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Intense, dark colors are taking the makeup world by storm this season - no, they’re not just for winter! This lipstick trend has been reconfirmed by the famous actress Lupita Nyong’o, as she loves drawing attention to her lips with show-stopping colors, inspiring others to do the same.
You’ll be able to pull off those oh-so-‘90s burgundies, chocolates, and violets if you follow some tips that the celebrity’s makeup artist, Nick Barose, shared with Allure. They’re easy to follow, and adding these colors to your beauty repertoire will add a dash of mystery to your latest beauty look!
© GettyImagesSo easy to wear
The first question we should ask ourselves is: How do you wear a dark color on your lips without making them look opaque or flat? To do this, Barose explained a few key tricks he uses when applying aneye-catching plum color to the actress’ lips—in this case, he used Lancôme’s lipstick, as Nyong'o is the official brand ambassador.
“When you look at colors from nature, they always have more layers and depth—even when they look like one color, but they always have different tones to it. So I applied a few colors of lipstick and lip liner to create depth,” explained Barose.
Cherry lips
He applied a cherry red lip liner—Le Lip Liner in Amandelle ($26)—to outline the actress’ lips, and then he glided over them with, as a base color, a deep burgundy lipstick—L'Absolu Rouge Ruby Cream Lipstick in 481 Pigeon Blood Ruby ($32). Finally, he added a shiny stripe of L'Absolu Rouge Ruby Cream Lipstick in 364 Hot Pink Ruby ($32). The result? As well as creating just the right shade, the blend really makes her lips pop.
“It’s actually a classic technique used by Hollywood stars, [. . .] It’s a great way to make sure darker lipstick doesn’t turn too flat or have no dimension. It’s similar to the colors of flower petals, too,” the celebrity makeup artist stated.
© GettyimagesAnother effective tip
But if you’re looking for a more original—and affordable—alternative, Lupita’s makeup artist also has other tips that have been just as effective. For example, instead of lip liner, he uses eye shadow. But how does he do it? According to an interview in Us Weekly, he first preps the actress’ lips with lip balm, followed by outlining them with a deep blue long-lasting eyeliner, and finally applying sapphire lipstick.
If you’re not particularly interested in bright blue, you can use any other color you want and then add a bit of clear lip gloss until you’ve achieved a homogeneous texture similar to that which is worn by the famous star. “The key to making the look daring yet sophisticated [is] breaking the rules to get the lip right [. . .] We played with shadows to get a blue shade that was deep and rich, but not overly edgy,” Barose said.
© GettyImagesBut . . . Can anyone pull it off?
While we’ve seen this trend worn by women of color such as Lupita Nyong’o, as well as celebrities with fair or olive skin, it’s important to keep in mind that if your skin tone is similar to that of the star’s, it’s best to opt for maroons and burgundies. However, if you have a fairer complexion, then burgundies, chocolates, and violets will be the most flattering.
Whichever color you choose, remember that the rest of the makeup shouldn’t detract attention away from the lipstick, which is why it’s so important not to be too heavy-handed when applying your makeup. Ideally, you want to highlight your skin and eyelids with soft, glowing colors and apply just the right amount of mascara or not-so-subtle eyeliner, thus establishing a good sense of balance in your beauty look.
