Year after year, the first Monday in May—the Met Gala—we get a ton of makeup inspiration we want recreate. This year, Keke Palmer’s look is at the top of our list to try out ASAP. The multi-hyphenate showed up to the 2024 Met Gala wrapped in a stream of burnished sequins with bronze smoky eyes and sky-high lashes to complement the highest of high ponytails.
Before Keke took the green-and-cream carpet at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, makeup artist Kenya Alexis reached for several Milk Makeup products to create and lock in the star’s glam, including the viral Cooling Water Jelly Tint and our award-winning Hydro Grip Primer. Kenya even gave us an exclusive peek into how everything came together and how she ensured Keke’s look would stay fresh and radiant for fashion’s biggest night.
If you were getting mummy vibes from Keke’s gilded Marc Jacobs gown, you weren’t imagining things. Keke's entire 2024 Met Gala ensemble paid homage to the theme for the night, “Sleeping Beauties: Reawakening Fashion,” with the tattered wrappings of a mummy, Kenya says. “To harmonize with her dress, I incorporated sequins and beading along the right side of her eye, then extended it into her hairline and along the left side of her neck, seamlessly merging with the dress to complete the look,” she adds.
 |
 |
Before gluing on each sequin, Kenya prepped Keke’s skin with Milk Makeup Hydro Grip Primer and her lids with Hydro Grip Eye Primer to give her seamless base and sparkly shadow something hydrating to grip onto all night long. (You don’t want either to budge when you’re about to see Ariana Grande perform beside the Temple of Dendur.)
Then, Kenya added warmth and dimension to Keke’s face with Matte Bronzer in Blaze. This formula blends out effortlessly, so you won’t see any harsh lines—even when you’re dealing with red carpet flash photography. Next, the makeup artist swiped Cooling Water Jelly Tint in Burst onto the tops of Keke’s cheekbones to give them the juiciest wash of poppy pink. This splash of color alongside the bronze shadow and nude lips lined with a brown pencil helped Kenya “balance sophistication with a touch of radiance,” she says.
From there, Kenya brushed RISE Waterproof Mascara through Keke’s lashes to frame her glistening smoky eyes. This formula helps lift each lash, hold a high-impact curl, and impart subtle volume without any smudging or running. Then, Kenya went in with KUSH Brow Lamination Gel to shape, lift, and define Keke’s naturally thick arches.
Once every speck of sparkle and shine was where it needed to be, a generous spritzing of Hydro Grip Set + Refresh Spray locked everything in while enhancing Keke’s gorgeous glow. “The result was nothing short of iconic,” Kenya says, and we can't help but agree.
Meet the Expert
Kenya Alexis (she/her) is a Los Angeles-based makeup artist who has worked with the likes of Saweetie, Kelly Rowland, Coco Jones, Keke Palmer, and Chloe Bailey.