Listen, I get it: Everyone’s going to be talking about the dress Cardi B wore to the 2024 Met Gala because it’s major. Its circumference would take up an entire studio apartment, and its billowing, black ruffles look a bit like a portal is opening to a dark dimension. And that turban-like mesh headpiece? There’s simply nothing else like it on the carpet. But please, for the love of all things holy, zoom in on Cardi’s face, because her makeup is not to be missed.
Within a sea of black ruffles is lots of gorgeous emerald and diamond jewelry: a bracelet, earrings, and a necklace with one of the biggest emeralds we’ve ever seen dangling from a neck. Cardi’s go-to makeup artist, Erika La’ Pearl, kept with that gorgeous green theme in her makeup, and even her eyeballs.
“We wanted to focus on green and tie into the overall theme of the Garden of Time.” La’ Pearl tells Allure of Cardi’s eye makeup, which includes positively glowing lower liner in a vibrant green. “To bring this color to life in the beauty look, we opted for emerald contacts and emerald-tone shadows from the NYX Professional Makeup Ultimate Utopia palette. We layered in a signature wing for a glamorous yet soft makeup look.” She also created lots of lash drama with I-Envy’s V Luxe Airy Mink Ethereal Lashes.
Although her eyes are grabbing a ton of attention, La’ Pearl made sure every aspect of her makeup looked flawless. “In addition to eyes, we honed in on a new blush technique,” she says, referring to highly pigmented blush. “For this particular look, we incorporated a lot more than usual and thoughtfully smudged and blurred it out for a more dramatic effect.”
Cardi’s nails are getting in on the green, too, with the extra-long, squared-off shape has diagonal, green tips. And as for her hair? Well, it’s not green — that would have been incredible — but it’s still gorgeous with its stick-straight, super-long look. After flat-ironing, hairstylist Tokyo Stylez made sure it stayed that way with a generous amount of Göt2bBlasting Freeze Spray. And her bare arms stayed glowing with the help of Vaseline Radiant X Replenishing Hydrating Body Oil.
“I love working with Cardi because her looks are ever-evolving. Cardi is very hands-on in the decision-making process,” La’ Pearl says. But even though this look turned out amazing, she suggests it might not have been what they originally planned. “Sometimes you have to go back to the drawing board just before it’s time to get ready!”
But whether you love it or really love it, you have one thing is undeniable: This moment was made to be meme’d.
