Yesterday evening, Tessa Thompson stepped onto the Met Gala red carpet with a major case of the blues—a royal-blue custom Valentino gown with swirly cutouts, to be more specific. Her structural dress was a work of art, her hair was sleek and glossy in a wet look by Lacy Redway, the fingers on her left her hand were intentionally dipped in a blue pigment by manicurist Mei Kawaljiri, and the glam, courtesy of Michael Anthony, tied everything—the dress, the theme, and everything that fashion's biggest night calls for—together.

Hours before, the vibes in her hotel room were high, with jazz music setting the tone. "The energy is always lovely and warm [as we're getting ready]," Anthony says. "Very classy, lots of laughs, but we’re definitely focused and we’re being meticulous because Met Gala is so public and so photographed." For her makeup look, he used a vinyl lid to nod at using paint as a medium for expression: "The texture of the eyelids reminds me of oil paint before it dries," he says.

When it comes to creating a look, Anthony and Thompson have gotten it down to an easy flow—they both have an appreciation for tones, textures, and general artistry, so the process tends to begin with a conversation, followed by reference photos and sketches. "I think one of the biggest pieces of the puzzle is staying super open and not having an ego about making changes or pivoting to different ideas," Anthony says.

All of the creatives behind this look seemed to have paint on the mind. "Tessa’s dress reminded of a splash of paint or dripping Klein blue paint, so I wanted there to be an element of wetness, which is why I used that effect on the eyelids and kept everything else toasty and bronze," Anthony says. He achieved the notable bronzy glow through the use of the Spike Valentino Buttery Matte Lipstick in the shade 'put a spike on it' and a good amount of buffing with two shades of Valentino's Eye2Cheek powder. "I get in the zone when I’m painting, and I love this type of red carpet buttery, sculpted look," Anthony says. "I’ve been doing this particular type of makeup for so long now and I love how it’s evolved."

As for products or tools that this look would've been impossible to achieve, the Very Valentino Concealer (two shades, MR1 and DN1, mixed for the perfect coverage) was essential for a glowy base and the Spike Valentino Disco Balm in 'Rose In The Woods' provided a glowy lip, but the Valentino Brow Trio Eyebrow Liner in taupe and brown were no-brainers for Anthony. "They came in clutch for this look!" he says. "I love the flat thin blade to draw in and fill the brow shape, and I become very fond of the very fine tip liquid marker on the other end for individual flicks of hair." Because for an event as iconic as the Met Gala, all of the seemingly small details matter—including individual strands of brow hair.

In order to achieve a convincing, long-lasting self-tan, you’ve got to get the tone right. The best formulas today are designed to read like real skin: slightly golden, never flat, and free of that telltale orange cast. They blend seamlessly, develop evenly, and wear down in a way that looks more like a gradual fade than a patchy disappearance.

From airy mousses that deliver color overnight to slow-build lotions that double as daily hydration, there’s a formula for every routine and comfort level. The standout picks ahead are the ones that strike that sweet spot—natural-looking, low-maintenance, and able to hold their glow for days without turning streaky or dry.

Sugared + Bronzed Sunless Tanning Water

If you’re seeking a tan that looks like it came from good lighting, not a bottle, this mist makes the process almost too easy. Sugared + Bronzed’s Sunless Tanning Water goes on completely clear and weightless, so there’s no guide color to navigate, and no risk of transfer while it develops. Instead, you’re left with a sheer, believable warmth that builds subtly and never tips into orange territory.

Mist it onto bare skin as part of your skincare prep or layer it over makeup for a subtle boost of warmth throughout the day. The ultralight texture means it won’t disturb what’s underneath, and because the color builds gradually, you can control the depth without ever overdoing it.

Lux Unfiltered Summer Skin Gradual Self-Tanning Cream

If you prefer a tan that quietly builds in the background, this is the kind of formula you’ll reach for daily. Lux Unfiltered is a gradual tanning lotion that doubles as a true body moisturizer, delivering a soft, believable warmth while smoothing and hydrating the skin at the same time. It goes on like your favorite lotion—no learning curve, no streak anxiety—and develops into an even, lit-from-within flush.

