Apparently Mariah Carey Knew About Ring Lights Way Before Everyone Else

They say to never meet your heroes, but when you’re Britney Spears and said hero is Mariah Carey the rules don’t necessarily apply. In Spears’ new memoir, The Woman In Me, the 41-year-old superstar detailed the beauty advice she picked up upon meeting Carey for the first time during an awards show in the early 2000s.

“I knocked on Mariah Carey’s dressing room door. She opened it and out poured the most beautiful, otherworldly light. You know how we all have ring lights now? Well, more than twenty years ago, only Mariah Carey knew about ring lights,” writes Spears in the book.

According to the “Gimme More” singer, Carey took it upon herself to coach the pop star on how to take the perfect photo. “I asked if we could take a photo together and tried to take one where we were standing, and she said, ‘No! Come stand here, darling. This is my light. This is my side. I want you to stand here so I can get my good side, girl.'”

While Spears won an award that night, “the real prize” was getting a snap with the Songbird Supreme. “I did everything Mariah Carey told me to do,” Spears adds in Chapter 10 of the book, which was released Tuesday, October 24. “Of course she was completely right about everything—the photo looked incredible.”

In an August 2020 Instagram post, the “Fantasy” singer gave fans a peek at her current selfie lighting setup. Technology has advanced since that fateful day with the Princess of Pop, and Carey has taken full advantage, now boasting two bulbs to illuminate her lovely complexion.

If you look at any of her recent photos, it’s obvious she knows where to find the light—and which side (it’s the right) remains her favorite.