Behind Ayo Edebiri’s Blooming Blush and “Morning Dew” Skin at the Met Gala

If there’s a breakout star from the 2024 awards season, it’s Ayo Edebiri. The up-and-coming actress took home a slew of trophies for her work on The Bear—and landed on just about every Best Dressed list in the process. So, unsurprisingly, she was among the most hotly anticipated arrivals at the 2024 Met Gala. 

And it was worth the wait. The Bottoms star hit the white and green carpet in one of the evening’s lighter takes on the theme. Her 3D floral Loewe dress started white at the top, before transforming into a vibrant, colorful garden toward the bottom.

For the bright and radiant makeup—fitting for a blossoming star—makeup artist Dana Delaney used all Ilia Beauty products. “The inspiration for Ayo’s look was a blooming spring flower,” Delaney tells Byrdie. She achieved that goal by “bringing floral pink hues through the cheek and eye and keeping the skin hydrated and clean to create a fresh morning dew vibe.” She added that she also wanted to keep Edebiri looking fresh and “like herself” for her very first Met Gala. She prepped the actor’s skin with SK-II products (including its cult-favorite essence and mask) for a dewy glow.

To evoke “fresh morning dew on flower petals,” she used the Skin Rewind Complexion Stick ($48) in the shade 35W—but only strategically to even Edebiri’s skin tone. “By keeping the Soft Focus Finishing Powder ($36) only to the center of the face, it really helped keep the complexion more natural,” she adds. 

For the blush, which Delaney referred to as “the color focus of the look,” the pro-MUA used the Multi-Stick ($36) in A Fine Romance. Continuing with the fresh petal motif, she used the soon-to-be-released Lip Sketch Crayon in the shade Gala on the lips, blurring them out to create “a lived-in, bee-stung look.”