Was Taylor Swift's VMAs Look an Easter Egg for 'Reputation'?

taylor swift vma makeup — (Image credit: Axelle Bauer Griffith/Getty)

Last night was a great night for Swifties. Taylor Swift not only made a surprise appearance at the MTV Video Music Awards (!!!), but she also announced that she’d be dropping a new album, Midnights, on October 21st. As if that wasn’t enough to break the Internet, the “All Too Well” singer, writer, and producer did all that while looking drop dead gorgeous in an Oscar de la Renta dress. But the makeup? That was the true star of the show—and obviously courtesy of none other than Dame Pat McGrath.

The gorgeous glam was statement-making, featuring a bold red lip, flawless skin, and a bedazzled floating wing that left us speechless. “It’s always an absolute joy to work with the most divine Taylor Swift on creating a timeless red carpet look,” McGrath said in a press release shared with Marie Claire. “Tonight’s look for the 2022 VMAs was sophisticated, sultry, and sublime, a combination of Divine Skin, a crystal winged eye created with my new MOTHERSHIP X: Moonlit Seduction Eye Palette, and the perfect red lip with LiquiLUST Legendary Wear Lipstick in ELSON 4.”

The makeup, gorgeous as it was, sent fans spiraling into a world of Easter egg hunting. Dissecting every square inch of Taylor's look is par for the course for the fan base—and some of the takeaways were hard to deny. The most buzzed about hypothetical was that the look, complete with the red lip and chain-link dress a la “Look What You Made Me Do,” was indicative that Reputation (Taylor’s Version) is on the horizon. “UMMMM HELLO!!!! IS TAYLOR SWIFT BEING AT THE VMA’S TONIGHT DRESSED SIMILARLY TO THE LOOK WHAT YOU MADE ME DO VIDEO AN EASTER EGG THAT WERE GETTING REPUTATION TAYLOR’S VERSION SOON?!?! Holy st, holy st, holy stttttt. LETS GOOOOOOO,” one, very excited, person wrote via Twitter.

Shop Taylor’s Makeup Look

Pat McGrath Divine Skin The Essence

MOTHERSHIP X: Moonlit Seduction Eye Palette

LiquiLUST Legendary Wear Lipstick in ELSON 4

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Samantha Holender is the Senior Beauty Editor at Marie Claire, where she reports on the best new launches, dives into the science behind skincare, and shares the breakdown on the latest and greatest trends in the beauty space. She's studied up on every ingredient you'll find on INCI list and is constantly in search of the world's glowiest makeup products. She's constantly tracking the biggest nail and hair trends to pop up in the beauty space, going backstage during fashion weeks, tracking celebrity looks, and constantly talking to celebrity hair stylists, nail artists, and makeup artists. Prior to joining the team, she worked as Us Weekly’s Beauty and Style Editor, where she stayed on the pulse of pop culture and broke down celebrity beauty routines, hair transformations, and red carpet looks. Her words have also appeared on Popsugar, Makeup.com, Skincare.com, Delish.com, and Philadelphia Wedding. Samantha also serves as a board member for the American Society of Magazine Editors (ASME). She first joined the organization in 2018, when she worked as an editorial intern at Food Network Magazine and Pioneer Woman Magazine. Samantha has a degree in Journalism and Mass Communications from The George Washington University’s School of Media and Public Affairs. While at GWU, she was a founding member of the school’s HerCampus chapter and served as its President for four years. When she’s not deep in the beauty closet or swatching eyeshadows, you can find her obsessing over Real Housewives and all things Bravo. Keep up with her on Instagram @samholender.