2018’s Best Dressed: Beauty heroes

We love it when anyone pushes beauty boundaries on the red carpet, and at the Heavenly Bodies: Fashion and the Catholic Imagination-themed Met Gala in May, Lily Collins nailed ‘gothic romance’ with a glittery gunmetal eyeshadow, glossy dark purple lip stain and red tear drop, finished off with a show-stopping crown. Makeup artist Fiona Stiles added crystals at the center of the actress’ upper and lower lashes and used highlighter drops to make her skin glisten. Bravo.

Lupita Nyong’o and her go-to beauty team of Nick Barose on makeup and Vernon François on hair consistently deliver, and her ‘golden goddess’ look at The Breakthrough Prize was our favorite of multiple best-in-beauty contenders from the actress. Her flawless skin was paired with a soft stain of merlot-colored lipstick, but the superlative statement was her hair: François weaved golden thread through braided locks, creating a style that matched her dramatic Oscar de la Renta gown.

Created by Pati Dubroff, Margot Robbie’s look at the London premiere for Mary Queen of Scots was all the holiday party inspiration that anyone could ever want. A dark plum smoky eyeshadow finished with red glitter, pink blush and a bold lip to match – are you brave enough to try it?

The Black-ish actress possesses some of the most radiant skin in Hollywood and an adventurous approach to hair and makeup, so her beauty looks are well worth keeping tabs on. Take her statement-making, solid orange eyeshadow and neon pink lips at the Emmys – it shouldn’t work, but it really, really does. We usually love her hair full and fabulous, but keeping it pulled back here lets the makeup work its magic. Round of applause to makeup artist Lisa Storey.

Awkwafina proves that it doesn’t matter how many times we’ve seen it before: we will always love the classic Hollywood combination of Veronica Lake waves and a scarlet lip. Subtle cat-eye liner and flawless skin keep it feeling fresh.

Actress Evan Rachel Wood has never been one to humor limiting gender stereotypes. Anyone else might choose a sleek high pony or a similarly slicked-back hairstyle to pair with a suit on the red carpet, but this juxtaposition of an ethereal spray of fresh-cut flowers against sharp Altuzarra tailoring is pitch perfect.