If there’s any time to get wildly experimental with your lewk, it’s at a Comme des Garçons-themed Met Gala. While the 2017 Met Gala red carpet was sorely lacking in Rei Kawakubo-backed designs, attendees were more than willing to show their weird via avant-garde beauty looks. For Cara Delevingne, that meant a bejeweled, spray-painted, hair-free head. Others paid homage to the woman of the hour by rocking her signature blunt bob. High-octane eyeshadow was another overarching theme, seen on the likes of Selena Gomez, Katy Perry, Evan Rachel Wood and Jemima Kirke. And, as with any red carpet, there was no shortage of flawless cat eyes (though Candice Swanepoel’s took the crown).
Click through the slideshow above to see all the over-the-top transformations and some of the more subtle, yet equally memorable, hair and makeup looks. (And remember, in life, we must take the bad with the good.)
Met Gala 2017 Best/Worst Beauty
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Best: Cara Delevingne
If anyone can pull off a freshly shaven, silver-painted, jewel-embellished head, it's Cara Delevingne. And yes, those are actual crystals lining Cara's cheekbones and forehead. Makeup artist Romy Soleimani is the genius behind the model-turned-actress' otherworldly look.
Image: Karwai Tang/WireImage
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Best: Priyanka Chopra
Priyanka Chopra's silvery lids and chocolatey lips were ultra-glamorous. (We're also loving her artsy statement earrings.)
Image: Kevin Mazur/WireImage
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Best: Selena Gomez
Selena's bold yet soft neon pink lids were the work of makeup artist Hung Vanngo. Selena's otherwise minimal makeup kept the star looking pretty as opposed to clownish.
Image: John Shearer/Getty Images
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Worst: Jemima Kirke
Jemima Kirke, on the other hand, did too much.
Image: Taylor Hill/FilmMagic
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Best: Evan Rachel Wood
Evan Rachel Wood or a chic Edward Scissorhands? Just kidding. We love Evan's pristine eye makeup and the fact that she and makeup artist Toby Fleischman didn't shy away from a shocking, Comme-worthy look.
Image: Theo Wargo/Getty Images For US Weekly
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Best: Janelle Monae
Janelle Monae has a signature red carpet lewk: bejeweled hair, black-and-white outfit, fierce red lip. Works every time.
Image: Dia Dipasupil/Getty Images For Entertainment Weekly
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Worst: Kylie Jenner
There are those who plastered faux platinum tresses to their head to marvelous effect (Rita Ora) and then there's Kylie Jenner, whose gown was stunning but whose hair was Ken doll reminiscent.
Image: Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty Images
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Best: Lupita Nyong'o
Lupita Nyong'o's technicolor "impressionist floral eyes" were the work of makeup artist Nick Barose. Kids, do try this at home.
Image: Dia Dipasupil/Getty Images For Entertainment Weekly
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Best: Lily Aldrige
While we were hoping to see a glittering crystal face mask somewhere on the red carpet, Lily Aldrige's mesh fuchsia veil was an acceptable substitute. Nor can we argue with her perfect brows or sleek center part.
Image: Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty Image
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Best: Katy Perry
Katy Perry's platinum pixie, glittery red lip, Pat McGrath Dark Star 006 eyes and delicate Margiela veiled slayed the night's theme.
Image: Karwai Tang/WireImage
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Best: Zendaya
Zendaya's ethereal mane set her apart from the shorn and top-knotted crowd. Her orange lip, a perfect match to her Dolce & Gabbana gown, was an excellent finishing touch.
Image: Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty Images
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Best: Rose Byrne
Let us acknowledge another refreshing, gravity-defying hair moment. The perm renaissance is nigh.
Image: Dia Dipasupil/Getty Images For Entertainment Weekly
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Worst: Solange
Pay homage to Rei Kawakubo with some take on a blunt bob, but please, skip the thick, angled, stereotypically "Asian" brows.
Image: Dia Dipasupil/Getty Images For Entertainment Weekly
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Best: Zoë Kravitz
Zoë Kravitz's flawless cat-eye flick, gamine platinum pixie and soft pink lip were the perfect complements to her voluminous off-the-shoulder gown.
Image: Venturelli/WireImage
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Best: Brie Larson
Jewel accents were a recurrent theme on the Met Gala red carpet, but Brie's pearl-detailed, gunmetal cat eyes were especially memorable. (As was her foil-flecked hair.)
Image: Taylor Hill/FilmMagic
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Best: Naomi Campbell
The best blunt bob to walk the red carpet, in our humble opinion. Naomi's silver-to-dark gray eye gradient make her smize particularly luminous.
Image: Dia Dipasupil/Getty Images For Entertainment Weekly
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In-Between: Grace Hartzel
Grace Hartzel certainly mastered the theme of the night — that is, the "Art Of The In-Between." We're caught between admiration and unease.
Image: Dia Dipasupil/Getty Images For Entertainment Weekly
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Worst: Joan Smalls
Some praised Joan Small's trompe l'oeil lip ring, we found it rather Kardashian-derivative. It's a Comme des Garçons party. Flex your imagination.
Image: Dia Dipasupil/Getty Images For Entertainment Weekly
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Best: Candice Swanepoel
Winged eyeliner #goals, courtesy of Candice Swanepoel and makeup artist Carola Gonzalez.
Image: Venturelli/WireImage
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Best: Rihanna
From her next-level pink blush/eyeshadow/highlighter to her sleek topknot, Rihanna was, as always, the embodiment of all that is chic yet cutting-edge.
Image: Karwai Tang/WireImage