The real payoff is in the texture. Because it’s rich and conditioning, it helps blur dryness and uneven tone, which is exactly why the color ends up looking more natural and less “placed” on the skin. You can apply it like you would any body cream, building depth over a few days or maintaining an existing tan without having to start from scratch.

Iconic London Prep Set Tan Mousse

Achieve that deeper, just-back-from-vacation bronze (without it looking heavy or obvious) via this luxe mousse. It has a light whipped texture that glides over the skin and blends out effortlessly, making it perfect for tanning newbies. The product develops over a few hours into a warm golden tone that looks rich, but is never muddy or overly intense. What sets Iconic London’s Prep Set Tan Mousse apart is the finish. Instead of drying down flat, it leaves skin looking subtly radiant, almost like there’s a built-in glow beneath the color. That added dimension keeps the tan from looking one-note and helps it read more like real, healthy skin.

Self Glow by James Read Endless Summer Gradual Tan Moisturizer

For a tan that feels more like skincare than self-tanner, this is the one to keep on rotation. Endless Summer is designed as a true daily moisturizer first, with a subtle, buildable tint that develops over time. It melts into the skin like a body cream, delivering that soft sunlit warmth that looks completely natural. You can use it daily to build depth or maintain an existing tan, and because the payoff is so controlled, it’s nearly impossible to overdo. The result is that understated “I’ve been in the sun a little” vibe: polished, hydrated, and easy to keep up.

Bali Body Self-Tanning Body Milk

Bali Body’s Self Tanning Body Milk has a fluid, milky texture that melts into the skin like a lightweight lotion, making it easy to spread evenly without the usual streak stress. Your tan will be deep, but it’ll still look soft and natural—plus, this product is packed with hyaluronic acid (to pull in moisture for a smoother and more even finish) and ceramides to help lock that hydration in.

Luna Bronze Glow Tanning Moisturizer

Luna Bronze’s Glow Tanning Moisturizer builds color over a few days, giving you full control over the depth; you can stop at the slightest hint of warmth or layer it up for a more noticeable tan without ever overshooting. That gradual payoff is exactly why it works so well for fair complexions. Instead of depositing too much color at once, it adds a sheer, believable tint that enhances your natural tone. It’s also ideal as a maintenance product—something you can use in between self-tanning sessions to top up your color and extend how long your tan lasts without having to perform a full reapplication.

Loving Tan Two-Hour Express Self-Tanning Lotion

Looking for color on a deadline? This one actually delivers. Loving Tan’s Two-Hour Express Self-Tanning Lotion is made for those last-minute moments when you can’t wait overnight. You apply, let it develop for a couple of hours, rinse, and you’re left with a warm, even bronze that continues deepening.

What makes it feel more controlled than other express formulas is the lotion texture. It gives you more glide and playtime during application, so you can really work it into the skin and avoid patchiness. There’s also a visible tint as you apply, which helps map everything out and ensures you don’t miss spots—especially in trickier areas like elbows and knees.

Dior Solar The Self-Tanning Drops

If you want your self-tanner to feel invisible in your routine, this is the elevated version. Dior Solar’s Self-Tanning Drops are designed to be mixed directly into your moisturizer or serum, so you’re essentially turning your existing skincare into a custom self-tanner. The result is a gilded sheen that looks fully integrated, not sitting on top of your skin.

The beauty is in how adjustable it is. You control the depth by the number of drops you use, making it just as ideal for a sheer hint of warmth as it is for building a more noticeable bronze over a few days. Because it’s diluted into your skincare, the color develops evenly across the face and fades in a way that looks soft and natural.

