Dear ITG,
I went to my second Met Gala! It’s so exciting and fun to go because the night is always unexpected. You don’t know who’s going because no one wants to tell you who they’re taking. But it’s exciting to see my peers and what they’ve worked on. It’s kind of like a reunion in a way. We get to hang out and laugh and spill some tea. Still, it’s so scary walking up the Met steps. It’s such a long walk, and I’m always worried I’m going to trip or the photographers will get a crazy shot of me.
When I read that the theme and dress code this year was ‘Garden of Time,’ I thought about how the Costume Institute is bringing out these gorgeous garments that are so fragile they can break, and of course, I thought about flowers. I dressed Lil Nas X this year, and he was kind of like my flower. He had a peplum moment encrusted in 56,000 Swarovski crystals and 3,000 covered buttons on his suit, pants, and top. It was very tailored, very polished, and very chic. It took a minute to make. My look was a little bit more demure. It had a lot of covered buttons, too, with a long sash.
I worked for MAC for years; she was a counter girl once upon a time. But I’ve always been a beauty girl. My mom has always been a big inspo. I mean, she’s very Latina. She takes care of her skin, and I’ve always wanted to emulate that. I’m like, ‘Girl, I’m not trying to age either. I’m trying to be Benjamin Button.’ That’s all to say I used a lot to prep for the Met, but first, I got a facial with Jordan Esposito from Barbara Sturm.
I still use MAC Prep + Prime Fix+—I keep it in the fridge. I sprayed that on before everything. Then I went in with my serums. The Dr. Barbara Sturm Exoso-Metic face serum is really cute. It’s a really intense face serum that helps rejuvenate the skin and gives you a really beautiful glow. I also love the iS Clinical Pro-Heal serum, Dr. Barbara Sturm eye cream, Marco Castro Amazonicoil hybrid serum, and Peter Thomas Roth Water moisturizer. As I went in, I had the MAC Squirt Plumping Gloss Stick in Simulation, a nude, on my lips.
After skincare, I went in with my makeup. I don’t like to look too done up; I like to look like I didn’t put anything on. I like to mix the Glossier Stretch Concealer with Glossier’s Futuredew so it looks really natural, and yo, that shit looks good. I don’t like to look matte, and the mix is really dewy. Then I put the Glossier Haloscope in Quartz on my cheekbones. It makes you super glowy but not in a bad way. A lot of highlighters make me look nuts. I put a little bit of the JLo Beauty That Star Filter Complexion Booster on top of my cheekbones, too, right over the Haloscope. I set my face with the MAC Fix+ Stay Over Setting Spray.
For my brows and mustache, I used the MAC Definer brow pencil in Spiked. Giselle B. at Funny Faces in Williamsburg laminates my brows every five weeks, so they don’t need much, but I really want them to stick down. I actually like Göt2b Glued for them instead of a brow gel. I comb it through with a little baby hair comb. To shape my beard, I like RED by Kiss Tintation temporary hair color spray in Medium Brown.
I mixed Dr. Barbara Sturm’s Super anti-aging body serum with the Glossier Body Hero oil mist. I don’t want my face to look super cute and glowy and then have my body look dry, so I added in the Dr. Barbara Sturm Glow Cream. It moisturizes you like crazy.
I’m very Dominican, so I need a fresh fade before I step out anywhere. It’s a very classic form of Latino-ism. [Laughs] I got one done early in the morning by Ariel Rodriguez, who also cut my hair for the Met last year. He’s amazing. And Naomi Yasuda did my nails. I went for a classic clear polish because I like my nails to look like glass.
I got L’Artisan Parfumeur Contes du Levant in Marrakesh a while ago. It has pink pepper, rose, and patchouli. I wear this perfume for special occasions because it’s a little strong and I like to make people feel disturbed, like I want people to say, ‘Oh, there she goes’ when I walk by and they can smell me. And they did.
Love,
Raul
—As told to Daise Bedolla
Photographed by Alexandra Genova at the Soho House New York on May 6, 2024. Embedded photo via Getty.