Amelia Gray's Met Gala Glam Was Inspired By Mermaids & Abalone Shells

Amelia Gray is the epitome of Anthony Vaccarello's Saint Laurent girl: sexy, sultry, and the life of the party. She gets ready to the soundtrack of Lana Del Rey, Hannah Montana, Addison Rae, and the H2O theme song (IYKYK) before slipping into none other than custom Saint Laurent for the biggest fashion night of the year—for this year's Met Gala, the dress was black and sheer in all the right places. "The body is the medium, not the outfit. This look lives in the tension of in-between: reveal and conceal, softness and strength. It allows my body to exist as both the accessory and the art," Gray said ahead of the red carpet. "There’s a fragility to it, but also a quiet power. Light femininity meets something darker, more emotional. To me, this is what femininity really is the coexistence of all our versions at once. This is my interpretation of a modern goddess."

For makeup artist Sam Visser, balancing what he knows and loves about Vaccarello's Saint Laurent with soft ethereal elements was top of mind. The inspiration for this years Met Gala look began with Botticelli paintings. "A lot of our mood board was paintings and a lot of renaissance art," Visser says. "Botticelli paintings and very ethereal references. We were really inspired by the way water looked in paintings and the colors that were used." The goal was simple: to make Amelia Gray look like a mermaid on land, while providing a synergy between Saint Laurent and YSL beauty. "I'm a huge fan of what Anthony does for Saint Laurent," Visser says."So I was kind of taking the aspects of my insight of the ready-to-wear brand and mixing it together with what YSL Beauty is about and trying to make that as organic of a synergy as possible." So, for this glam, it was all about reflection and highlights on her eyes, lips, and cheeks. First, YSL's soon to be released Skin Affair foundation provided a glowy base. Then, the All Hours Hyper Bronzer and All Hours Luminize Highlighter really went to work. On the lips, the Candy Glaze Lip Gloss Stick in scenic brown and Loveshine Lip Oil Gloss worked together to plump, define, and offer a glassy finish.

For a bit of extra ethereal energy, Visser whipped up what he refers to as the 'reverse smoky eye': "On her eyes, I used all the palest, lightest tones to kind of reflect the light and bring brightness to the face and the body," he says.

In terms of collaboration, Visser and Gray have the special type of relationship where photos are constantly texted back and forth. For this look for example, photos of abalone shells were shared through text—there was no confusion, but rather an immediate understanding and mutual willingness to experiment and play. "I can send a picture of shell to her and she'll be like 'yes, that's the reference,'" Visser says. "Abalone shells and the color variations within those were one of our biggest references for the makeup tonight."

The look would not have been complete without a good, defined lash curl—and a little touch of YSL's Lash Latex for definition purposes. The end result was a character the duo created together through art and nature references, and listened to music to get into the mindset of before sending Amelia on her way: regal, mermaid-esque, sexy, and ultra feminine.