Tyla Just Wore The Most Enchanting Take On A “Slept-In” Smoky Eye

At the top of each year, fashion month and awards season overlap, creating the sprint of all sprints for folks in media and entertainment — but if you looked at Tyla, you wouldn’t know it. The South African pop star popped up at the Grammys, the NAACP Awards, and a handful of Paris Fashion Week shows, somehow looking even more fresh-faced at each outing than the last. That was especially true of her appearance at Valentino’s Fall/Winter 2026 runway presentation, where the singer arrived with flawless skin and the most enchanting take on a smoky eye, courtesy of makeup artist Saba Khan.

For the Mar. 12 show in Rome, Khan (aka The Face Fairy) sought to create a lived-in glam that allowed the singer’s famous face card to take center stage. “I had this vision of slept-in, sexy eyes paired with supermodel skin,” she says. “With Tyla, I’m always looking for that sweet spot between editorial and snatched, because I never want to overpower her natural features.”

Khan also drew from Valentino Born in Roma Purple Melancholia, the brand’s new warm-floral fragrance. “When I first smelled and tried Donna Born In Roma Purple Melancholia, it instantly set the tone for me,” she says. “I wanted the glam to reflect that same balance of depth and softness: Something sensual, but still fresh and contemporary.”

Ultimately, she landed on “a hazy purple, tight-lined eye… that became the anchor of the look.” Using the brand’s Colorgraph Waterproof Gel Eyeliner Pencil in Purple Dose, Khan created a soft haze around the lids; she then tightlined with the classic black shade Noir. To achieve that perfectly imperfect “slept-in” vibe, “I love diffusing the edges with my fingers,” she says. “It softens everything and seamlessly blends the lid color into the tightline.”

To complement Tyla’s radiant base, Khan “wanted something sun-kissed and bronzy, rather than overly rosy.” So she went a little out of the box, using the Spike Valentino Buttery Matte Lipstick in Couture in the Streets — “the perfect shade to bring warmth and dimension” — on the cheeks.

The resulting look was youthful and vibrant, but with a distinct effortlessness; kind of “girl next door,” but your neighbor happens to be impossibly cool. And as Khan tells it, the creation of such a distinct visual persona is par for the course with “Push 2 Start” chanteuse. “Tyla loves to play with different characters, so the process is always really creative and fluid. We usually start with an idea, but we build on it as we go,” she says. “Sometimes the glam evolves into something completely different from what we initially planned, and honestly, those are often the best looks. She’s definitely a glam girl and always brings her own ideas, so it’s a very fun, collaborative process.”