The Subtle Detail You Probably Missed In Solange's Met Gala Look

If there’s ever a match made in Met Gala heaven, it’s that of Solange attending a Comme des Garçons-themed event. Can you think of a star that takes a more artistic approach to red carpet dressing? So when the Cranes in the Sky singer teased a bright red-meets-negative-space lip look on Instagram today (and captioned it “a nod to Rei,” no less), we knew we were in for a high-voltage beauty treat... and then Solange stepped foot on the red carpet, wearing a look completely void of color. Say what?

Then we looked again — and what we saw was not only totally unique, but somehow, understated and stunning.

That was precisely the plan, according to Lottie S., the musician’s makeup artist for the night. “The look is a bold statement, but it’s very simple,” she says. To give Solange bold statement brows, the makeup pro engaged in some heavy manipulation. “I blocked out the ends of her eyebrow with Nars Soft Matte Complete Concealer in Ginger. That way I could achieve a very straight eyebrow when she in fact has a more rounded eyebrow.” Next, Lottie drew in the new faux brow line in a straight shape using Nars Brow Perfector in Suriname and groomed the look with Nars Brow Gel in Oural. “It’s not a conventional brow,” she affirms. Fitting.

But the unconventional subtleties didn’t stop there. Though many missed it, Lottie shares another original addition, inspired by the night’s theme: a white line drawn along the left side of Solange’s jaw. “I used Nars Larger Than Life Long-Wear Eyeliner in Santa Monica Boulevard to draw from her ear and along her jawline, which is a very Comme des Garçons look,” Lottie says. The white line extended to the tragus of the singer’s ear, with her earlobe painted in the white liner. “The accent on the bottom of her ear was her idea,” she adds.

With statement brows and a graphic nod to the designer of the evening complete, the rest of Solange’s face was left minimal. “The key to keeping it simple was to keep the skin perfect,” Lottie notes. This meant a touch of Nars Pore & Shine Control Primer in the t-zone and Nars Luminous Moisture Cream elsewhere on the skin, topped with Nars Pure Radiant Tinted Moisturizer in Annapurna and a bit of spot concealing where needed. On lips? Only a swipe of Nars Velvet Matte Lip Pencil in Walkyrie, a shade that most closely resembles Solange’s actual lip color, topped with balm. “We wanted it really nude and soft, to look like her lips but evened out,” she says.

And that's how you keep your reputation as one of the most surprising risk-takers in the biz, folks.