Charli XCX's Met Gala Makeup Channeled a "Romantic '90s Aesthetic"

As soon as the 2024 Met Gala dress code, "The Garden of Time," was announced, I knew we would be in for a night full of florals. And I was not wrong. This was not the night to play "Take a Shot for Every Floral Gown"—everyone from Zendaya and Lana Del Rey to Gigi Hadid went for the flower motif. That said, a few stars managed to put their own twist on the theme and went in an edgier direction.

Never one to blend in with the crowd, Charli XCX made a splash at fashion's biggest night in a custom Marni gown made of upcycled t-shirts from the '50s and '60s—a nod to the exhibition itself, "Sleeping Beauties: Reawakening Fashion." The pop star complimented the tattered gown with a '90s-inspired spiky bun, and a grungy-glam makeup look by Isamaya Ffrench.

"We wanted to create something that echoed her beautifully distressed dress in a romantic '90s aesthetic," Ffrench tells Byrdie. "A dark, soft lip, sculpted eyes with a glossy lid. Timeless." To create the look, the makeup artist used all MAC products. She started by prepping Charli's skin with the Hyper Real Cream ($58) and then applied the cult classic Studio Fix Fluid Foundation ($44).

"We used MAC Studio Fix Fluid for a full coverage base and then used sheer powder highlights to ensure the makeup held but still felt glowing," says Ffrench. The highlighter in question was the Mineralize Skinfinish ($42) in Lightscapade, which she applied after sculpting Charli's cheekbones with the Studio Fix Sculpt and Shape Contour Palette ($42).

The singer's eyes were left simple and sculpted to keep all the attention on her dramatic lip. "I added shades from the Connect in Color Bronze Influence palette ($33) to bring a bit of color, and powder highlighter on all the high points: brow bone, center of the eyelid, cheekbone." The makeup artist finished the look with a swipe of MAC Stack mascara ($28).

Finally, Ffrench created the perfect glam goth lip. "I used Chestnut Lip Pencil ($24) for her lip but gave it a soft blur with a dry brush at the edges," says French. After filling in Charli's lips with the pencil, she went overtop with a touch of the MACximal Lipstick ($25) in Sin right in the center of the lips.