How Shani Darden prepares the star’s skin before the Met Gala

This Monday, Hollywood’s favorite stars will fly to New York for the biggest ball of the 12 months: Met Gala 2024. Aesthetician, including Sofia Richie and Kelly Rowland, Shani Darden attached. “I love coming to New York and was excited to have the opportunity to prep some clients’ skin before heading to the Met Ball,” she tells ESSENCE. Darden is sticking to this 12 months’s “The Garden Of Time” dress code, bringing out the skin of the evening’s most blooming guests. “It’s a big weekend for us and I wouldn’t miss it for the world.”

Below, Darden shares her celebrity skin-approved secrets, the importance of prepping your skin, and how one can recreate your signature facial have a look at home.

ESSENCE: Why did you choose to maneuver your beauty services from Los Angeles to New York this weekend?

Shani Darden: In addition to the Met Ball, we’re also hosting an event throughout the weekend at the Sephora store in Soho where people can enroll for a mini-massage with my Triple acid peeling. It’s the next smartest thing to getting one in every of my peels in my studio, and I’m so excited that everybody can experience the red carpet glow at home.

Can you tell us which celebrities you will likely be giving facials to?

You’ll just need to wait and see! I’m incredibly lucky to have the opportunity to arrange the skins of the most amazing actors, actresses, artists and lots of others. I do know that the Met Ball is a giant red carpet event and I never assume that I’m a small a part of that have.

How do you prepare your clients for the red carpet? Can you give us the most significant steps for a mask?

All my clients receive my Signature Facial Face, which is tailored to the needs of every client’s skin. I like to supply clean skin that’s taut and sculpted with an easy glow. My facial treatments include vibration therapy, light chemical peeling, oxygen therapy, microcurrent, extractions when needed, LED light therapy, cryotherapy, and just a few other things.

Before an event, I like giving my clients a lactic acid peel since it’s great for all skin types and is not too harsh. It doesn’t dry you out, you literally leave glowing. This is the best. Customers liked it a lot that I created a version for home use, my Triple Acid Signature Peel, during the pandemic. It is a terrific skin regenerator that leaves your skin glowing and your pores clear between visits.

We know that stars will most probably be wearing full makeup for the Met Gala. Why is it necessary to arrange the skin before applying makeup?

Preparing the skin before applying makeup is amazingly necessary. You need to create a clean, smooth canvas and a moisturized base before your heavy red carpet makeup. Before applying makeup, I like to recommend using a cleanser like mine Cleansing serumto scrub away all dirt and impurities out of your face. After cleansing, use my Facial shaping wand stimulate circulation and firm and tighten the skin.

The last step before applying makeup is moisturizing. This is one in every of the most significant steps to be certain that the makeup blends well into the face and doesn’t create a sticky or crease effect. I like mine Firming and moisturizing serum since it not only moisturizes but in addition helps protect the skin’s protective barrier. After a moisturizing serum, I go along with a moisturizing cream like mine Moisturizing peptide cream. It provides 72 hours of hydration, but can be non-comedogenic, so it doesn’t clog pores.

How can we recreate the Met Gala face at home?

Triple Acid Peeling is the perfect homemade facial scrub that means that you can recreate the glow of the red carpet in the comfort of your personal home. The treatment consists of a 2-stage peeling powered by three acids to renew and brighten the skin, in addition to a neutralizing mask to deeply cleanse and tighten pores.

Step 1: Use a peeling based on lactic, glycolic and mandelic acid, which immediately removes dead skin cells from many layers. You apply it with the included brush and leave it for 2 minutes.

Step 2: Apply a soothing kaolin-bentonite clay mask that neutralizes the 1st step. You will feel a fast, intense tingling sensation – that is the neutralization of the peeling. Deeply cleanses and tightens pores by removing dirt and sebum without excessively drying the skin. The skin stays renewed, smooth and radiant. I like to recommend doing this every few weeks for optimum skin refreshment.

What are you most enthusiastic about this weekend?

I can not wait to see these amazing creations and I’m very curious how everyone will interpret this 12 months’s dress code: “The Garden Of Time”.