Here Are The Best Met Gala Beauty Looks Of All Time
Whether it's breakout stars, supermodels or the Hollywood elite, every year on the first Monday of May, the Metropolitan Museum of Art put on the ultimate red carpet showcase: The Met Gala. Generously stacked with striking couture gowns, twinkling accessories and remarkable beauty makeovers, we watch the Met's illustrious annual costume ball in complete and utter awe. For fashion fans, and the ELLE UK beauty team, the event is like Christmas.
Since 1948, the Met Gala has served up many an eye-catching beauty transformation (we don't use the term 'transformation' lightly, either). Armed with fashion's most coveted designers and a strict conceptual theme, the highly anticipated red carpet has seen bold, otherworldly hair colours, bleached brows, embellished false lashes and accessories we're still talking about nearly ten years later.
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From high camp maximalist manicures to standout celebrity hair moments, see below the beauty team's edit of the best Met Gala beauty looks of all time.
2023: Doja Cat, Karl Lagerfeld: A Line of Beauty
One of the Met's wilder beauty looks, this feline make-up ensemble is more transfiguration than transformation. Complete with a 'cat eye' winged liner, this might be Doja Cat's most iconic fashion moment ever.
2022: Kendall Jenner, In America: An Anthology of Fashion
Of the many bleached brown moments we've witnessed in the last few years, this invisible blonde arch is by far our favourite. Striking from the moment she stepped on the red carpet, this lightened brow is proof that a standout transformation can also be simple.
2021: Gigi Hadid, In America: A Lexicon of Fashion
Gigi Hadid's stint as a redhead was sadly very brief, but that doesn't stop this auburn Aubrey ponytail from living in our heads rent free. Paired with a powder blue shadow and a delicate feline flick, this is vintage beauty made modern.
2019: Lady Gaga, Camp: Notes on Fashion
Lash decals , huge bows and a platinum bob we're still thinking about to this day, we trust Lady Gaga to deliver truly high camp beauty.
2019: Lily Collins, Camp: Notes on Fashion
One of Lily Collins' best red carpet beauty moments, this lilac shadow and floral beehive combination is both vintage and completely ethereal.
2019: Elle Fanning, Camp: Notes on Fashion
Possibly the best red carpet manicure of all time, this maximalist set of tips if not one you'll find at your local nail salon. Between the XXL ponytail and a rare Elle Fanning spray tan, it's safe to say we're still obsessed with this playful look.
2018: Sophie Turner, Camp: Notes on Fashion
Silver siren hair and a statement graphic eye? This highly metallic beauty moment has served as many a party beauty inspiration since arriving on the Met Ball carpet in 2018.
2018: Zendaya, Heavenly Bodies: Fashion & The Catholic Imagination
Despite being a complete red carpet Chameleon, Zendaya's iconic Joan of Arc transformation is one we still talk about to this day. If you're looking for the perfect textured bob to take to your hairstylist, this blunt chin-length cut hasn't aged a day.
2018: Cardi B, Heavenly Bodies: Fashion & The Catholic Imagination
Maximalist from headpiece to hairstyle, we never got over the drama of this beauty look. The best part? Her exact Kiss Lash Couture Triple Push Up eyelashes are still available to buy to this day.
2017: Rihanna, Rei Kawakubo/Comme des Garcons: Art Of The In-Between
With high pink blush and a soft berry lip, this editorial beauty look is one of our favourite Rihanna make-up moments of all time. Not to mention, it's the ultimate fringe inspiration.
2016: Taylor Swift, Manus x Machina: Fashion In An Age Of Technology
Taylor Swift's iconic 'Bleachella' hair moment is one 'Swifties' still reference to this day. Raw bleach blonde and a black cherry lip? A list of best Met Gala beauty looks simply wouldn't be complete without it.
2015: Janelle Monet, China: Through The Looking Glass
This XXL braid is further proof that the Met Gala is all about craftsmanship, whether it's an ultra-detailed embellished gown or a highly intricate mohawk plait.
2013: Anne Hathaway, PUNK: Chaos to Couture
Anna Hathaway is almost unrecognisable with this block platinum hair colour. Matched with a sultry purple smoky eye, see here the perfect balance between punk and pretty.
2013: Sarah Jessica Parker, PUNK: Chaos to Couture
It's difficult to choose Sarah Jessica Parker's best Met Gala beauty look (there's just so many), but if we had to whistle it down to one this fanned mohawk hairpiece is coming out on top every time.
2021: Jessica Alba, Schiaparelli And Prada: Impossible Conversations
While we're obsessed with the Met's extraterrestrial beauty history, some of our favourites are just classic glamour done well. Quintessential red carpet beauty, this ruby lip and Hollywood wave combo is still beyond elegant.
2011: Amy Adams, Alexander McQueen: Savage Beauty
Plum smoky eyes will never get old but this it's fair to say that this bulky braided up-do belongs in the 2010s. That doesn't stop it's playful nature securing a spot in the Met Gala beauty time capsule, however.
2011: Iman, Alexander McQueen: Savage Beauty
Sultry and oh-so-sophisticated, Iman's 'Alexander McQueen: Savage Beauty' Met ensemble is timeless. Just look at her smoky eye and ethereal gilded glow.
2011: Rihanna, Alexander McQueen: Savage Beauty
We still live in hopes that Rihanna will bring back her iconic Loud hair and this ruby red braided style makes for a convincing case.
2007: Jennifer Lopez, Poiret: King Of Fashion
This cool toned smoky and a vintage pin-curled up-do is living proof that simply vintage never gets old. A completely different beauty alternate for JLo, we're obsessed with our pared back this glamorous make-up look is.
2006: Eva Mendes, AngloMania: Tradition and Transgression on British Fashion
Nothing makes us more excited for the Met than the thought of big hair. The prime example? This voluminous old school up-do from Eva Mendes. More major hairstyles like this in 2014, please.
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