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We spoke to the best celebrity hair, makeup, and nail artists to find the answers.

Before every MET Gala, “What is >>insert theme for the year<<?” becomes a popular search term for weeks leading up to the first Monday in May. What did Andrew Bolton mean? (You’ll have to wait for the exhibit.) How will stars interpret the theme? (For me, Kim Kardashian and Katy Perry are always camp and I live for it.) This year’s theme, Gilded Glamour, brought all the pomp and circumstance to the red carpet. Sparkling jewels sprinkled on the face and body, bling in the hair, and gold all over were a few of the beauty trends seen during fashion’s big night.

Nevertheless, during this resurgence of elegance and excess, there is a sobering thought—it’s still a pandemic. And no glitz and glamour can outshine that. However, if there was ever a time to live the adage of Brazilian author Paulo Coelho, “No matter how you feel, get up, dress up, show up,” it’s now. When you look good, you feel good. And who doesn’t want to feel good? The industry predicted the Roaring 20s post-pandemic, and while we’re still in it—just like the CDC—fashion is moving on. Gilded glamour is all about prosperity, excess, more, more, more–but for many of us, our reality is that we are living in a time of less, filled with inflation and uncertainty. How can people add a little excess to their life via hair and makeup without it further affecting their pockets? ELLE spoke to the celebrity hairstylists and makeup artists who created the head-turning red carpet looks you saw last night. Keep reading for their input on gilded glam and ways for you to recreate the red carpet looks in real life.

“Gilded glamour to me was very interesting because I translated it into pretty with a twist of metal. I don't know why my mind went there. When doing Cardi's hair, I flat ironed a lot of small pieces with my Dyson straightener to resemble metal woven into the updo,” she reveals.

Regarding the inspiration for the Bronx beauty's look, Stylez states, “We were inspired by her gorgeous gold Versace dress that's covered in gold chains to create this glamorous 90s, voluminous updo.”

Gilded glamour can translate to high shine hair. “If anybody is trying to do their own version of gilded glam, I recommend a lot of TRESemmé Keratin Smooth Serum to get that metallic shine and their Total Volume Hairspray to lock it in place,” reveals Stylez. Creativity can be cost-effective. “Have fun with it and hopefully, I will see some inspired looks,” encourages Stylez.

“When I think of gilded glamour, I think of over-the-top fashion that is exclusive for the elite & wealthy during a period in America where things glittered on the surface but were corrupt underneath. I wanted to play on this idea and contrast her beautiful Tory Burch dress with a modern and fierce eye to embody strength and edge, all of what Sydney encompasses! She is a classic rarity but also a powerful woman. I liked the idea of combining the two to fit this iconic moment in fashion,” she shares.

We showed you how to get Sydney’s smokey eye; now, here’s how you can save some money. Instead of using the Armani Beauty cream eyeshadow, you can use this Maybelline Color Tattoo as a dupe. This deep purple hue will give you a glam smokey eye and the cream shadow formula makes it easier to smudge.

For celebrity nail artist Yoko Sakakura, “Gilded glamour is timeless elegance, simple but luxurious.” She used this thought process for her clients Simone Ashley and HoYeon Jung.

For Simone Ashley, Sakakura explains, “I took the gold from her dress to create a gold French manicure with a crystal detail.” The use of negative space in the form of a French manicure makes this look subtle yet uber glam.

Emilie Heathe Nail Polish in Billions is a 10-free nail polish that looks good and is a better lacquer choice for the environment. This is the exact polish Sakakura used for Simone Ashley’s golden French tip.

Don’t want to pay $28 for nail polish? We get it. For under $10, you can recreate Simone Ashley’s sparkly French tip with Essie’s metallic nail polish in ‘Good as Gold.’ Accentuate your nail glam without minimizing your pockets.

Celebrity nail artist Yoko Sakakura focused on a “timeless elegance” for “Squid Game” star HoYeon Jung’s nails.

“We didn’t want to overpower the jewels, so we just did a blue accent over the Emilie Heathe’s Champagne Toast shade,” explains Sakakura.

“For HoYeon, we matched the luxurious blue Emilie Heathe ‘The Dark Night’ shade with her dress and jewels,” shares Sakakura. Talk about an exact match!

Looking for a more affordable sparkly deep blue? ILNP has a great dupe for Emilie Heathe’s ‘The Dark Night’ shade called ‘You Up?’ It costs $10 and no one will be able to tell the difference. (We’ll keep your secret).

Celebrity nail artist Elle Gerstein describes gilded glamour as “Patina! NYC glamour and architectural interests.” And from Blake Lively’s gorgeous dress, the entire team was on the same page.

“I used foil, pigment, alcohol ink, and chrome to create actual paintings of Patina,” Gerstein reveals. However, her base nail was pre-painted and actually KISS Gel Fantasy Sculpted Nails!

“KISS Gel Fantasy Sculpted Nails allowed for the perfect base to build this architecture-inspired design off of,” raves Gerstein.

“Emma is wearing a gorgeous two-piece set by Louis Vuitton that is the epitome of a nod to the Gilded Age. With the addition of show-stopping, vintage Cartier jewels, we wanted to complete the look with soft romantic colors and a pop of gilded glamour using gold leaf for the makeup,” states makeup artist Taylour Chanel.

Chanel reveals that for the lids of Chamberlain’s eyes, “I pressed Golden from the BareMinerals Mineralist Treasured Eyeshadow palette in the center of the lid and inner corner of the eyes.”

If you are going to go for the gold, go all the way! “For a touch of gilded glam, I added a dab of lash glue at the center of the top lash and applied a touch of 24K Gold Leaf.” While this leaf looks expensive, five leaves are available for $15. For leaves that are 99.9% gold, that’s a steal!