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The best celebrity red carpet beauty moments at the 2022 MTV Video Music Awards

Taylor Swift made a rare appearance!

By Briar Clark

BEAUTYcrew Beauty Editor / August 29 2022

There are certain awards shows that forever live on in pop culture legend.

Case in point? The MTV Video Music Awards.

The clash of iconoclasts in the landscape of popular music has brought us jaw-dropping moments that we’ll never forget.

Remember when Kanye West snatched Taylor Swift’s moment by grabbing the mic and speaking the now infamous phrase “Imma let you finish but…”?

Or the 2001 awards when Britney Spears performed “I’m a slave for you” with a seven-foot Burmese python around her neck?

Seriously, you can’t write this stuff, but we’ll do our best to try to communicate the sheer perfection of the hair and makeup looks on the MTV VMA’s 2022 red carpet nonetheless…

Lizzo

Lizzo went gothic-romantic with an inky monochromatic makeup look that embellished the waves of black silk draped over her shoulders. Her wet-look hair was tucked behind her ears which were layered with a curation of gold hoops. We’re obsessed.

Image credit: Getty

Taylor Swift

Our mouths were wide open when we saw Taylor Swift’s recognisable signature red lip make an appearance on the red carpet. Could this be a clue that new music is on the cards?

Image credit: Getty

Lil Nas X

Lil Nas X looked like Bob Fosse and Cher’s angelic love child when he debuted an astounding halo headpiece and a glimmer of green eyeliner.

Image credit: Getty

Lilli Reinhart

Lilli Reinhart served up a classic hair and makeup look that we will be attempting to recreate in our spare time. That complexion? Flawless.

Image credit: Getty

Chloe Bailey

Chloe Bailey’s highlighter was a shining guiding light on the red carpet that tied her glitter ball ensemble together expertly.

Image credit: Getty

Dove Cameron

Look, we love Dove Cameron as a blonde. But Dove Cameron as a brunette just hits different. Braids and all, we love this vampy fantasy moment.

Image credit: Getty

Shenseea

The Jamaican singer and rapper rarely has a hair out of place, so we weren’t surprised when she rocked up on the red carpet with foundation so flawless it looked like she’d been airbrushed IRL.

Image credit: Getty

Dixie D’Amelio

Been wondering how to get away with a messy bun at a formal occasion? We suggest taking a long hard look at D’Amelio and taking some notes. This is high fashion wind-swept hair at its finest.

Image credit: Getty

Ashley Graham

The model that reminds us the definition of sexy is limitless just put us in a chokehold with this modern yet smouldering smokey eye look.

Image credit: Getty

Sabrina Carpenter

Carpenter might as well claim the best hair in the game at this point. The musician's flowing locks and classic Alice band have left us with hair envy and we need to talk about it.

Image credit: Getty

Main image credit: Getty

Briar Clark

Briar Clark got her start in the media industry in 2017, as an intern for Marie Claire and InStyle. Since then, her keen interest in fashion and beauty has landed her gigs as a Digital Content Producer and Beauty Editor with titles like Girlfriend, Refinery29, BEAUTYcrew and beautyheaven. She loves the way seemingly innocuous topics like skin care and style have the ability to put a smile on people’s faces or make them think about themselves a little differently. A big believer in self love and experimentation, Briar has made a point of becoming the Australian beauty industry’s unofficial guinea pig for unusual treatments and daring hair trends. When she’s not testing out the latest beauty launches, Briar is big on broadening her horizons, mostly in the form of food but she’s also partial to travelling to new destinations both near and far (and of course, allocating an extra bag to bring their best beauty offerings home with her).