Billy Porter’s eyeshadow look at the 2020 Grammys was everything

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Billy Porter is always a glowing presence on the red carpet, and his appearance at the 2020 Grammys was no exception. When the jewels around the actor’s wide-brimmed hat opened with mechanical magic, all eyes were on Billy Porter’s eye look.

The vocal point of the Pose star’s beauty look was a dramatic powder blue eyeshadow that was winged to perfection. Yes, the star is bringing back ‘80s powder blue eyeshadow, and you won’t be mad about it.

Like any other beauty lover, you may be wondering what brand was used to create the bold statement. But that is a complicated story.

Porter’s beauty look was publicly credited with being created by Smashbox products. A photo posted by Porter’s makeup artist Christine Nelli on Instagram shows the exact array of products used on the star. But upon close inspection, none of those products feature the hues in his eye look. In fact, no product on the Smashbox site appears to feature the shades Porter is wearing on his eyes.

Instead, it appears his ‘80s-inspired blue-and-silver eyeshadow was actually by the brand Mehron. The image Nelli posted to Instagram features Mehron’s Silver Metallic Powder and Mixing Liquid, both with the label turned away. This is likely because Nelli was sponsored by Smashbox for the night, and not able to publicly feature any other products, which is not uncommon in the industry.

Shop: Mehron Makeup Metallic Powder in Silver, $10.69

As any beauty lover would know, few products can create a saturated, painted look like Porter’s Grammys makeup — and Mehron is one of them. It is likely his blue shadow is also Mehron, given the smooth texture and dazzling hue of the product.

In The Know has reached out to Smashbox and Nelli for confirmation on what products were used for the eye look. Mehron reps confirmed that their Silver Metallic Powder was used, but can only speculate on what blue tone was used.

"It is hard to say what Christine used for the blue. She pictures three Smashbox Eyeshadow Palettes, but none of those contain quite the same baby blue metallic color, and it is difficult to get such an opaque crisp pigment from a shadow," the rep tells In The Know. "While it is not featured in Christine's image, you could easily recreate this baby blue metallic eye look using our Brillant Light Blue Paradise Makeup AQ"

Shop: Mehron Brilliant Light Blue Paradise Makeup AQ, $10.08

Though Porter’s lips were kissed with a frosted ‘90s silver lipstick, his eyes were all about the ‘80s. And while we may never receive exact confirmation on the products used, it’s fun to play beauty investigator to get as close as possible to recreating the style.