Out-There Celebrity Makeup Looks That Surprisingly Worked

makeup - gwen stefani, rihanna — (Image credit: Getty Images)

Some celebrities are always inventive on the red carpet—think Lady Gaga, Rihanna, and Doja Cat—so we can reliably expect wild beauty looks. But big, bold makeup has become a main red carpet mainstay even for more conservative celebrities, with A-listers experimenting with color, texture, and glitter. From edgy '90s looks to more modern takes, these brilliantly bold looks continue to leave us mesmerized.

Stephanie Hsu

Here attending the 2023 CFDA Awards, Stephanie Hsu drew from the runway in her white eyeshadow look. "For makeup, I want to play with this paintbrush-like pastel eyeshadow that I saw at NYFW," she explained in an interview with Fashionista. And honestly, she's nailing it.

Ariana Grande

Yes, your eyes do not deceive you: those are two crystals at the edge of Ariana Grande's eyes. They're actually "fairy wings" and Grande's makeup artist Michael Anthony said in an interview with Vogue he designed them himself specifically for her. It feels almost elfen in an incredible way.

Helen Mirren

Obviously this pretty pink makeup on Helen Mirren wouldn't be quite so dramatic if it weren't, you know, for the cool pink hair. She said she was inspired by a contestant on America's Next Top Model for the color; this matching moment at the EE British Academy Film Awards is almost whimsical.

Kristen Stewart

Kristen Stewart is never afraid of a bold eyeshadow, and Cannes is the place to do it (this is 2018 at the Knife + Heart premiere). It's hard to tell in this photo, but the bold black eyeshadow has blue on her mobile lid, a brilliant pop of color when she closes her eyes.

Tessa Thompson

Here attending the 2018 Met Gala ("Heavenly Bodies: Fashion The Catholic Imagination"), Tessa Thompson's eye makeup is extremely angelic-looking—not to mention particularly on theme for the late '10s, where white eyeliner was a huge trend.

Lily Aldridge

Dying your eyebrows totally changes the look of your face. This was the 2016 Met Gala ("Manus x Machina: Fashion In An Age Of Technology") and Lily Aldridge's brows match the light gold hue of her dress. "My beauty team wanted to do something different. We were playing with color. We were maybe going to do gold in my hair, gold on my face and last minute we decided to do a bleached eyebrow look and do gold on my eyebrows,” she said.

Lizzo

Lizzo is very much channeling a floral arrangement (the 2024 Met Gala theme was "Sleeping Beauties: Reawakening Fashion"). The delicate spots of colorful eyeliner keep the theme going, and was apparently botanical garden-inspired, with colors ranging through the rose's life cycle.

Lady Gaga

No surprise: this Harley Quinn-esque makeup look on Lady Gaga is at the UK premiere of Joker: Folie à Deux. She has quite a method acting style, so this red hair, bleached brows, bright blue eyeshadow look (complete with a tear!) is really just a red carpet version of her character's vibe.

Elle Fanning

Eyeshadow doesn't have to stop at your brows! A youthful Elle Fanning (this was at the "PUNK: Chaos to Couture" Met Gala in 2013 and Fanning was a mere teen here) looks exuberant and maximalist in her eye makeup, and honestly she is totally selling it.

Angelina Jolie

Angelina Jolie's Oscars look from 2000 felt goth light, with the black extensions and winged eyeliner. It was a big deal at the time; Jolie had an edgy vibe, and this pale, dramatic look would have been unusual for the more formal Oscars (especially since she won that year!).

Dove Cameron

If you happen to like dramatic makeup looks like the ones on this list, Dove Cameron is worth a follow: she's got an incredible energy when it comes to eye makeup in particular (this is at the 2022 American Music Awards, and that wing is so sharp it could cut glass).

Julia Fox

Remember when Julia Fox was wearing the blackest of eyeshadows during various 2022 fashion weeks? The “Black Swan eyeliner,” as it was referred to on TikTok, originated at the Schiaparelli Haute Couture show in Paris, and was done by none other than Pat McGrath.

Doja Cat

You can rest assured that, if Doja Cat's making a red carpet appearance, there's going to be a dramatic makeup look to go with it. This was at the "Sleeping Beauties: Reawakening Fashion" 2024 Met Gala, and Pat McGrath made rivers of mascara run down her face as a part of her "wet dress" look.

Adwoa Aboah

Green is one of those colors Adwoa Aboah has seemed to really, really love in her red carpet appearances. This is at the "Heavenly Bodies: Fashion The Catholic Imagination" 2018 Met Gala, and her head matches her green and black dress. This is a great example of how a dramatic hair color deserves dramatic eye makeup to match.

Gwen Stefani

Gwen Stefani's crystal-adorned face makeup from the 1998 MTV Video Music Awards is well-known and well-referenced at this point (particularly her use of the Bindi dot). But in terms of using stickers, gems, glitter, and other adornments in your makeup, this look was major foreshadowing for the future.

Joan Smalls

Joan Smalls is at the "Charles James: Beyond Fashion" 2014 Met Gala in a major, major lip color. If you've ever seen a video of Wonderskin lip stain, where you apply it, it looks purple, and then you peel it off to reveal a gorgeous color, she looks mid-application.

Pink

If you lived through this particular beauty moment, you will never, ever forget it. Obviously the star of the show is Pink's fuchsia hair (which I think is at least partially her real hair??) but she's going in by matching her eye and lip makeup a version of the same color.

Kesha

Kesha has been known for some gorgeous and wild makeup looks over her red carpet career. My favorite is probably this, at the 2010 Grammys, with a gorgeous glittery concoction around her eyes. The combo of gold and silver is such a cool mix of color and texture.

