On any red carpet, but at the Met Gala especially, hair and makeup looks are what complete an ensemble. Whether a guest opts for something understated or striking, show-stopping or subtle, their beauty look is the cherry on top of their highly anticipated outfit, the final piece in the puzzle of however they’ve chosen to interpret the year’s theme. And over the years, we’ve seen no end of incredible moments of beauty worth committing to memory.
In 2016, the theme Manus x Machina: Fashion in an Age of Technology gave way to more edgy beauty looks than we’d traditionally seen on the Met Gala red carpet, with guests leaning into the darker, more eccentric side of the beauty world that year. The theme for the 2019 Met Gala, Camp: Notes on Fashion was a banner year for inventive, colourful and, you guessed it, campy beauty looks. Bold palettes and wild embellishments were replete that year, tying in nicely with a thematic ode to the extravagance and flamboyance of the dress code. As the years and Galas have gone on, beauty trends seem to encompass a whole variety of looks, from the romantic and vintage-inspired, to the otherworldly or surreal. When it comes to the makeup chair for the Met, anything goes. So long as its on theme.
From retro pinned locks and bold lips, to gravity-defying up-dos and colourful sparkles, Vogue looks back at all the most memorable Met Gala beauty looks of all time.
