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Remember that prolific meme from a decade ago with the close-up crop of a model's face, iridescent star-shaped glitter packed generously under her eyes, the bold, all-caps text reading, “HOW TO COVER YOUR DARK EYE CIRCLES”? It was simultaneously relatable and whimsical, a comment on the pressure to hide any evidence of supposedly unflattering shadows and a call to playfully draw attention to the area instead of covering it up.
While no one went as far as to encrust their tear troughs in glitter at this year's Met Gala (hey, if there was ever a place to try it…), we did see a number of celebrity guests leaning into undereye emphasis. Instead of depending on concealer to create the illusion of being impossibly well-rested and age-defying, several stars drew attention to the area with their makeup, in some cases even accentuating the look of shadows.
The Met Gala's dark circle celebration took a few different forms, the most obvious of which being the use of eye shadow well below the lower lash line. For some, like early arriver Emma Chamberlain, it involved diffusing metallic mauve all around the eye and in such a way that looks like intentional fallout in her natural contours. (Makeup artist Lilly Keys used the Makeup by Mario Master Metallics Eyeshadow Palette to get the look.) Meanwhile, Ejae's eye shadow, a look created by makeup artist Min Kim with the Diorshow 5 Couleurs palette in Grand Bal, is smudged beyond the usual borders of smoky-eye territory.
Photo: Getty Images
Photo: Getty Images
Some gala guests fully filled their tear troughs with color that dared people to notice an area often camouflaged into invisibility. In the case of Hudson Williams's Rufio-reminiscent mismatched look, Aika Flores used Chanel Les 9 Ombres High Intensity Eyeshadow Palette in The Space Traveler and The Daring Muse “for a striking look with buildable intensity that evolved with every blend,” well down beside his nose. Amelia Hamlin, on the other hand, brightened up the area, not with concealer but with iridescent, silvery lavender shimmer. And singer Yseult, whose lids were given a graphic combination of black and gold shadow, had bold, metallic blue occupying her undereye area.
Photo: Getty Images
Photo: Getty Images
Photo: Getty Images
As she often does, Alysa Liu wore her favorite version of emphasized undereye shadows, aegyo sal, the K-beauty makeup technique that intentionally plays up undereye fat. The Olympic champ recently showed Allure how she does it herself, but for the Met Gala, makeup artist Tami El Sombati used a deep, warm burgundy to create the subtle shadow.
Photo: Getty Images
And then there were the celebrities who basically just said, “Fuck it—deal with seeing my dark circles”—and you can't say we didn't see this coming. Both Charli XCX and model Devyn Garcia let their natural shadows show, and instead of heavy concealer, Gracie Abrams's makeup artist, Emily Cheng, opted for Chanel's upcoming launch, Serum Concealer Natural Healthy Glow, for a much more no-makeup makeup undereye.
Photo: Getty Images
Photo: Getty Images
Photo: Getty Images
Celebrity or not, we're all tired. We're all aging. We're all at the mercy of how lighting hits that ever-so-thin skin. Why fight it? These Met Gala moments prove a bright, perfectly even undereye isn't a requirement for leaving the house, let alone the biggest fashion function of the year. Play with color, play with smudging that kajal pencil farther down, play with… nothing. Skip concealer and watch as the world not only doesn't end, but you also potentially come to actually love the look of dark circles.