Ginnifer Goodwin

There's a smokey eye, and then there's this. Honestly, I love that Ginnifer Goodwin's dark eyeshadow goes all the way up to and includes her dark brows, as if the whole thing is one continuous path of black. And it's absolutely the best theming for "PUNK: Chaos to Couture."

Katy Perry

Elvira, is that you?? This is a really fun hair and makeup look on Katy Perry (for the "Manus x Machina: Fashion In An Age Of Technology" 2016 Met Gala), from her very bleached brows to her very blue eyelashes to her soft black lipstick. Every single aspect is surprising in a fun way.

Evan Rachel Wood

Evan Rachel Wood is no stranger to a major hair moment, but it's a little more rare to get a big makeup look to match. This is at the "Rei Kawakubo/Commes Des Garcons: Art of the In-Between" 2017 Met Gala, and the blue and black eyeshadow is an exact match to her hair color.

Gigi Hadid

With a literally spiky look that turns her eyelashes into teeny tiny needles, Gigi Hadid gives "eye-catching" a new meaning. This is from the 2019 Met Gala ("Camp: Notes on Fashion") and is actually small pieces of feather glued on individually and painstakingly, one at a time.

Lizzo

Lizzo is bold and dramatic at the 2022 MTV VMAs. This "grungy glam" was actually achieved with two Charlotte Tilbury eyeliners mixed together. As a person who loves to play with ear cuffs and other fake piercings myself, my favorite part is the fake lip ring.

Christina Aguilera

At the time, Christina Aguilera's "skunk" highlighted hair was the talk of the town (and people still reference it as one of the more dramatic beauty looks to ever hit the red carpet). If I may spare a moment for the pink eyeshadow and blush, though, I kind of love the pop of color. And it's fairly foreshadowing of more modern beauty looks.

Rihanna

Speaking of modern beauty looks! Rihanna takes the pink color from her petal dress and runs with it, layering the shade on eyes, cheeks, and the side of her face all the way to the scalp. This is the "Rei Kawakubo/Comme des Garcons: Art Of The In-Between" 2017 Met Gala, and she's literally glowing.

Lady Gaga

Lady Gaga loves a David Bowie reference, and this is quite a literal one in a Ziggy Stardust-inspired look. Bowie had passed away in 2016, and that year's Grammys included a Gaga-sung tribute to him. Thus, this look has layers of meaning—and also looks incredible, to boot.

Pamela Anderson

Even for its time, Pamela Anderson attending the 1999 MTV Video Music Awards in a giant pink hat and deep blue eyeshadow was an intense look. But that has always been Anderson's style: she was always daring, and she was always the coolest-looking person in the room.

Doja Cat

Doja Cat strikes again! The rapper is never, ever going halfway on the red carpet (including by wearing face prosthetics), and and this look accompanied her attendance at the Givenchy Womenswear Spring/Summer 2023 show during 2022 Paris Fashion Week. She said that through her dramatic looks, "I was able to get the message across to people that I am an explorer of art and fashion."

Cara Delevingne

This molten silver skullcap on Cara Delevingne is so compelling that I can't look away from it (and it's perfect for the 2017 Met Gala theme "Rei Kawakubo/Comme des Garcons: Art Of The In-Between"). Her makeup artist shared that it was a combination of Mehron Silver Metallic Powder and a MAC mixing medium, brushed onto Delevingne’s bald head and forehead.

Lady Gaga

Lady Gaga's look at the 2019 Met Gala ("Camp: Notes on Fashion") was a multi-stage affair, with the star starting out in a sweeping cloak and taking off layers as she went up the red carpet. But thanks to her eye makeup (made of "razor-sharp splices of gold leaf" sculpted into lashes) we're still focused on her face.

Lupita Nyong'o

At the 2019 London premiere of Us (which, if you're unfamiliar, is a horror movie), Lupita Nyong'o went with a heavily thematic look. I love the pure commitment, including the colored contacts; per the makeup artist, it was meant to be "creepy and glamorous" and inspired by "fierce women in '80s music videos."

Björk

Has Björk ever looked more Björk than in this photo? The singer-songwriter is always fully herself wherever she goes, but this (at "Fashion Rocks" in Aid of The Princes Trust in 2003) looks to be partially a glitter face mask on top, with crystals directly on her skin on the bottom. And it is...magnificent. No notes.

Katherine’s a contributing syndications editor at Marie Claire who covers fashion, culture, and lifestyle. In her role, she writes stories that are syndicated by MSN and other outlets. She’s been a full-time freelancer for over a decade and has had roles with Cosmopolitan (where she covered lifestyle, culture, and fashion SEO content) and Bustle (where she was their movies and culture writer). She has bylines in New York Times, Parents, InStyle, Refinery29, and elsewhere. Her work has also been syndicated by ELLE, Harper’s Bazaar, Seventeen, Good Housekeeping, and Women’s Health, among others. In addition to her stories reaching millions of readers, content she's written and edited has qualified for a Bell Ringer Award and received a Communicator Award.

Katherine has a BA in English and art history from the University of Notre Dame and an MA in art business from the Sotheby's Institute of Art (with a focus on marketing/communications). She covers a wide breadth of topics: she's written about how to find the very best petite jeans, how sustainable travel has found its footing on Instagram, and what it's like to be a professional advice-giver in the modern world. Her personal essays have run the gamut from learning to dress as a queer woman to navigating food allergies as a mom. She also has deep knowledge of SEO/EATT, affiliate revenue, commerce, and social media; she regularly edits the work of other writers. She speaks at writing-related events and podcasts about freelancing and journalism, mentors students and other new writers, and consults on coursework. Currently, Katherine lives in Boston with her husband and two kids, and you can follow her on Instagram. If you're wondering about her last name, it’s “I go to dinner,” not “Her huge ego,” but she responds to both.