Blurred lines; His & hers; Fresh start.
Two-tone lips are a staple on the international catwalks and, yes, you are bold enough to try it yourself.
Recently I found myself in the company of one of Korea’s leading make-up artists, Chosungah. She’s the go-to for K-pop stars, and her beauty and skincare lines Chosungah 22 and 16 Brand have just made their way to Australian shores. For a beauty diehard an opportunity like this was a dream come true, especially as Chosungah sat me down and subtly tinted my lips in what can only be described as a two-tone finish. The kicker? One of those colours was the all-natural pink of my lips.
Applying her Dual Lip Tint & Gloss to the inners of my top and bottom lips, Chosungah effectively made my lips look plumper and brought colour to my tired 3pm face in less than five seconds. I had ombré lips and a fresh perspective.
The ombré lip has been popping up everywhere, most recently at the Giambattista Valli autumn/winter ’17/’18 show, where a cabernet colour gloss was applied to the models’ lips that was saturated in colour at the centre and slowly faded and blurred at the edges. It’s a look that certainly makes a statement, but isn’t particularly realistic for a Monday morning. At least that’s what I thought until Chosungah had worked her magic – suddenly a toned-down tint seemed so subtle and so obvious.
“I love that the ombré lip look,” says Michael Ashton, a New Zealand-born make-up artist and global artistry ambassador for Marc Jacobs Beauty, “is giving people the chance to try things that might be a little outside their usual comfort zone in an approachable and wearable way.”
Ashton sees gradated lips as the perfect stepping stone for those not ready to commit to statement lips in one solid shade. “Experiment and have fun, play around with different shade and colour combinations as well as different textures,” he says, before adding that the world is your oyster when it comes to this look. “The colour options really are limitless with this trend and, depending on your mood, you can go from using a deep nude teamed with a soft coral one day through to bright fuchsia and tangerine the next.”
Ashton suggests leaving the lips to make the statement by simply sporting fresh glowing skin. And if you are looking to go bold? “Start by applying a lighter, brighter shade of colour all over the lips – Marc Jacobs Le Marc Lip Crème Lipstick in Oh Miley gives a beautiful pop of colour that is flattering on all skin tones. Then using a lip liner in a deeper shade [Marc Jacobs Beauty (P)outliner Longwear Lip Pencil in Currant Mood, $35, should do the trick], trace the outline of the mouth and then start filling the outer corners in towards the centre of the lips. Finish by adding a touch of lip balm and massaging the colours together between the lips; this ensures a seamless blend between the colours.”