The exact makeup products behind Tyla's 'sands of time' Met Gala look

Now that's how to make a Met Gala debut

Beauty Crew Beauty Editor / May 07 2024

South African songstress Tyla made her official Met Gala debut this year and the 22 year old nailed the 'Garden of Time' theme perfectly. The singer wore a Balmain body cast gown constructed using real sand to represent the sands of time, and even carried a hefty hourglass Balmain clutch down the red carpet to really hit the message home, while one of the security personnel lifted her up the stairs to prevent her from damaging the fragile creation. 

"We were looking to do something creative, something completely different for my first Met Gala. So when Balmain showed me the idea and sketch I just knew it was perfect," Tyla told Vogue. "The idea was crazy and I loved it. I’m excited and a little nervous but I’m looking forward to having a fun night at the Met!"

"The inspiration behind this creation stemmed from a desire to redefine boundaries and transform a transient material into an everlasting masterpiece," Balmain designer Olivier Rousteing explained to Vogue. "The idea of sculpting a garment from something as ephemeral as sand ignited my imagination and I could not be happier with the end result."

As for her makeup, Tyla turned to the mother of makeup herself, Pat McGrath, for the event and the pair created a bronzed look to flatter Rousteing's haute couture design. 

The exact makeup products Tyla wore on the Met Gala red carpet

To create Tyla's "tantalising" (Pat McGrath's words, not ours) eye makeup, the makeup artist used a variety of eyeshadows from the Pat McGrath Labs Mothership V Bronze Seduction Eyeshadow Palette ($206 from Sephora). McGrath and her team used the bronze shades in the palette to create a subtley defined smokey eye that didn't take away from the singer's fresh-faced and youthful complexion.

The makeup artist topped off Tyla's look with products that enhanced the glossy, glazed look of her skin and the wet look finish of her wavy micro-bob. 

The singer's pout was lacquered in a healthy layer of Pat McGrath's LUST: Gloss™ in 'Faux Real' ($47 from Sephora), which boasts a hydrating, high-shine gloss finish. Then McGrath used the Pat McGrath Labs Skin Fetish: Highlighter + Balm Duo in 'Bronze' ($83 from Sephora) to add a warm diffusion of sun-kissed colour to the high points of Tyla's face. 

Main image credit: Getty

Live for the Met Gala hair and makeup looks? Same. These are the products Gigi Hadid's hair stylist used to create her Marilyn Monroe pin curls for the Met.

Briar Clark got her start in the media industry in 2017, as an intern for Marie Claire and InStyle. Since then, her keen interest in fashion and beauty has landed her gigs as a Digital Content Producer and Beauty Editor with titles like Girlfriend, Refinery29, BEAUTYcrew and beautyheaven. She loves the way seemingly innocuous topics like skin care and style have the ability to put a smile on people’s faces or make them think about themselves a little differently. A big believer in self love and experimentation, Briar has made a point of becoming the Australian beauty industry’s unofficial guinea pig for unusual treatments and daring hair trends. When she’s not testing out the latest beauty launches, Briar is big on broadening her horizons, mostly in the form of food but she’s also partial to travelling to new destinations both near and far (and of course, allocating an extra bag to bring their best beauty offerings home with her).

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