We have seen countless hair trends recently. In the past few weeks alone, there have been rainbow bangs, checkerboard hair color, color melting, and most recently, unicorn horn braids. However, there haven’t been many new lipstick trends. The only interesting lip news has been about Kylie Jenner’s new lip kits and the best dupes because they sold out again. If you have been hoping for a new lip trend to play around with, you’re in luck because animal print lips are the latest beauty trend.
Forget about the obsession with glitter lips, or the tried-and-true ombre lips look; animal prints are the wild new trend. And the animal print of choice is leopard. As you can probably guess, the trend involves drawing a leopard spot pattern on your lips. You have probably attempted a leopard print manicure, and the makeup look uses the exact same technique but with lip products instead of nail polishes.
To get the look, you apply your desired base color to your lips. Then you use a contrasting color to create spots on your lips. Don’t worry about them being perfect circles. The print will look more realistic if they are irregular shapes and sizes. Once the color has dried, use a black liquid liner to add a few strokes on the perimeter of the spots. Let dry and seal with a lipstick topcoat for staying power.
(Related: Is There a Lip Gloss That Isn’t Sticky?)
You can stick with a classic found-in-the-wild leopard print color scheme, or you can get creative with your color combinations. If you’re a fan of crazy-colored lipsticks, this is the perfect opportunity to wear more than one. You could also keep it more on the classic side and stick with reds, pinks, and browns. A contrasting look is popular, but you could also try choosing similar shades for a more subtle finish. And who says that you only have to use black eyeliner to outline your spots?
The finish is another thing to consider. Matte lipsticks are having a moment right now, but you can see from the photos that any finish will work. Just note that if you are going to try a glossy one, it’s better to add the gloss over top of your lipstick as opposed to trying the look with lip glosses. That will just result in everything blending together.
If you’re not feeling confident in your ability to recreate a pretty animal print lipstick, you can try a temporary lip applique. The Pink Leopard Temporary Lip Applique, Violent Lips) is bang on-trend. It lasts four to eight hours and works on lips of different shapes and sizes.
You probably have a couple pieces of leopard print in your wardrobe, so why not incorporate a bit of animal print into your makeup routine? A leopard print lip would be a fun look for a night out, and it is actually easier than trying to recreate a smokey eye.