases in my life like it does as the years fly by, then I can’t wait to be 60!" the Oh My God singer wrote, alongside two brand new photos of her. 

In the first snap, Adele can be seen wearing a custom black mini dress by Carolina Herrera—complete with a sequined bodice and billowing puff sleeves. The modelesque photo, which was taken in a lush garden, is accompanied by a close-up image of the Grammy-winner smiling away from the camera and showcasing her tattooed shoulder. Adele's strawberry blonde highlights were styled in a crimped hairdo and her face appeared to be completely make-up free. 

"I’ve never been happier! So many lessons, so many blessings to be grateful for. This is 34, and I love it here! Thank you for the birthday love as always," she added. 

Adele has undeniably had a whirlwind year, returning to the spotlight after a six-year-long hiatus in October 2021 to release her highly-anticipated studio album, 30. 

The rave reviews to the record were somewhat countered, however, by the last-minute cancellation of the Tottenham native's concert series, Weekends with Adele, in January. Adele announced that the glitzy production at the Caesars Palace Hotel in Las Vegas was delayed just one day before opening night, leaving thousands of ticketholders unsure of when they'd be seeing the UK songstress live. The shows have yet to be rescheduled, but the Hello singer has vowed to complete the residency before the end of the year. 

Her love life, which has unsurprisingly inspired many of the tracks on 30, has also been the subject of much scrutiny over the past several months. Adele finalized her divorce from Simon Konecki last March and has since confirmed her relationship with US sports agent, Rich Paul. In an interview with Graham Norton in February, the mother-of-one also revealed that she plans to have more kids next year. She currently has one son, Angelo Adkins, whom she shares with her ex-husband.