Lily James's can thank this £5.50 product for her elegant slicked back bun at the Met Gala 2024

A must-have

Lily James on the red carpet at the met gala 2024 - Gettyimages 2151227443
(Image credit: Getty Images)

The 2024 Met Gala has begun - whilst the main event doesn't kick off for another hour or so, the stars have started to arrive at fashion's biggest event of the year. (For live updates, keep an eye on our Met Gala coverage here).

The style set are walking the green carpet to celebrate the Metropolitan Museum of Art's annual fashion exhibition and this year's is titled: "Sleeping Beauties: Reawakening Fashion" which showcases archival designs that are "far too fragile to ever be worn again”.

Lily James, who was part of the early arrivals, is wearing a beautiful light pink custom Erdem gown with black flower embroidery perfectly reflects the dress code: "The Garden of Time" a 1962 short story by J.G. Ballard. 

Whilst the gown is pure elegance, it is expertly teamed with an equally elevated beauty look. Subtle make-up, with a pinch of rouge on the cheeks making her look like the ultimate English rose. Lily has always impressed on this red carpet, her Charlotte Tilbury look in 2022 in particular was the definition of gilded glamour. 

However, it's her slicked back bun that has got us talking at the Marie Claire offices. As you'd expect from an event like this evening's the hair looks pure luxury. But it's an effortless approach, rather than anything avantgarde, which the Met Gala so often showcases. Not only is the hair giving off a high shine, but there is not one hair out of place, which means that the Erdem creation is allowed to take centre stage. 

Earlier in the evening, James was spotted getting her final hair and make-up checks from The Carlyle Hotel where most stars took a room to get ready. It was here that we were able to catch a glimpse of the product that gave her hair that glass shine effect and ensures that it will stay like that well into the afterparty. 

Lily James at the Carlyle before the met gala getting hair and makeup done - gettyimages 2151218687

(Image credit: Getty Images)

It will please you to know that the product costs under £6 and can be found in most high street beauty stores and some supermarkets.

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Katie Thomas

Katie Thomas is the Senior Beauty Editor at Marie Claire UK. With over 10 years of experience on women's luxury lifestyle titles, she covers everything from the best beauty looks from the red carpet and stand out trends from the catwalk, to colonic irrigation and to the best mascaras on the market. She started her career on fashion desks across the industry - from The Telegraph to Brides - but found her calling in the Tatler beauty department. From there she moved to Instyle, before joining the Marie Claire digital team in 2018. She’s made it her own personal mission to find the best concealer in the world to cover her tenacious dark circles. She’s obsessed with skincare that makes her skin bouncy and glowy, low-maintenance hair that doesn’t require brushing and a cracking good manicure. Oh and she wears more jewellery than the Queen.