There was a time, long before Lady Gaga and Doja Cat, when makeup at the Met Gala was merely an afterthought. Clad in couture, esteemed guests would throw on some eye shadow, swipe some lipstick, blot some blush and call it a day. It wasn’t until the mid-2010s that bold beauty made its official play on the coveted carpet.
Joan Smalls was one of the first entrants to go big, pairing purple lipstick with her custom Vera Wang at the “Charles James: Beyond Fashion” celebration in 2014. Two years later, Katy Perry and Kim Kardashian kicked it up a notch, forgoing their natural brow shade for barely there blond. Perry, alone, amped up her look with blue mascara and a navy matte lip.
The art of whimsical beauty continued well into the next decade, thanks to Lily Collins and, of course, Lady Gaga. The 2019 Met Gala, “Camp: Notes on Fashion,” saw guests tap into the wacky and ornate, with everything from kaleidoscopic eyes to multicolored lashes.
Fast-forward to 2023, a year when makeup that should have been minimal was made melodramatic — in the best way — by the likes of Doja Cat and Lil Nas X. And by 2025, the majority of attendees caught on.
Here, WWD takes a look back at four of the most extravagant makeup looks at the Met Gala over the years.
Katy Perry, 2016
Katy Perry
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At “Manus x Machina: Fashion in an Age of Technology” in 2016, Katy Perry moved beyond universal red carpet beauty to don an intergalactic aesthetic instead. 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 collection with Covergirl at the time.
Lady Gaga, 2019
Lady Gaga
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Lady Gaga made the Met steps her main stage at “Camp: Notes on Fashion” in 2019, donning a theatrical countenance, consisting of gold foil lashes, white eyeliner and hot pink lipstick, crafted by makeup artist Sarah Tanno-Stewart. Her lash extensions bore a resemblance to spider legs — long, spiky and skinny.
Ezra Miller, 2019
Ezra Miller
Getty Images for The Met Museum/
Ezra Miller cramped the camp up a notch that same year, turning themselves into an optical eye illusion with the help of makeup architect Mimi Choi. The actor beared three sets of eyes on the carpet, plus an evil eye. They also boasted matte red lipstick, as if the kaleidoscopic eye effect wasn’t dramatic enough.
Doja Cat – 2024
Doja Cat
At “Sleeping Beauties: Reawakening Fashion” in 2024, Doja Cat arrived on the mint green carpet, with charcoal shimmer-stained cheeks by Pat McGrath. The dark hue ran down her face like dry tears, catching at the side of her nose, her lips and chin. Meanwhile, her lids were accentuated with a sharp smoky eye, which followed the angle of her skinny brows.
See more looks in the gallery below.
