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The Mascara Trick (& Exact Mascara) Miley Cyrus Used At The Met Gala
NYLON exclusively breaks down Miley Cyrus' 2025 Met Gala makeup look by James Kaliardos using Maybelline New York, including a mascara trick from Miley herself.
If you were to ring up the products that went into crafting Miley Cyrus’ Met Gala ponytail, the total might leave you feeling like you were getting away with something — and yet she looked like a million bucks. The same goes for her makeup at the Fashion-People Oscars on May 5, which was all Maybelline New York and all about expensive (in appearance, not execution) skin.
Just as how the croco crop top, floor-sweeping skirt, and trio of coiled chokers Cyrus credited as “Alaïa enhanced by Cartier” were meant to highlight the form (and her on-display abs), celebrity makeup artist James Kaliardos tells NYLON that her natural features were the statement. “I just wanted to perfect who she was, and I wanted her to feel comfortable in real life, not just for a photograph,” says Kaliardos, who’s worked with Cyrus for 13 years.
To convey that true-to-herself-ness, Kaliardos says he didn’t pull any editorial or historical sources — “Miley alone is the reference!” — and instead focused his efforts on a subtly sculpted complexion starting with Maybelline New York Grippy Serum, followed by the brand’s new Lifter Stix to add depth under Cyrus’ cheekbones and jawline, and along the temples.
But the pièce de résistance — a mascara hack Kaliardos calls “ingenious” — comes straight from the source’s Hannah Montana-era self. “As we were planning her look, she told me about how, in high school, she was only allowed to wear mascara, but she always wanted to wear eyeliner for a little something extra,” he says. “So, as her workaround, she applied her mascara horizontally, pushing her lashes to the side and giving her an eyeliner look.” Kaliardos took Cyrus’ lead and coated every lash with Maybelline New York’s $13 Sky High Mascara at the root, then swept the wand out for a winged effect.
It’s a good trick, no? To see the other key players in Cyrus’ highly personal Met Gala makeup, have a scroll below.
