Whew, These Met Gala Beauty Looks Were Worth the Wait

On the red carpet, Stemberg explained that they asked hairstylist Vernon François if he could create a durag out of hair. And that's exactly what he delivered.

"This is a first for me ~ creating a durag MADE WITH hair, instead of from material to cover the hair. It complements, elevates, and balances @amandlastenberg overall look, while reflecting the theme of the night," François said on his Instagram feed. "The tie at the back is transformed into a dramatic train. I love how Amandla takes full ownership of it. Working with @AmandlaStenberg is always exciting."

Nyong'o explained that the reference for her hairstyle was an actual artist — Brooklyn-based conceptual artist Lorna Simpson. She also explained that it was created by her longtime hairstylist Vernon François, who used hair pieces, lots of pins, and Redken's Triple Pure 23 Hairspray (Françcis is a spokesperson for the brand).

Look closely and you'll also notice her gorgeous blue eye makeup, which was the handiwork of makeup artist Nick Barose and complemented her denim dress perfectly. "Double denim with a touch of #FemmeFatale from classic Hollywood Western Films," Barose said of his inspiration on Instagram.

We're in awe of Peak's neon green winged liner, which instead of being a straight fluid line of pigment is actually a line of crystals and studs that makeup artist Tyron Macchausen carefully placed along her top lashes using a pair of tweezers. For the rest of her makeup, Macchausen used Chanel products, including the Rouge Coco Flash Lip Colour in Boy (£33).

Stewart's '50s-inspired style was the handiwork of hairstylist, Adir Abergel, who created a super high ponytail at the crown of her head and rolled the front section of her hair into what was called "bumper fringe" in the 1950s.

"I loved creating this moment for this year's Met Gala with the theme: "IN AMERICA: A LEXICON OF FASHION." Kristen in my muse forever!" Abergel wrote in a caption accompanying a photo of the vintage look. Stewart's new hair colour was also dreamed up by Abergel, who collaborated on the new blonde tone with LA-based colourist Daniel Moon for the actor's appearance at the Venice Film Festival two weeks ago.

It's safe to say Amanda Gorman and her team won the award for most crystal embellishments used on the red carpet. Over the top of a very subtle glittered base, makeup artist Joanna Simkin added dozens of tiny gems swooping from one side of Gorman's face to the other, punctuated by two larger gems placed on the inner corners of her eyes.

It was Maisie Williams' hair that truly took our breath away, but the black rhinestones added as a final embellishment gave us major goth/Halloween/villain vibes — and we absolutely here for it.

For her ever first Met Gala, Storm Reid debuted a sophisticated new blonde pixie cut courtesy of hairstylist Greg Gilmore. "Such a dope moment and beuatiful transformation into womenhood on my Boo Storm!" Gilmore gushed on his Instagram.

For her makeup, Paul Blanch complemented the new 'do by creating the outline of a wing shape around her eyes using teeny pearl studs. He kept the rest of her makeup a pretty pink using all Maybelline products.

Hairstylist and curl expert Nai'vasha worked with Keys to create this beautiful Swarovski crystal-encrusted chignon. "A Royal ode to classic American glamour," Nai'vasha captioned her Instagram post. Equally as regal was the red lip colour chosen by makeup artist Tasha Reiko Brown, which was a combination of Chanel Le Crayon Lèvres in Brun Carmin (£22) and
Chanel Rouge Allure Ink Fusion in True Red (£33).

Rihanna's incredible smoky plum makeup look at the Met doubled as a Fenty Beauty launch. . . because of course it did. Fenty Beauty global makeup artist Hector Espinal teased the new New Diamond Bomb Palette, which appears to feature some beautiful autumnal purple hues. To top off the look Espinal used Fenty Beauty Lip Paint in Underdawg (£20), a deep burgundy shade.

Blunt channeled the iconic American actress, Hedy Lamarr, who wore a similar headpiece in the 1940s (you may have seen the famous black-and-white photo on your Instagram feed at one point). To ensure Blunt's hair didn't distract from the Miu Miu crown, hairstylist Laini Reeves simply slicked it back into a ponytail, whilst makeup artist Jenn Streicher kept things understated, opting for gorgeous-yet-subtle metallic tones on the eyes using makeup from Chantecaille.

Everything about Kruger's Met Gala look was electric, from her lime green gown by Prabal Gurung and fuchsia heels, to the flashes of hot pink eyeshadow and cobalt blue eyeliner applied on the inner and outer corners of her eyes by makeup artist Misha Shahzada.

Saweetie's look featured rhinestones, rhinestones and a little more rhinestones, most notably in her hair. Her wet-look flipped-up blonde bob was encrusted with dozens of gems from root to tip and matched her custom Christian Cowan gown perfectly.

First, gymnast Nia Dennis wowed us with a full on floor routine in front of the museum steps. Then she wowed us again with her smouldering blue smoky eyes and high ponytail punctuated with small jewels.

Steinfeld gets major points for this full-on hair transformation (brows included!). The natural brunette stepped out with an icy platinum blonde lob, which she complemented with equally as icy, cool-toned makeup colours on her eyes, lips, and cheeks.