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If you feel like everyone and anyone is releasing fragrances these days, you're not alone. But this is what I'll say: it's not often that a new fragrance brand is backed by decades of familial history. That’s what immediately drew me to Gamine, founded by experienced beauty executive and creative Melanie Dir. Dir is the daughter of master perfumer Claude Dir, who has created scents for the likes of Tom Ford and Marc Jacobs, so it's safe to say that fragrance is in her blood. From infancy, she was exposed to resins, musks, woods, and accords, developing a nasal palate that so many of us don't even have in adulthood. Then, at the age of six, her father began formally training her in raw materials and composition.

So, it was only a matter of time before Dir took everything that she learned throughout her childhood and all that her father instilled in her and built her very own fragrance brand. While the brand emerges from her family tradition, she is also paving her own way. "With GAMINE, I constructed a new system built on three codes: global, grit and luxury," she says. The packaging is designed in Brooklyn which represents Dir's present; batched in Grasse, a small French village near Cannes, which represents her familial past; and composed in Milan, which represents her life-long affinity for consistently traveling and not staying in one place for too long.

The formulas consist of concentrated natural essential oils, resulting in scents incomparable to other fragrances. At a deskside in Coveteur's office, I immediately noticed that her rose fragrance, 1000g, smells nothing like any other rose fragrance I've ever smelled. That's because it's natural, grounded in the earth, and balanced with notes of Nepal pepper, blue chamomile, oakmoss, and more.

Dir describes one of her other offerings, Heroic Dose, as an "aromatic trip" that's both clean and dirty at the same time. It's sharp, but also smoky, cerebral yet bodily, and features balanced notes of blue hemp, salty marine air, chocolat noir, saffron, French hay, bourbon, cumin, and patchouli for a blend unlike anything that anyone else has ever thought of—but that works perfectly. I would describe this fragrance as round and inherently masculine, but not necessarily in a gendered way—more so in that it felt assertive and strong.

The third offering from this launch is Altered States, which aims to "ground the body in immersive frequency" through notes of nutmeg, cardamom, plum, black truffle, sandalwood, guaiac wood, and more. Despite self-describing myself as a floral fragrance girl, this is the one that I immediately knew was my favorite. It smelled earthy, natural, and warm, and brought me back to sunny spring days spent outside during my college days in the Hudson Valley—it felt nostalgic even though I didn't create and bottle the fragrance myself.

Each scent is available in the form of a traditional spray perfume—called Bricks because of the weighted glass packaging and industrial eco rub top, resulting in a hefty bottle reminiscent of a brick—and a smaller solid perfume, in the form of a little ball you can easily toss into your bag and take everywhere for inevitably necessary touchups. Plus, in line with the bag charm trend, GAMINE offers hardware in the form of a cube that the solid perfumes easily fit into (and be shown off in).

With so much history to back up Dir and her inaugural solo perfume drop, team Coveteur can confidently predict that GAMINE will quickly become the next cult favorite fragrance brand—mark our words.

When you think of the Met Gala, fashion is likely the first thing that comes to mind. But no look would be complete without the hairstylists and makeup artists behind the glam that ties everything together. This year's theme, "Costume Art" and the dress code "Fashion As Art," call for some dramatic glam: makeup that has us mesmerized, hairstyles that we would've never considered, and nails that make statement on their own. Whether it's subtle, clean girl makeup that allows the clothes to shine or intense smoky eyes, dramatic lips, and face gems that, while paired with the clothes, tells a story and creates a character, these are the 2026 Met Gala beauty looks that stood out to us.

Hunter Schafer

Hunter Schafer's soft, ultra feminine glam was inspired by a painting of Mäda Primavesi by Gustav Klimt. "I drew inspiration from the way he painted her: stoic, elegantly defiant in stance, but still playful and innocent," makeup artist Sandy Ganzer said. Ganzer used a combination of soft floral tones and pink lipstick, all from Prada Beauty. Her hair, by Rena Calhoun, was effortlessly smooth without being overly polished.

Anok Yai

Anok Yai's prosthetic hair and overall glam by Sheika Daley was golden and bronzey, but the star of the show was certainly the perfectly placed tear streams fixated on her cheeks.

