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Fresh off her wins at last night's MTV Video Music Awards (Best New Artist and Song of the Year for "Driver's License"), Olivia Rodrigo is ready to take a turn on the red carpet at a different affair — the 2021 Met Gala. The 18-year-old singer has indeed had an eventful year, during which her hit "Driver's License" broke Spotify's record for most streams in a single week.
If that wasn't an indication that the young star has "made" it, tonight is. The Met Gala, usually held on the first Monday in May, is on pandemic time (the second Monday in September), but still here to give the rich and famous an excuse to turn up in a fancy dress, step and repeat for the camera, and enjoy the company of entertainers let loose in New York City's Metropolitan Museum of Art for the night.
This year is the Costume Institute's 75th anniversary, which decided to go with In America: A Lexicon of Fashion as a theme to celebrate. Rodrigo arrived at the foot of those famous stairs clad in a black lace jumpsuit by Saint Laurent, which had a feather trim at the neckline. The look was very much giving rocker vibes, of which Rodrigo said she was a fan during a red carpet chat with Vogue livestream host Keke Palmer.
The makeup absolutely matched the youthful, edgy vibe Rodrigo was going for here. Makeup artist Molly Greenwald combined clean skin with a little bit of punky-but-delicate black eyeliner to "reflect our love for the juxtaposition," she says. For the base, she used the YSL All Hours Foundation in B45 and B55, highlighting the high points of her face with the brand's fan-favorite Touche Éclat pen in #2 and #3. For the eyes, Greenwald created a teeny-tiny black wing, punctuated by pencil-thin lines just under her brow bone and in the inner third of her eye. It's an uplifted take on the graphic eye makeup looks that have been trending for some time. A couple coats of YSL's curling mascara and fluffed-up brows tied it all together. On Rodrigo's lips, there is just a flush of a matte hue that looks like a sheered out bright pink or red.
Clayton Hawkins, her go-to stylist and the man responsible for Rodrigo's retro '90s and early aughts looks, was, of course, on hand to work his magic on the singer's crown tonight. "For this year's Met Gala with Olivia Rodrigo, we wanted to keep it clean and chic and let her beauty speak for itself," Hawkins explains.
Rodrigo's hair is styled in knots with the ends left out, which fan out in the back. Of course, since she is a Gen Z girlie, her hair is parted just down the middle. Hawkins started on damp hair, brushing it out with a Tangle Teezer and then applying the Oribe Supershine Moisturizing cream to prep before blow-drying her hair straight with a Dyson Supersonic dryer and going over it all with the brand's Corrale flatiron.
To get that super shiny, glassy finish, Hawkins used the Oribe Gold Lust Nourishing Hair Oil before pulling her hair back to create the knots. Then, he finished off the look with a misting of the Oribe Superfine Hairspray and just a touch more of oil.
The result? Well, you see it — total gorgeousness. This might be Rodrigo's first Met Gala, but she slayed the red carpet like an old pro.
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Check out more of our Met Gala coverage:
- Iman. The Met Gala. I Have No Words
- Naomi Osaka's Hair Defies Gravity at the Met Gala
- Face Bedazzling Is the Met Gala's Hottest Beauty Trend
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