Blue lipstick is officially a trend this year, so pucker up and try it out with these easy tips!
It’s official: blue lipstick is a trend. It’s been gaining speed over the past couple of years, what with the bright hair revival and all. We saw it on the runway at Ann Yee‘s Fall 2019 show for New York Fashion Week, we tried it just a few months ago along with a couple of other unconventional colors, and we witnessed Joan Smalls positively kill it in blue lipstick at the Met Gala earlier this mother. What does all this mean? It means it’s totally arrived and you totally need to try it, if you’ve ever felt so inclined.
Of course, just as with many of the more “risky” beauty looks like sporadically placed false lashes or heavy blush, execution is everything. It’s not enough to haphazardly pop a color on and hope for the best; if you want to really work it, then follow these tips and have some fun with it!
1. Make it stick.
There are few things less pleasant to encounter than an acquaintance who has red lipstick on their teeth, as it puts you in the awkward position of telling them and making a said person feel embarrassed versus not telling them and then feeling totally guilty. Changing this color to blue would only make it creepier and even less pleasant. Using the same technique we did a tutorial on regarding red lipstick last year will help keep your pout azul for as long as possible!
2. Pick your shade wisely.
When figuring out which blue hue to wear, it’s good to think about what type of look you’re going for here. Do you want something dramatic or carefree? Playful or a little creepy? A couple of perfect blues I’ve encountered:
- Obsessive Compulsive Cosmetics Color Pencils in Pool Boy: A bright, opaque turquoise that would be beautiful to wear while on vacation in all your pretty outfits.
- Manic Panic Lethal Lipstick in After Midnight Blue: A metallic, smooth shade that would work for a cool night out at a concert.
- Illamasqua Lipstick in Kontrol: A deep purple-blue lip shade, perfect to wear with a fancy outfit for a sexy date night.
3. Stay simple.
Yes, you could go totally wild with loads of black eye makeup and heavy bronzer, but…don’t. Just don’t. Blue lipstick may be odd, but that’s what makes it so lovely; it highlights and accents your lips in such a unique, new way. So why take attention away from that by applying a bunch of shadow or liner to your lids?
4. Keep it neat.
In addition to maintaining the good ol’ cliche “less is more” mentality, ensuring that the rest of your makeup is very neat also improves this look immensely. If you’re wearing a brightly colored lipstick with smudged mascara and uneven foundation, it’s like popping on a ball gown and then wearing it with muddy sneakers. Don’t do that. Don’t muddy your ball gown lips.
5. Think about the overall picture.
Speaking of the rest of your makeup, you should ask similar questions as in #2 in order to determine what the rest of your beauty look should be. If you’re searching for a cutesy, sweet look, apply a bright blue lipstick, add a hint of blush to your cheeks, and just swipe a single layer of mascara on your upper lashes.
If you’d like to opt for a more intense look, pick a deep blue shade of lip color, apply a medium-thick line of liquid eyeliner along your top lashes, then wing it out about a half an inch on either side.
6. Use lip liner. (Seriously.)
Guys, #1 is serious business. I can’t emphasize this enough! If you need help on how to use this magic little tool, check out our step-by-step (in GIFs!) lipliner tutorial here.
7. Own it.
Yes, you will get some odd looks on the subway or in the street, and at least four people will make an inappropriate joke about Smurfs or popsicles, but whatever. You know you look rad, and that’s what matters. Experimenting with makeup elements will only make your “typical” daily look even better–and hey, maybe you’ll find that blue lipstick is the perfect hue for you and it will become your new daily look. You’ll never know until you find out, so go have fun with it!