The Most Extravagant Makeup in Met Gala History

There was a time, lengthy earlier than Lady Gaga and Doja Cat, when makeup on the Met Gala was merely an afterthought. Clad in couture, esteemed friends would throw on some eye shadow, swipe some lipstick, blot some blush and name it a day. It wasn’t till the mid-2010s that daring beauty made its official play on the coveted carpet.

Joan Smalls was one of many first entrants to go massive, pairing purple lipstick together with her customized Vera Wang on the “Charles James: Beyond Fashion” celebration in 2014. Two years later, Katy Perry and Kim Kardashian kicked it up a notch, forgoing their pure forehead shade for barely there blond. Perry, alone, amped up her look with blue mascara and a navy matte lip.

The artwork of whimsical beauty continued effectively into the following decade, because of Lily Collins and, in fact, Lady Gaga. The 2019 Met Gala, “Camp: Notes on Fashion,” noticed friends faucet into the wacky and ornate, with the whole lot from kaleidoscopic eyes to multicolored lashes.

Fast-forward to 2023, a 12 months when makeup that ought to have been minimal was made melodramatic — in one of the best ways — by the likes of Doja Cat and Lil Nas X. And by 2025, nearly all of attendees caught on.

Here, WWD takes a glance again at 4 of essentially the most extravagant make-up seems on the Met Gala through the years.

Katy Perry, 2016

At “Manus x Machina: Fashion in an Age of Technology” in 2016, Katy Perry moved past common crimson carpet beauty to don an intergalactic aesthetic as a substitute. Comprised of blue mascara, bleached brows, blue liner in her waterline and charcoal matte lips, the “Fireworks” singer’s glam was courtesy of her Katy Kat assortment with Covergirl on the time.

Lady Gaga, 2019

Lady Gaga made the Met steps her primary stage at “Camp: Notes on Fashion” in 2019, donning a theatrical countenance, consisting of gold foil lashes, white eyeliner and scorching pink lipstick, crafted by make-up artist Sarah Tanno-Stewart. Her lash extensions bore a resemblance to spider legs — lengthy, spiky and thin.

Ezra Miller, 2019

Ezra Miller cramped the camp up a notch that very same 12 months, turning themselves into an optical eye phantasm with the assistance of make-up architect Mimi Choi. The actor beared three units of eyes on the carpet, plus an evil eye. They additionally boasted matte crimson lipstick, as if the kaleidoscopic eye impact wasn’t dramatic sufficient.

Doja Cat – 2024

At “Sleeping Beauties: Reawakening Fashion” in 2024, Doja Cat arrived on the mint inexperienced carpet, with charcoal shimmer-stained cheeks by Pat McGrath. The darkish hue ran down her face like dry tears, catching along with her nostril, her lips and chin. Meanwhile, her lids had been accentuated with a pointy smoky eye, which adopted the angle of her skinny brows.

See extra seems in the gallery under.