GLOSS ADJUSTMENT
AFTER YEARS OF MATTE LIPSTICK DOMINATION, IT’S TIME FOR YOUR LIPS TO SHINE ONCE MORE, SAYS KATIE WRIGHT
LOOKING back at beauty trends from the last few years, one major question comes to mind: What did we do before matte lipstick? Lips saturated with colour but devoid of shine have become so ubiquitous – on and off the catwalks – it’s hard to remember what we actually put on our pouts before the velvet revolution took hold.
But fashion is a fickle beast, and suddenly on the spring catwalks, we saw – almost out of nowhere – glossy lips all over the place. And do you know what? They looked good.
There was the fresh fuchsia hue at Chanel (complemented with flushed pink cheeks and eyes) and a lustrous blood red at Haider Ackermann, created by Inge Grognard for MAC, by layering matte liquid lippie with lashings of clear lip gloss (so you don’t have to ditch your mattes just yet).
“Lip liner is essential for preventing your lip gloss from bleeding, and creating the illusion of fuller lips,” advises Collection make-up artist Francesca Neill.
“Draw the line softly, slightly outside the natural curve of the lip, for a fuller finish.”
Elsewhere, lips were left nude and enhanced with clear gloss; at Tadashi Shoji, they added a perfectly polished finish to a look that focused on aqua eyes.
“There is nothing worse than dry, chapped lips when creating a high-gloss lip look,” Francesca continues, “so I would recommend prepping your lips with a lip oil, to hydrate the lips without the stickiness of a traditional balm.”
But the most exciting high-shine look was at Halpern SS18.
Mirroring the heavily embellished and sequinned clothes on the catwalk, lips were given a holographic shimmer, courtesy of the new MAC Grand Illusion gloss.
Right on time, the spring beauty collections are full of 3D-effect glosses, along with bold colours, nourishing oils and nudes to suit every skin tone.
Want to get the gloss? Take your pick from the season’s slickest buys...