Met Costume Institute Gala Beauty: Michelle Williams

Michelle Williams looked spectacular on the red carpet at the annual Met Ball last night, held at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Wearing a beautiful Miu Miu gown accented with metallic bronze and gold swallows, and Fred Leighton jewelry, all eyes were on her luminous and dramatic platinum hair. Celebrity stylist Peter Gray shared how he created the eye-catching style for Michelle’s short cropped hair and celebrity makeup artist Jeanine Lobell shows us how she created Michelle's golden smokey eye.

HAIR MICHELLE WILLIAMS AT THE 2011 MET BALL

“The dress was so beautiful with those bronzes and golds that I wanted to reflect that in her hair. I didn’t want it to look styled or even blow-dried, so I created the whole effect on freshly-shampooed, naturally-dried hair. My inspiration was a modern day Jean Seberg with a“Breathless” nuance, but with a soft, sexy and defined texture.”

I started by trimming and squaring Michelle’s hair around the temple areas, leaving the overall outline of her haircut untouched. This made the style look a bit more unusual and further brought out the beautiful features of her face. Next, I poured a bit of Moroccanoil Light, for fine and light-colored hair, into my palms then dabbed my fingers into it. I applied Moroccanoil Light on the root areas all over the head to separate the strands, to help the hair look more substantial, and give it a look of effortless volume. It gave the hair a gorgeous texture and prevented it from looking flat. It also gave the color depth and vibrance instead of appearing fine or smooth.

I lightly combed the back of the head to create a nice flat shape. Then I ruffled the hair all over the headwith my fingers for movement. I pushed up the Moroccanoil Light into the roots at the back and then to the sides of the head, finally finger-shaping the entire style."

MAKEUP MICHELLE WILLIAMS AT THE 2011 MET BALL

“The gold birds on Michelle’s dress really inspired us to go for a golden look... We wanted something chic, but a little edgy to offset the black of the dress.  We felt a modern ‘golden smoky eye’ would be cool and fresh, but not washed out.” 

I started by applying with my fingers, CHANEL Vitalumière Aqua Ultra-Light Skin Perfecting Makeup SPF 15 in Beige-Pastel very lightly all over the face and under the eyes; then I set it with the CHANEL Natural Finish Pressed Powder in Clair – Translucent 1. 

For her eyes, I used the CHANEL Quadra Eyeshadow in Mystic Eyes applying the palest shade all over they eye area to act as a base so I was able to smoothly blend the other shades into it.  I then applied the softer of the brown shades in the crease of the eye, wrapping it as a smoky liner under the eye. Then I added the darker brown shade in the upper lash line.  I used CHANEL Long-Lasting Eyeliner in Espresso inside the eye and as a sharper line on the top eyelash line. Lastly, I used CHANEL Inimitable Intense Mascara in Noir on the top and bottom lashes. 

I used the CHANEL Precision Brow Definer in Soft Brown in the brows, above the brow to the outside of the brow, to create an arch and filling in below and on the inside. 

I used CHANEL Powder Blush in Tempting Beige, as it works great as a contouring cheek color. I used it under the cheek bone,  fanning it up over apples of cheeks. For her lips, I used CHANEL Rouge Coco Shine Hydrating Sheer Lipshine in Canotier for a pale, beige-gold light wash on the lips to keep everything soft and balanced.”