Beauty Marks: The Best Beauty Looks of the Week

Reported by Vogue.

The 2026 Met Gala's "Fashion is Art" dress code didn't stop at hemlines — it ran all the way to fingertips, lash lines, and sculptural hair pieces that belonged in a museum. According to Vogue, this year's red carpet delivered some of the most conceptually driven beauty moments in recent memory, with glam squads treating their clients like living canvases.

The night's standout was undeniably Anok Yai. Nail artist-to-the-stars Tom Bachik may have had the most-discussed manicure — an Art Deco design painted for Emma Chamberlain to mirror her watercolor Mugler gown, with diffused makeup by Lilly Keys — but Yai's look was a full team effort in the truest sense. Hairstylist Sasha Glasser constructed prosthetic sculpted curls directly referencing Michel Anguier's Leda and the Swan sculpture; wig application and FX came from Malina Stearns and Laurel Charleston; gold beauty by Sheika Daley completed the tableau. The result was less "red carpet glam" and more installation art. Meanwhile, Rihanna did what Rihanna does — her gilded, chrome, bedazzled set by nail artist Kim Truong needed exactly zero conceptual explanation.

Off the Steps, the Week's Beauty Moves Were Just as Deliberate

Charli XCX, apparently deep in a rock-girl era, called on makeup artist Raoul Alejandre for an oil-slick, charcoal eye and enlisted Matt Benns for an up-do built for a mosh pit. On the opposite end of the spectrum, Emily Wood leaned into high-voltage fuchsia — the kind of pop that makes you want to sprint to Sephora. The diffused, softly dewy makeup trend continued its reign via Daisy Edgar-Jones (Jo Baker with glossy tousled waves by Bryce Scarlett) and Havana Rose Liu, whose pearlescent skin was courtesy of Pircilla Pae. Leomie Anderson kept it sharp with nude glam by Chelsea Uchenna — Doechii's go-to — and a knife-precise updo from Keisha Moore.

The bigger picture: the most exciting beauty right now isn't a product or a trend — it's the artists behind the looks finally getting their flowers alongside the celebrities wearing them.

Read the original at Vogue.