Selena Gomez Knew She'd Be "Eaten Alive" After 2018 Met Gala Self-Tanning Fail

Selena Gomez recalled the night she stepped out at the 2018 Met Gala looking "completely orange" after applying a little too much self-tanner.

By Alyssa Morin Sep 07, 2021 10:19 PMTags

Selena Gomez is taking a rare walk down (fashion) memory lane.

Long before the Only Murders in the Building actress starred on a hit crime show, she was thrown to the "Wolves" for her 2018 Met Gala look. While Selena is a red carpet pro and has remained a regular guest at the annual fête, she made a rookie mistake that year when she applied a little too much self-tanner.

With the fashion extravaganza only days away, the Rare Beauty founder looked back at the Met Ball beauty blunder she'll never forget.

"Before I apply the bronzer," the pop star said on the Sept. 7 episode of Vogue's "Beauty Secrets" video series. "I want to tell you a funny story about a little self-tanner."

At the time, Selena and her go-to makeup artist, Hung Vanngo, tried playing up the "Heavenly Bodies: Fashion and the Catholic Imagination" theme with a warm, glowy vibe. But according to the 29-year-old singer, things quickly took a turn as the night went on.

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Selena Gomez's Most Candid Quotes

"For the Met Gala, I was getting ready and we wanted to add some color, so I put on some of this tanning lotion, and it looked really beautiful and very even," Selena recalled. "As the evening kept going on, it was getting a little darker and darker, and I didn't notice it."

In fact, the Rare singer didn't discover the self-tanning failure until she finally made it to her seat. By that point, she had already walked the red carpet, posed for photos and mingled with other A-listers.

As she explained, "I'm at the Met Gala...I'm walking, trying to look all beautiful. And I look at a photo of myself when I sit down, and I'm completely orange."

Charles Sykes/Invision/AP/Shutterstock

It was at that moment Selena knew her look would become a hot topic, sharing, "I was like, this is gonna be terrible 'cause I'm gonna get eaten alive about this."

But instead of going into panic mode, the "Boyfriend" singer decided to poke fun at the beauty mistake.

"So, I had my security take a video of me 'cause my first reaction was just to get the hell out of there," she explained. "And so I'm running to my car. I'm literally just hauling ass to my car and then gonna put it online. I was saying this is my reaction after seeing my Met Gala photos."

At the time, she posted a cute Instagram video of herself leaving the event, writing, "Me when I saw my pictures from MET."

Despite Selena's makeup mishap at the 2018 affair, her outfit was riddled with meaning to align with the "Heavenly Bodies" theme. Her stylist, Kate Young, previously told E! News that she customized her ethereal design by Coach with her favorite biblical quote from Proverbs 31:30.

The message "A woman who fears the lord is a woman who shall be praised" was hand-sewn onto a ribbon on the back of the dress. Kate noted its importance to Selena, telling E! News at the time, "It has a lot of meaning to her. It's nice when a dress can feel personal."

It's unknown if Selena will make a grand entrance at this year's Met Gala. But with the event right around the corner, fans won't have to too long to find out!

Stay up-to-date on the Met Gala here.

And visit E! Online's 2023 Met Gala page for every photo and must-see moment from fashion's biggest night.