The 28 Wildest Met Gala Makeup Moments in History
Evan Agostini1/29Ashley Olsen, 2006
At the "Anglomania" event this Olsen had a first — and a last — with shiny-wet cherry red lipstick.
Patrick McMullan2/29Jennifer Lopez, 2007
J.Lo channeled '20s-era beauty (the theme was designer Paul Poiret) but with a thoroughly aughts twist: Glitter-flecked gray eye shadow, long, faux lashes, lip gloss (of course), and a bejeweled barrette clipped into her perfectly-sculpted waves.
Charles Sykes/REX/Shutterstock3/29Rihanna, 2009
We can only hope that one day soon, RiRi will add metallic eye shadows to the Fenty Beauty range, allowing us to copy these stunning, emerald green wings that she wore to the Met Gala, when the theme was "Model as Muse."
Bryan Bedder4/29Iman, 2010
The model and activist looked to the 1920s for inspiration when the Met's theme was "American Women: Fashioning a National Identity." To complement her glistening finger waves, she wore onyx shadow smoked out around her eyes and a deep burgundy lipstick.
Kevin Mazur5/29Jennifer Lopez, 2011
In 2011, the Met Gala paid tribute to the late designer Alexander McQueen. Lopez went matchy-matchy with her gown and makeup, going for a pinky-red lip and her signature feathery lashes and surreal-looking skin. To add dimension to her lips, J.Lo's makeup artist lined her lips with a deep shade of crimson, then filled in the rest of her mouth with a lighter, cherry color.
Stephen Lovekin6/29Ginnifer Goodwin, 2011
Goodwin also coordinated her makeup to her ensemble, choosing to cover her lids with a dreamy seafoam eye shadow that wrapped around the inner corners of her eyes.
Lars Niki7/29Kerry Washington, 2013
There were some major makeup moments at the gala celebrating the museum's "Punk: Chaos to Couture," including Washington's punk-meet-pretty eye look that combined edgy black wings with pastel lilac eye shadow.
Andrew H. Walker8/29Ginnifer Goodwin, 2013
Love it or hate it, there was no denying that Goodwin was pure punk in her Siouxsie Sioux-inspired eye makeup complete with blackened brows and paled out lips.
Dimitrios Kambouris9/29January Jones, 2013
Like Goodwin, Jones also took a beauty risk when channeling the exhibition's punk-in-fashion theme. There was something smartly spooky about her disconnected cat-eye, while petal pink cheeks and lips kept it from becoming too costume-y.
George Pimentel10/29Joan Smalls, 2014
Your entire look doesn't need to be wild to make violet-toned lips look like the most natural thing in the world. The cool hue was just right against a tawny complexion and ash beige dress the year the gala honored designer Charles James.
Larry Busacca11/29Zoë Kravitz, 2014
Long before Big Little Lies and a YSL Beauty contract, Kravitz sported a blonde lob with bangs — but she was just as daring with her makeup looks. Here, she went for a monochromatic look with burgundy shadow smoked out around her eyes and a matching stained lip.
Andrew H. Walker12/29Nicole Richie, 2014
It's hard to see in this picture (and look away from the gorgeous lavender hue of her hair), but Richie's lids were decorated with the prettiest flakes of iridescent glitter by makeup artist Beau Nelson. You can see the sparkle — which was a mixture of pastel holographic flecks from Make Up For Ever, NYX Cosmetics, and Lit Cosmetics — up-close, here.
Larry Busacca13/29Zoë Kravitz, 2015
Kravitz did the matchy-matchy thing again a year later when the exhibition was "China: Through The Looking Glass." But in an entirely different (and unique way): By coordinating her eye color to her septum piercing.
Dimitrios Kambouris14/29Adriana Lima, 2015
We're used to seeing the Victoria's Secret model bronzed and beachy. So when she stepped out onto the red carpet with a deep oxblood lip, sharply arched brows, and tons of lashes for the "China: Through The Looking Glass" celebration, we nearly did a double take.
