It doesn’t take much to make Halle Berry look good — the acting veteran has made audiences swoon since her film debut in Spike Lee’s Jungle Fever in 1989. So we were less than surprised when the 58 year old took to the Met Gala red carpet on Monday and subsequently made everyone’s best-dressed list.
What did surprise us however, was the contents of Halle’s makeup bag for the evening, because it was full of affordable makeup products from L’Oréal Paris. Sure, the actress has worked with the budget-friendly makeup brand since the early ’00s, but did we expect her to rock up to one of the swankiest events in fashion with a full face of the stuff? Nope, not one bit.
Last year, at the 2024 Met Gala, the brand collaborated with Elle Fanning’s makeup artist, Erin Ayanian Monroe, to create an ethereal glass skin makeup look. But we love that Halle’s makeup artist, Hung Vanngo, showcased how many of the same products can work on darker skin tones and more mature skin too.
The inspiration behind Halle Berry’s Met Gala look
Halle served as a muse for New York’s LaQuan Smith for the evening, who designed a gown that rose to meet the depth and strength of this year’s theme — Superfine: Tailoring Black Style — Halle shared via Instagram. The dress featured sheer and sequinned panelling, a tailored tuxedo bolero, and a netted pill box hat that Halle’s pink-hued makeup subtly peeked through.
“LaQuan crafted a piece that felt like a poem — whispers of old New York, the shimmer of broken city lights, the unapologetic grace of Black Dandyism, and the boldness of claiming space in today’s fashion narrative,” she went on to say. “To wear this gown was to feel powerful, purposeful, and proud. Thank you, LaQuan, for creating something so breath-taking — and for allowing me to bring it to life.”
Hung Vanngo’s artistry played on the peek-a-boo nature of the ensemble, with Halle’s sparkling eyes and plush pout catching the flash of papparazi cameras every few seconds. And a flawless complexion that looked like velvet beneath her veiled hat. The makeup artist called it “a tribute to the era, elevated with a touch of contemporary glamour” when he broke down Halle’s look via Instagram.
Want to know which of L’Oréal Paris’ products Hung used on the actress? Keep reading to get an inside peek at Halle Berry’s Met Gala makeup kit.
Every makeup product Halle Berry wore on the Met Gala red carpet
1/ The complexion
To create Halle’s flawless complexion hung used a combination of L’Oréal’s True Match Super-Blendable Foundation in the shade ‘8W’ ($33.99 from Adore Beauty) and the True Match Radiant Serum Concealer in the shade ‘7W’ ($29.99 from Adore Beauty).
Then he set her base and created definition using a trio of products that will soon be hitting Australian shores: L’Oréal’s Infallible Blur-fection Longwear Loose Setting Powder, the L’Oréal Infallible Up To 24h Fresh Wear Soft Matte Bronzer, and the L’Oréal Infallible Up To 24h Fresh Wear Soft Matte Blush.
He added a touch of glass skin-inspired glow with the L’Oréal Lumi Glass Highlighter Stick ($25.99 from Chemist Warehouse), and misted the 58 year old’s face with L’Oréal’s Infallible 3-Second Setting Mist ($29.99 from Priceline) to keep her makeup in place all night long.
2/ The brows
Hung then turned his attention to Halle’s arches, using three different brow products to create definition and fuller-looking eyebrows — Halle did live through the ’90s after all.
To start with, he defined the actress’ natural brow shape using the L’Oréal Brow Stylist Definer Waterproof Eyebrow Pencil ($13.99 from Amazon Australia).
Next, he created natural hair-like strokes with one of L’Oréal’s latest launches Faux Brow Hair-like Brow Filling Pen, which should be landing in Australia soon.
Then he applied a few coats of L’Oréal’s Unbelievabrow Long Lasting Brow Gel ($24.99 from Chemist Warehouse) to fill in sparse areas, add volume, and groom Halle’s brow hairs into place.
3/ The eye makeup
As for the 58 year old’s captivating eye look? Great news, it’s unbelievably easy to recreate.
Hung created Halle’s soft, smokey eye with L’Oréal’s Infallible Gel Auto Eyeliner in ‘Brown Denim’ ($19.99 from Chemist Warehouse), and a trio of L’Oréal’s Paradise Le Shadow Sticks in the shades ‘245 Alluring Rose’ ($21.99 from Chemist Warehouse), ‘420 Brown Bliss’ ($21.99 from Chemist Warehouse), and ‘240 Brown Abyss’ ($21.99 from Chemist Warehouse). Followed by a few coats of L’Oréal’s Panorama Mascara ($27.99 from Chemist Warehouse).
4/ The lips
Wondering how Hung managed to make Halle’s lips look so pillowy soft?
The makeup artist used L’Oréal’s Color Riche Lip Liner in a dark brown shade ($14.99 from Chemist Warehouse) just outside of the actress’ natural lip line to create the illusion of a fuller-looking pout.
Then she layered L’Oréal’s Plump Ambition Hyaluron Lip Oil in ‘650 Nude Macaron’ ($24.99 from Chemist Warehouse) over the top of the Color Riche Satin Nudes of Worth Lipstick in the shade ‘601 Worth It’ ($20.99 from Chemist Warehouse).
Main image credit: @zeus.views
What product from Halle’s Met Gala makeup bag are you coveting?
Her skin looks amazing
She is totally stunning !
She looked amazing!
She sure does. So lovely.
Does she ever age? Gorgeous woman!
I agree perthchick
So true!
She’s a big fan or L’oreal products, I would’nt mind trying the mascara.
she has stunning skin
She is very lucky, good skin is a good start.
Love the lipstick shade
She doesn’t even need makeup.
Good skin looks nice in all products
With skin like that, who needs makeup.
What a lovely collection of LÓreal goodies she has! Doesn’t overly surprise me -why not – LOreal is great value for high quality.
She has aged so well! We have totally different coloring, so there’s no way I’ll try to reproduce her look.