The Met Gala’s Most Memorable Beauty Moments Came From Black Women

The 2026 Met Gala has come and gone, leaving us with enough artful beauty inspo to last until at least the first Monday in May, 2027. While the Met Gala red carpet was resplendent with elevated fashion looks, the accompanying glam was nothing to scoff at. Amidst the seasonal, cyclical spring makeup trends and red carpet beauty staples—lookin’ at you, smokey halo eyes—we were treated to some standout beauty trend resurgences we’re hoping to emulate all summer long. As is often the case, Black women led the charge, serving up high contrast lip-lined looks and textured metallics that evoked glam from decades past. 

It’s no secret that women of color, particularly Black women, are tastemakers when it comes to fashion and beauty. It is also no secret that their innovations tend to be overlooked, scorned, or ignored until picked up and repackaged for and by white women. Did we mention this has been going on since before TikTok influencers “discovered” beauty hacks BIPOC women have been doing for decades? Full lips, glossy skin, no-makeup makeup, as well as the bold lip looks that dominated last night’s Met Gala red carpet are just a few beauty trends that can trace their origins back to women of color. 

Many of these trends began not simply through innovation, but due to necessity. Sure, 40+ shades of foundation is now the industry standard, but it wasn’t so long ago that Black women could not chase beauty trends because makeup for their skin tones simply did not exist. But there is something inherently magical about Black women’s ability to turn a lack of access into a thing of beauty. It is even more affirming to see these Black beauty staples appear on, arguably, fashion’s most opulent, famed, and trendsetting red carpet. 

This isn’t to say that folks of all skin tones can’t serve in brown liner or a frosty metallic lip, but it is vital to remember that these showstopping Met Gala beauty moments were brought to us first and foremost by Black women who stepped onto red carpets 30 years ago with their heads held high, despite not having access to makeup made for them. Nevertheless, they persisted. And so, it turned out, did their makeup looks.

Ahead, the latest iterations and throwback origins of the brightest and boldest 2026 Met Gala beauty looks.

Buckle up, babes. We’re heading back to the '90s, an era when trendsetting Black women like Lil’ Kim, Naomi Campbell, Brandy, and their makeup artists made do with limited shade ranges by using brown and black eyeliner to line their lips. Decades later, the dual-toned lip kit rose to prominence as part of the baking, crease-cutting, brow-filling more-is-more beauty trends of 2018 and beyond. It’s been seen on red carpets and runways ever since. 

On the 2026 Met Gala red carpet, Laura Harrier and Teyana Taylor captured the high contrast magic of a pale nude lip paired with bold brown liner, while Coco Jones’ makeup artist Diana Shin opted for a softly resplendent nearly nude lip that emphasized Jones’ natural lip color for a look that felt a little vibey, a little retro, and a lot like a reclamation.

SZA and Keke Palmer brought the drama to the 2026 Met Gala with high-impact ombre lips. Palmer’s vivid red look, created by makeup artist Kenya Alexis using Danessa Myricks' namesake brand (herself a champion of and for women of color in the beauty industry), started scarlet in the center before blending into a deep mauve for a flawless, yet soft focus look with polished and vampy vibes.

Sophie Sinot dipped into a different, though no less impactful, color palette to create a glossy and glittering cool-toned ombre on SZA in shades of purple and pink. It was reminiscent of '90s-era Brandy, with a dash of late ‘90s and Y2K girlishness. Much like unblended brown lip liner, the ombre lip trend can trace its roots beyond its 2018 more-is-more resurgence, when we all collectively agreed that 45 minutes was not too much time to spend on a bold lip look.

The richly-frosted metallic lips spotted on Doechii, Anok Yai, and Rihanna at the Met Gala can trace their roots back to the '90s hip-hop scene. Much like bold, brown lip liner, frosted and shimmery lip looks came from a lack of access to “nude” toned lip products that matched deep skin tones (If you’ve ever tried a too-pale-for-you nude lip color, you know what we’re talking about) and undertones. While Rihanna’s own Fenty Beauty helped turn the tide towards more inclusive color cosmetics, there were decades before when "nude" meant beige and pink. 

Without true nude options that could blend into the natural lip colors of Black and brown women, stars of the time worked with what they had, leaning into the contrast instead of trying to conceal it. The result was a frosted look that leaned more towards metallic shine than pop girlie shimmer, which seemed to suit the edgier vibes of music’s leading ladies at the time.

Fast forward to the 2026 Met Gala and the metallic tradition took on new levels of glam, featuring tonal shifts and gilded textures that elevated metallics from a trend to an art. Ever the boundary-pushing beauty innovator, Anok Yai went for a metallic makeup look, crafted by makeup artist Sheika Daley, who added a diffused gold pigment from Yai's cupid’s bow all the way up to her hairline and down her décolletage, blending into bronze and taking on new tones until Yai was transformed into a living work of art.  Meanwhile, Doechii arrived at the Met Gala in another softly-shining and luminous look, created by celebrity makeup artist Chelsea Uchenna, who used subtle shades of rose-gold to highlight Doechii’s natural lip shape and color. 

While the very nature of trends is cyclical—what once trends will return again and again…and again—there’s a unique joy in seeing beauty looks created in defiance and out of necessity come roaring back onto the scene, created with products designed to celebrate Black women, who are so often the true, but not cited, source of mainstream beauty trends. Seeing these Black women-led trends take center stage on fashion’s biggest night out was nothing short of a triumph and reminder that our culture is, always, the moment.