Yara Shahidi Wore Crystal Eye Makeup in the Shape of Her Astrological Sign to the Met Gala
It's no secret that actor and activist Yara Shahidi has been on a total beauty hot streak as of late; the 19-year-old leading lady of The Sun Is Also a Star served us major unibrow realness at the Emmy's, and gave us a crash course in monochromatic pink makeup at the 2019 SAG Awards. (Let's not forget last year's "Heavenly Bodies" Met look, which featured h-2-t glow.) And to exactly no one's surprise, she nailed it again at Monday's "Camp: Notes on Fashion"-themed Met Gala.
Inspired by Shahidi's love of all things astrology (she even narrated the episode of Netflix's Explained on the topic), makeup artist Emily Cheng reimagined the actor's star sign symbol, Aquarius' parallel waves of water, as a single strand of crystals framing her left eye. (Fun fact: The crystals came courtesy of Prada, who also dressed Shahidi for the evening.)
"She's always talking about her astrological sign," Cheng exclusively tells Allure, who collaborated with the actor and tested a variety of options before deciding on the final look. "We did [the shape] very organically — I kind of mapped it out a bit," Cheng explains. "[Astrology] was the inspiration for our look, and something that is super meaningful to her."
To double-down on sparkle, Cheng added "constellations" of loose gold glitter in a deconstructed winged liner shape using a fluffy brush. "I dabbed it on so it kind of looks like stars in the sky." (On top of that, it doesn't get campier than the 5th Dimension's music video for '60s bop,"The Age of Aquarius," which was on repeat — another nod to Shahidi's sign and theme for the evening.)
To get Shahidi's gorgeous glow, Cheng prepped skin by cleansing with hot towels and using moisturizer as a hydrating base. "Yara has incredible skin," Cheng says, who used Bobbi Brown's Skin Long-Wear Weightless Foundation in Golden Honey to even out her skin before applying Skin Weightless Powder Foundation to set. (Earlier this year, Shahidi signed on as an ambassador for the brand.) A hint of Bronzer in Deep enhanced Shahidi's naturally defined features, and leftover gold glitter from her eyes was dusted on cheekbones and along her collarbone for extra glow.
Her fierce brows were lightly filled with powder where needed and set with a clear gel, while a hint of black tight line and Smokey Eye Mascara enhanced Shahidi's mile-long fluttery lashes. Lastly, a creamy nude lip courtesy of Bobbi Brown's Crushed Liquid Lipstick in Haute Cocoa completed the look.
We would be remiss not to talk about Shahidi's gorgeous curls, which were on full display, thanks to longtime hairstylist Kendall Dorsey, who used Evolis products to prep her strands before creating an ultra-glam, voluminous look featuring brushed-out curls, evoking the iconic Diana Ross. But glitter and rock-star hair aside, Shahidi perhaps described the look best on the Met red carpet: "I tried to pull from black greatness," she said of the inspiration. That she did.
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