"Subversive. Sexy. Skin!" All the Exclusive Details on Paloma Elsesser's 2026 Met Gala Look

Happy first Monday in May to all who celebrate! The Met Gala is essentially the Super Bowl for fashion and beauty lovers, which means we Who What Wear editors have been superglued to our screens to clock the event's best dressed celebs. (Be sure to check out our live blog, where we've shared these looks—and our unfiltered thoughts about them—in real time!) This year's dress code is Fashion Is Art, but in my humble beauty-editor opinion, it's not just the clothes that deserve to be immortalized in a museum; the glam moments, too, are something to behold. Plenty of A-listers have succeeded in taking my breath away tonight—including Paloma Elsesser, who hit the carpet donning a painterly Francesco Risso dress and full-on crystal ear.

The supermodel and host committee member looks positively breathtaking in that patterned gown, but it's her makeup that made me immediately screenshot the look. (Call it beauty-editor bias!) Below, discover all the details you need to know, including exclusive tips from her makeup artist, Michaela Bosch.

"The painterly effects and metallic details were our main source of inspiration, paired with Paloma’s kinky-eclectic-gorgeous sensibility," Bosch shares. "She’s a dream face of mine. It feels like her face tells me exactly what to do at every step." When I ask her about the overall goal for Elsesser, she responds simply: "Subversive. Sexy. Skin!"

Elsesser is known for her glowing, soft skin—so much so that she's often complimented on how velvety her skin feels—so of course her red carpet glam always has an ethereal, effortless skin focus. "We wanted the skin to be luminescent and breathable, letting her beautiful freckles shine, but with a subtle sculpted snatch," Bosch adds. To do so, she defined Elsesser's cheekbones using YSL Beauty's All Hours 24H Hyper Sunkissed Glow Bronzer in the shade Sienna 5, then warmed up her complexion with the Make Me Blush 24H Buildable Powder Blush in shades Hot Mauve 23 and Peachy Nude 37. "We chose shades that complemented her beautiful ochre tones," she explains.

To finish off the base, she strategically applied YSL Beauty's Touche Éclat Awakening Concealer Click Pen in shades 4 and 6.5 only on precise areas, making sure to let it sit and oxidize for a bit before blending. "To let your skin shine through like Paloma’s, try waiting to do foundation or concealer until after you’ve done blush, bronzer, and the rest of your look," Bosch advises. "Only apply where you really need it. For example: around the nostrils, in the hollow of the eye. Your skin will breathe and you’ll still feel gorgeous without all the coverage—I promise!"

The eyes remained rather minimal by comparison—just a quick coat of Lash Clash Extreme Volume Mascara (an impressively clump-free formula) and a dusting of shadow from the Couture Mini Clutch Luxury Eyeshadow Palette to subtly define the lids. To finish off the look, Bosch created a subtly sculpted lip with YSL's Kiss Shaper Lip Liner in Sienna Rebel 109 and Cacao Flirt 107 followed by a swipe of Lovenude Lip Blusher in Mauve Haze 8. The result? Effortless, breathable glam that looks straight out of a Pre-Raphaelite painting. "Hopefully, people want to re-create this ethereal, effortless complexion and stunning glow," Bosch adds. "And maybe… a crystal on the ear or two?"

Shop Paloma Elsesser's 2026 Met Gala Makeup