Getty / Karwai Tang / Theo Wargo
Getty / Dimitrios Kambouris
January Jones’s Hair and Makeup at the 2013 Met Gala
January Jones paired graphic liner made from rhinestones with an elaborate up-do.
Getty / Karwai Tang
Miley Cyrus’s Hair and Makeup at the 2013 Met Gala
Miley Cyrus’s interpretation of 2013’s theme – “Punk: Chaos to Couture” – was spot on with her spiked-up hair and bold red lip.
Getty / Karwai Tang
Cara Delevingne’s Tattoos at the 2015 Met Gala
Cara Delevingne’s tattoos at the 2015 Met Gala extended across her chest and down her arms.
Getty / John Lamparski
Janelle Monáe’s Hair at the 2015 Met Gala
Let’s never forget Janelle Monáe’s iconic, multilayer braid at the 2015 Met Gala.
Getty / George Pimentel
Lupita Nyong’o’s Hair at the 2016 Met Gala
Lupita Nyong’o took her hair to new heights with her architectural up-do in 2016.
Getty / James Devaney
Rihanna’s Makeup at the 2017 Met Gala
Rihanna’s magenta blush was swept from her cheekbones to just below her eyebrows.
Getty / Gilbert Carrasquillo
Lily Collins’s Hair and Makeup at the 2018 Met Gala
Lily Collins’s gothic makeup at the Met Gala was a tribute to the “dark arts,” according to her makeup artist, Fiona Stiles. Paired with a sculptural, braided up-do, Collins’s look for the evening was unforgettable.
Getty / Gilbert Carrasquillo
Tessa Thompson’s Hair at the 2018 Met Gala
A line of eye-catching pearls started at the nape of Tessa Thompson’s neck and trailed up her three-tier, beehive-like hairstyle.
Getty / Mike Coppola / Mike Coppola/MG18
Jasmine Sanders’s Hair at the 2018 Met Gala
We can’t help but stop and stare at Jasmine Sanders’s romantic, rose-adorned braids at the 2018 Met Gala.
Getty / Karwai Tang
Gigi Hadid’s Makeup at the 2019 Met Gala
Erin Parsons applied individual feathers to Gigi Hadid’s lashes to create this look.
Getty / Theo Wargo
Priyanka Chopra’s Hair and Makeup at the 2019 Met Gala
Priyanka Chopra arrived at last year’s Met Gala looking like a sexy version of the Mad Hatter from Alice in Wonderland with a silver crown and creative eye makeup.
Getty / Dimitrios Kambouris
Elle Fanning’s Nails at the 2019 Met Gala
Tiny charms dangled from Elle Fanning’s neon nails, serving up major I Dream of Jeannie vibes.
Getty / Dimitrios Kambouris
Harry Styles’s Nails at the 2019 Met Gala
Defying gender stereotypes yet again, Harry Styles wore mismatched blue nail polish on the red carpet.
Getty / Dimitrios Kambouris
Lady Gaga’s Hair and Makeup at the 2019 Met Gala
We can’t decide which part we like better from Lady Gaga’s 2019 Met Gala look: her over-the-top eyelashes, graphic eyeliner, giant pink hair bow, or the tiny hair bows underneath it.
With today being the first Monday in May, we would traditionally be celebrating the Met Gala and all of the best, most out-of-the-box beauty moments born from it. Even though this year’s event was canceled due to a pandemic, we can still look back at the most daring hair and makeup looks that hit the red carpet over the past few years.
Past Met Galas have provided us with more than enough beauty inspiration to reminisce on. There have been multitier updos adorned with precious jewels, stereotype-defying manicures, dramatic tributes to the beauty trends of iconic musical eras, and even a makeup look inspired by the dark arts. With its fashion-centric overarching theme, this event produces some of the most out-of-the-box beauty looks in history.
With last year’s theme being Camp: Notes on Fashion, it’s hard to top the wildly creative looks we were privy to from some of our favourite celebrities. See just a few of the best ones ahead.