Met Gala 2026: The Best Beauty Moments

Met Gala 2026 beauty highlights: the standout hair and make-up looks from celebrities including Jisoo, SZA and Anok Yai.

Words: Alisha Azuddin
Published: 5 May 2026
Reading time: 1 min

Met Make-up Moments

The Met Gala’s “Fashion Is Art” theme gave beauty teams a mandate as much as it did designers—and the red carpet delivered. From gilded goddesses to living sculptures, this year’s looks pushed far beyond conventional glam. Here’s a closer look at the beauty moments that we’re still reeling over.

Met Gala 2026 beauty highlights: the standout hair and make-up looks from celebrities including Jisoo, SZA and Anok Yai.

01.1

Silver and white have rarely looked so otherworldly. Lisa’s look centred on chrome-toned eyeshadow swept across the lids, paired with dramatic feathery lashes and delicate face gems that caught every flash of light. Wispy tendrils were placed strategically along her hairline, softening the whole look into something quite angelic.

02.1

SZA arrived as a fairy pulled straight from a botanical garden. Her headpiece was an elaborate crown of yellow pincushion protea, moth orchids, calla lilies, and cowrie shell chains that gave the look an organic, living quality. The make-up leaned into the warmth of the florals: terracotta-toned lips with a blurred, sun-kissed finish and bronzed cheeks radiating a unbelievable golden glow.

03.1

Making her entrance as the evening’s final arrival, Rihanna brought a beauty look as intricate as her gown. Make-up artist Hector Espinal layered and teased their newest Fenty Beauty cream bronzer, blush, and highlighter to build a dewy, sculpted complexion—all anchored in warm bronze tones that mirrored the metallic crystals of her dress. Hair went fully futuristic: a slicked-back mullet adorned with golden pin-curl details and metallic swirls that echoed the movement of her gown.

04.1

Jisoo’s debut at the Met Gala felt entirely true to form. Dewy, light-coverage skin in soft pink tones formed the base, while shimmery eyeshadow and a fine flick of liner added polish without drama. Incredibly pretty, her look sat squarely in her “Princess Jisoo” world—refined, romantic, and utterly her.

05.1

Heidi Klum took the theme at its most literal—and most spectacular. Her entire ensemble was crafted to replicate the visual language of The Veiled Vestal, Raffaelle Monti’s 1847 marble sculpture. Grey material was moulded and shaped to her figure, with the finished effect convincingly mimicking the appearance of sheer fabric in motion. The result sat somewhere between beauty look and fine art installation, making a compelling case for prosthetic and sculptural techniques as a legitimate high-fashion medium.

06.1

The eyes and dress were everything for Emma Chamberlain this year. Make-up artist Lilly Keys layered mauve, plum, and flashes of iridescent yellow across the lids, building a look that felt richly textured rather than heavy.

07.1

Beyoncé kept the beauty clean and the impact enormous. Glossy lips and flushed pink cheeks gave her complexion a warm luminosity, while silver shimmer across the eyes added just enough sparkle to hold its own against her glittering gown.

08.1

We love seeing a boundary-pushing moment for men’s beauty on the red carpet. Hudson Williams arrived with a Black Swan-inspired transformation, brought to life by groomer and hair artist Aika Flores using Chanel Beauty.

09.1

Anok Yai didn’t want to look human—and she succeeded. Working in custom Balenciaga, her team used prosthetic hair draped like cascading marble and applied heavy contouring to make the skin read as polished stone. The finishing detail—streaks of gold across the face like the weeping statues of Madonna—transformed the whole look into something genuinely arresting. Living sculpture has never been so convincingly achieved.

End of list

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