Audrey Nuna

Audrey Nuna's hair by Akihisa Yamaguchi was pulled back to let the glam to the talking. Her overall glam by Ashley Ysabelle was subtle and clean with a fully black lip tying the look together. We're particularly obsessed with the single, overly extended cat eye, though.

Chase Infiniti

Chase Infiniti's Met Gala glam was bronzey and sunkissed—as if she had just returned from the south of France or something. "I wanted to create a look with lush skin that breathes with a sunlit glow and lightly veiled in soft bronze," makeup artist Amber Dreadon said. "I wanted eyes to act like jewelry, brushed with painted molten metallics that move and reflect in the light." The outer corners of her eyelids were glimmering with Armani Beauty's rose gold shimmer eyeshadow, her hair by Coree Moreno was perfectly voluminous, and we have no notes.

Ejae

For her Met Gala debut, Ejae's hair was in a distinct updo and her skin was notably radiant. What really stands out and completes her look, though, is her intense and dramatic smokey eye courtesy of makeup artist Min Kim. For her base, her skin was glowing courtesy of the SkinCeuticals C E FerulicEx.

Suki Waterhouse

The power of Suki Waterhouse's flushed cheeks and shimmery eyelids simply cannot be denied. "I wanted Suki Waterhouse to embody a modern goddess, radiant, effortless, and luminous,” makeup artist Cedric Jolive said. With the help of Armani beauty products and silky hair by Jacob Rozenberg, Waterhouse's completed glam was angelic.

Chase Sui Wonders

We already had a good feeling that 2026 marked the return of the side-part—but Chase Sui Wonder's Met Gala hairdo by is expanding our minds. Her perfectly slicked side-part bun also features two shiny, separated pieces of hair swept across her forehead. As for glam, her full face ILIA Beauty by Shayna Goldberg was subtle and glowy, with a soft beige lip.

Emma Chamberlain

Emma Chamberlain's Met Gala glam by makeup artist Lilly Keys is all about the details: the shimmery gold in the inner corners and the smoky, sleepy girl eyeshadow around her eyes, courtesy of Makeup By Mario, the lived in bleached brows, the moody lip, and her perfectly (yet slightly disheveled) pixie cut styled by Sami Knight.

Lisa

Lisa looked ethereal in silver and white, with perfectly placed wisps of hair along her forehead styled by , billowy lashes, chrome eyeshadows, and face gems that completed the look.

Kylie Jenner

Kylie Jenner's glam by Makeup By Ariel is always great—that's essentially her brand. But what makes this look a standout is the debut of her bleached eyebrows and the single swooped strand of hair on her forehead styled by Iggy Rosales-Jackson.

Adut Akech Bior

To the naked eye, Adut Akech Bior's beauty look might seem pared back with her glowy skin doing a lot of the heavy lifting. "Adut Akech’s look is really about clean, natural skin," makeup artist Keita Moore said. "Everything’s kept light—just enough coverage to even things out, a bit of warmth, and soft definition." But the rich berry blush, especially when the light catches it, truly makes this a standout look.

Rachel Sennott

As a slight nod to the 1960s's, Rachel Sennott's glam by Lily Keys included hazey lilac eyeshadow, smudged eyeliner, and piecey lashes—all courtesy of Marc Jacobs Beauty.

Tyla

There are so many good details to unpack here. Let's start with the hair: inspired by sculptures and statues, hairstylist Yusef Williams used Wavytalk to create a radiant finish and somewhat of a wet look. Her makeup by Esther Edeme was glowy and complete with a distinct cat eye and a few face gems for added sparkle. Her body was glittery and shimmery, completing an ethereal look.

Rihanna

Paloma Elsesser

Paloma Elsesser's hair, styled by Emilie Bromley, was perfectly tousled and effortless, but her chrome diamond encrusted ear by makeup artist Michaela Bosch was the defining element of her overall look.