The 2026 Met Gala Proved Beauty Looks Are the Unsung Hero of the Night—We Ranked the Best 9
1. Lisa
· CosmopolitanIt’s the most wonderful time of the year: Celebrities taking bathroom selfies, late red carpet arrivals, and standout dresses we’ll be talking about for weeks. Nope, not the holidays. It’s the 2026 Met Gala, a charity event celebrating the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Costume Institute. This year’s theme, Costume Art, helped determine the event’s dress code: Fashion is Art, inviting guests to “express their own relationship to fashion as an embodied art form.” Which can only mean one thing: We’re about to get some serious looks, including hair and makeup. (If you’re asking me, a beauty editor, I’ll tell you that’s the most central part!)
Dare I say, the hair and makeup really is the sleeper hit of the night. The beauty looks at the Met Gala will help inform trends for the rest of the year, from short haircuts to golden accents to bleached brows. Subdued and simple just don’t feel right up against a “fashion is art” dress code, so expect conceptual, high-editorial looks.
The list of confirmed celebrities at the Met Gala is long and mighty, but we did the hard work of culling the absolute best beauty looks of the night. Read on for our takes on the details you may have missed (plus a few notes on how they were achieved).
Kevin Mazur/MG26//Getty Images
Everything about this look is making me want to sit in front of my vanity and play for hours. The blue lids are in line with all the blue eyeshadow trending right now, but a smattering of gems add a touch of sparkle to her eyes. And it’s all surrounded by this stunning extra-long, sleek hair that’s in a sculptural half-updo with a swirly piece laid on her forehead. And if it wasn’t enough to already be my #1 favorite look of the night, just look at her hands. Lisa’s got blue gems on her nails (a custom set of Kiss press-on nails by Juan Alvear) to match her eyes, plus a zillion silver rhinestones all over her hands. She’s taking it!
2. Ejae
Kevin Mazur/MG26//Getty Images
I didn’t think a gown made entirely of Swarovski crystals could be upstaged by a beauty look, but here we are. Ejae’s makeup is soft and fresh, done by makeup artist Min Kim using Dior. I can’t stop staring at the effortless blend on this smokey eye (for which Kim used Diorshow Couture Eyeshadow Palette in Grand Bal and the brand’s waterproof black eyeliner). But the star is really this adorned updo. She told E! on the carpet that she wanted to pull her Korean heritage into the hair and makeup look. In fact, her hair was inspired by the female courtesans of the Joseon dynasty, and it’s actually held together by traditional Korean pins called “binyeos.”
3. Hudson Williams
Dimitrios Kambouris//Getty Images
Hudson Williams, the man that you are!!! Every year, I hope and pray to the makeup gods that we’ll get men on the red carpet who are willing to go there with glam. Usually, I’m disappointed but Williams’s blue and red shimmery eye look (paired with a sooty black winged liner, a trend I’m seeing all over the red carpet on women and men—h/t to Sombr) is like a wish granted, and it’s better than I could have ever imagined. Sure, fashion is art, but so is makeup, and your face is the perfect canvas. And apparently your ear, which Williams extended his metallic shadow onto. Williams told Vogue his makeup was inspired by Black Swan, his (and his stylist’s) favorite film.
4. Sabrina Carpenter
Dimitrios Kambouris//Getty Images
I’ve come to expect a similar glam every year from Sabrina Carpenter. But seeing her walk onto the carpet with this faux bob delighted me beyond belief. Made in collaboration with Redken (for whom Carpenter is an ambassador), this pin-curled style hints at her old-Hollywood aesthetic in a brand new way. And it’s all topped off (literally) with a beautiful diamond headpiece, adorned with a custom “Sabrina” centerpiece.
5. Rihanna
Kevin Mazur/MG26//Getty Images
I don’t think I’ve ever watched a Met Gala red carpet and not thought Rihanna had one of the best looks of the night. But my favorite late arrival always finds a way to give me exactly what I’m looking for. Tonight, that meant custom metal pin curls by Jennifer Behr that legit look like jewelry for your hair (done by hairstylist Yusef Williams). For makeup, the goal was golden glow, says her makeup artist Hector Espinal, for which he used Fenty Beauty’s soon-to-release cream bronzer and Killawatt Freestyle Highlighter. I especially loved the crystal adornments around her eyes that matched so well with the jewelry in her ears.
6. Ciara
Jamie McCarthy//Getty Images
Ciara told Vogue her inspo was “modern-day Nefertiti,” and I think she delivered. Each piece of this hair was laid and slicked down with glitter and gold foil. And gosh, it is art all on its own. Maybe it deserves its own exhibit, IDK!
7. Zöe Kravitz
Jamie McCarthy//Getty Images
Hey, you don’t have to go full nine yards for something stunning. Kravitz makes me gasp every time with how teeny-tiny her micro braids are, and it’s become a mainstay for her to have braids on red carpets. I love it. The wispy pieces left out here add some whimsy to her look, paired with her always-beautiful Nina Park glam.
8. Tyla
Dimitrios Kambouris//Getty Images
Tyla is my one-to-watch in the makeup space right now, always rocking glitter and color in ways that remind me of Y2K glam. And she did it for the Met Gala, too. This body glitter is playful and sexy, not costume-y or kitschy (I especially dig the placement on her hips). And it connects with the glitter on her ears (!!) and cheeks that is reminiscent of a 2016, alien-like highlight.
9. Kylie Jenner
Mike Coppola//Getty Images
When has Jenner not served? She’s a billion-dollar brand founder of one of the best celebrity beauty brands out there. I’m not surprised! Her classic cloud-skin look is courtesy of a soon-to-be-launched Kylie Cosmetics powder as well as the brand’s blurring skin tint. But the standout here is really her bleached brows, done by her longtime makeup artist Ariel Tejada. It takes this from soft and natural to edgy and artistic.
Julian Hamilton//Getty Images
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Beth Gillette is the beauty editor at Cosmopolitan with more than seven years of experience researching, writing, and editing hair stories.
Beth Gillette is the beauty editor at Cosmopolitan, where she covers skincare, makeup, hair, nails, and more across digital and print. She can generally be found in bright eyeshadow furiously typing her latest feature or hemming and hawing about a new product you "have to try." Prior to Cosmopolitan, she wrote and edited beauty content as an Editor at The Everygirl for four years. Follow her on Instagram for makeup selfies and a new hair 'do every few months.