Look Now: Blurred Lips
Photos: Gorunway.com, Fairchild Archive, Gorunway.com, WWD/Kyle Ericksen, Fairchild Archive, WWD/Kyle Ericksen, Fairchild Archive (2)
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1/8Blurred and Dark
"This is how real young women actually wear their makeup," said makeup artist Lucia Pieroni backstage at Vera Wang. She was referring to the imperfect edges of a deep burgundy lipstick, which looked part grungy but part sumptuous at the same time. She started by painting Clé de Peau Beauté Extra Rich Lipstick in 308 on the center of the lips, layering it with Clé de Peau Beauté Extra Rich Lipstick in 306, and diffusing it out toward the outer corners of the mouth with a Q-tip. "It's a strong color, but the look is very soft," she said.
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2/8Faded
Normally, lipstick isn't applied to make your lips look thinner. But at Dior, that's exactly what McGrath did. By darkening just the center of the mouths, "we're almost making the girls' faces into the Andy Warhol illustrations you see on the dresses," she explained. She applied fuchsia lipstick all over the lips, blotted it down with powder, then tapped concealer around the perimeter of the mouth. And sure, their lips looked less full, but they also looked cooler, in that I've-been-making-out-with-someone-all-night sort of way.
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Photo: Luca Cannonieri / InDigitalteam | GoRunway3/8Blurred
The models' faces at Marni looked like they were shown through a soft-focus lens. "I wanted the makeup to resemble a Sarah Moon photograph—all blurry—to balance the sharpness of the clothes," said makeup artist Tom Pecheux. To get that effect on the lips, Pecheux applied matte berry-red lipstick and topped it with bright red loose pigment. Then using a cotton swab dipped in translucent powder, he erased the outline of the lips "so the lips faded into skin."
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4/8Blurred and Faded
"Rachel wanted a badass lip," said makeup artist Charlotte Tilbury backstage at Rachel Zoe. The designer knew exactly what color she wanted, too. "Oxblood—that purple-y, plumy, red sort of stain that's dramatic," Tilbury explained. Straight from the tube, she applied Maybelline New York SuperStay 14HR Lipstick in Wine and Forever heavily at the center of the lip, then used her index finger to blend it out toward the outer corners. To keep it from looking goth, Tilbury gave the skin a healthy, golden glow using cream bronzer (we love Chanel Soleil Tan de Chanel Bronzing Makeup Base) on the temples, tip of the nose, and cheekbones.
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5/8Stained
McGrath called the look at Prada, "done/undone." What she meant is that she applied the gray eye shadow and rich berry lipstick, then wiped it all away. "It's like leftover makeup," she said. And while removing makeup sounds like an easy task, it wasn't. To get the right degree of pigment, McGrath and her team pressed on the lipstick with their fingers. Then they lightened it by holding a tissue over the lips and rubbing over it with their fingers over and over and over again, until the lips reached the ideal barely stained quality.
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6/8Sexed Up
At Lanvin, Alber wanted the girls to look very strong," said McGrath. To add a cool factor to the demure berry hue, McGrath darkened the center, made the edges a bit blurry, and paired the bold lips with nothing else. (OK, so maybe some foundation and concealer—even models aren't flawless.) At home, you'll need two lipsticks: a berry, like CoverGirl LipPerfection Lipcolor in Euphoria, and a black cherry hue, like Dolce & Gabbana Lipstick Magnetic Monica. Apply the lighter shade all over your lips and color in just the center of your mouth with the darker shade. Soften the edges with a Q-tip, then blot your entire mouth with a tissue.
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7/8Muted
At Derek Lam, Pecheux started off by keeping things precise. Mixing burgundy and wine-colored lipsticks, he painted the moody combination onto the lips with a brush "to perfect the lip line," he said. Then he created a very strong stain by pressing a light layer of matte black eye shadow over the lips with his fingers. "I wanted the makeup to look effortless," he said of the final look.
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8/8Dramatized
Working with the inspiration of "gypsy girls," makeup artist Gucci Westman created a mysterious look at Oscar de la Renta. Now, if you want to go as an evil gypsy next Halloween, here's how you do it. First, Westman colored Revlon Just Bitten Lipstain + Balm in Midnight (a cranberry color) all over the lips. Then, to get the stained effect, she used Revlon Super Lustrous Lipstick in Black Cherry and smudged the bullet just in the center of the top and bottom lips.
