How to Achieve Misty Copeland's 'Baby Pink Ballerina' Lip Look for the 2026 Oscars

American ballet dancer Misty Copeland was resplendent at the 98th Academy Awards in a ballet-inspired ensemble featuring a modern spin on a tutu, a classic ballet bun and a Ballet Slippers–esque manicure. (Her entire look also appeared to serve as a subtle pushback against a certain Best Actor nominee’s recent remarks about ballet and opera.) Copeland’s ode to ballet didn’t stop with fashion. Makeup artist Mali Thomas Boykin created a “baby ballerina pink” look using MERIT Beauty makeup for Copeland’s performance tonight, dancing to “I Lied to You” from Best Picture nominee Sinners.

“MERIT creates such a beautiful collection of enhancing products that allow you to look like yourself, just elevated,” Boykin told us. “For Misty’s look, I kept the skin fresh and luminous using The Uniform Tinted SPF. Inspired by a baby ballerina pink, I used Flush Balm in Stockholm for the cheeks and added a soft sparkle to the eyes with Solo Shadow Sheen (in the shade Glace, a pale pink rose). I finished the lips with Lip Blush in Andie and Signature Lip Liner in Sportif, for a pillowy, softly blurred finish.”

MERIT’s Signature Lip Blush just launched last month and is already *the* makeup on seemingly every celebrity’s lips, including Hailey Bieber in a recent GRWM and Lindsay Lohan on the cover of Vogue Arabia. In fact, the latter wore the exact same lip combo as Copeland; Andie, the baby-pink soft-matte Lip Blush paired with the Signature Lip Liner in Sportif, a warm peach-brown, cementing the duo as the must-have products for this the pinky-brown lip of the moment.

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