Dimitrios Kambouris16/29Willow Smith, 2016
A single silver dot just under the star's iris made a case for minimal effort and maximum result the year the theme was “Manus x Machina: Fashion in an Age of Technology.”
Dimitrios Kambouris17/29Katy Perry, 2016
Perry ditched her pinup girl vibe this year when she showed up with bleached brows and wearing royal blue eyeliner, matching blue mascara, and black lipstick — all from her first makeup collection with CoverGirl.
Dimitrios Kambouris18/29Lily Aldridge, 2016
The model was barely recognizable in the best possible way: Gilded brows, matte putty lips, and a strict slicked back chignon. Swoon. To create her 24 karat arches, makeup artist Quinn Murphy used gold makeup paint.
Taylor Hill19/29Taylor Swift, 2016
At the "Manus x Machina: Fashion in an Age of Technology" themed-event, the songstress demonstrated there is one way and one way only to wear near-black lipstick: With all the confidence — and not a stitch of eye makeup.
Venturelli20/29Beyoncé, 2016
Bey's looked amazing every Met Gala she's ever attended, but the reason this makeup look gets a spot on this list is the fact it's such a departure from what we've come to expect from her. The curious not-quite-gray/not-quite-green shadow, the quirky almond shape, the lack of mascara and blush, the paled out lip — all come together in the most strangely beautiful and unexpected way.
George Pimentel21/29Rihanna, 2017
Everyone lost their minds over Rihanna's major blush (and dress) situation at the 2017 Met Gala, where the exhibition celebrated the work of Japanese fashion brand Comme des Garçons. Little did we know that RiRi was giving us a sneak peek at her makeup line, Fenty Beauty, which launched six months later, shaking up the beauty industry in the process.
Venturelli22/29Candice Swanepoel, 2017
Possibly the sharpest, most perfect wings that have ever come down a red carpet. Makeup artist Carola Gonzalez deserves a freakin' medal.
Karwai Tang23/29Cara Delevingne, 2017
Makeup artist Romy Soleimani worked double duty the night of the Met Gala, not only painting Delevingne's face but also quite literally painting her head — in a mix of Mehron Silver Metallic Powder and M.A.C. Mixing Medium, that is. On top of that went a layer of glitter hairspray followed by Swarovski stones adhered to her head with Spirit Gum, Soleimani told Allure at the time.
Taylor Hill24/29Brie Larson, 2017
Makeup artists really stretched their creative wings at last year's Met Gala. Makeup artist Rachel Goodwin added flat black pearl she bought at Michael's craft store to the inner and outer corners of Larson's metallic cat eyes.
Kevin Mazur25/29Katy Perry, 2017
Perry, who was one of the hosts of the 2017 gala, got her makeup done by none other than Pat McGrath, who used two of her limited-edition Pat McGrath Labs kits: Dark Star 006 (to create the crazy-gorgeous metallic blue eye) and Lust 004 (for those glitter-flecked red lips).
John Shearer26/29Selena Gomez, 2017
Yet another example of a celebrity taking a makeup risk at the Met Gala is Gomez, who let makeup artist Hung Vanngo top her lids with streaks of matte magenta shadow.
Dia Dipasupil27/29Lupita Nyong'o, 2017
Nyong'o and her makeup artist Nick Barose love playing with color for the red carpet. But for Met Galal 2017 they really took things up a notch with a rainbow of technicolor-bright shades on her lids. "Impressionist floral eyes," was how Barose described the look.
Neilson Barnard28/29Lily Collins, 2017
Fiona Stiles executed Lily Collins' goth-glam makeover — complete with hyper-arched brows and so-dark-it's-black lipstick. (And don't even get us started on those eyelashes.)
Getty Images29/29Emily Ratajkowski, 2017
At the 2017 'Rei Kawakubo/Commes Des Garcons: Art of the In-Between' Met Gala, Emily Ratajkowski wore a stunning turquoise dress, the colors of which are subtly reflected back in her eye makeup. On the tops of her lids was a deep teal cat wing, while below, her makeup artist did a metallic bronze liner. At the Gala, Ratajkowski was glowing and bronzed and topped the look off with a peachy lipstick.
