Is Lip Gloss Making a Comeback?
Photographed by Rob Kulisek
Photo: Courtesy of Topshop
Chanel Lèvres Scintillantes Glossimer in Sunny, $30; nordstrom.com
Photo: Courtesy of Nordstrom
Dior Beauty Dior Addict Gloss in Seafarer, $30; sephora.com
Photo: Courtesy of Dior
Like everyone, I first fell in love with lip gloss in my teenage years. Partly because it was the only makeup my mother wouldn’t make me scrub off, partly because I could (had to?) reapply it in public every half hour. Quasi-subtle, cake-batter-scented, deliciously impractical stuff that spelled sophistication like my training bra.
So when my editor sent me a bag full of Pop Art shades last week, I was skeptical. Lip gloss is a thing again? Apparently, yes—and my easier-said-than-done beauty mission was finding a way to make those cellophane-bright colors look as whimsically wearable as a Chanel calfskin and Plexiglas flap bag for spring.
So when my editor sent me a bag full of Pop Art shades last week, I was skeptical. Lip gloss is a thing again? Apparently, yes—and my easier-said-than-done beauty mission was finding a way to make those cellophane-bright colors look as whimsically wearable as a Chanel calfskin and Plexiglas flap bag for spring.
Photographed by Lachlan Bailey, Vogue, June 2013
Day 1. I slick on Topshop’s Lip Paint in Tallulah, an opaque cherry red that, worn with a crisp navy-and-white striped mariner’s tee and inky jeans is my modern take on Parisian chic. As I sit on a breezy terrace over pizza and Barolo with a friend that night, my lips acting as a Venus flytrap for my wispy blonde bangs, he silently hands me a napkin. Lesson learned. During a quick beeline to the bathroom, I slick my hair back into a tight chignon, dab a little Eight Hour Cream on my bare lids for shine and vow to make peace with the permanent scarlet lacquered lip print on my martini glass. Still, as I catch the occasional glimpse of my reflection in the mirror behind the bar later that night, I have to admit that I dig the fresh, un-smoky-eyeness of it all.
Next up: Chanel’s Glossimer in Sunny an electric mandarin that looks impossible in the tube but goes on sheer. “Think of it as watercolor,” says the makeup artist James Kaliardos,who I’ve called for a little emergency lip-gloss advice. “The cool thing is, you can really control the amount of color you use and, unlike lipstick, it’s [hydrating too].” He recommends shaping and filling in your mouth first with nude lip pencil for more control, then topping it off with a tiny bit of coral gloss on the center of the lips and pressing them together. Since I’m heading to a meeting, I keep the rest of my makeup dewy with tinted moisturizer and cream highlighter on my cheekbones and end up with a nude, Gisele-y look that’s surprisingly powerful—even for a night out.
The next day, I use the same idea and top ruby lip pencil with a dab of NARS Lip Gloss in Salamanca. The bright fuchsia gives the flat red a nice kick, and my lips look fuller with a translucent shine that doesn’t murder my coffee cup. Dior Addict Gloss in Seafarer has a bit more pigment, so I give it a shot without any pencil, instead pressing it into my lips with my fingers. I end up with a pretty stain that has just enough sheen—no constant touchups required.
The verdict: Lip gloss may never match the sophistication of lipstick but with a look this fresh, why bother growing up?
Next up: Chanel’s Glossimer in Sunny an electric mandarin that looks impossible in the tube but goes on sheer. “Think of it as watercolor,” says the makeup artist James Kaliardos,who I’ve called for a little emergency lip-gloss advice. “The cool thing is, you can really control the amount of color you use and, unlike lipstick, it’s [hydrating too].” He recommends shaping and filling in your mouth first with nude lip pencil for more control, then topping it off with a tiny bit of coral gloss on the center of the lips and pressing them together. Since I’m heading to a meeting, I keep the rest of my makeup dewy with tinted moisturizer and cream highlighter on my cheekbones and end up with a nude, Gisele-y look that’s surprisingly powerful—even for a night out.
The next day, I use the same idea and top ruby lip pencil with a dab of NARS Lip Gloss in Salamanca. The bright fuchsia gives the flat red a nice kick, and my lips look fuller with a translucent shine that doesn’t murder my coffee cup. Dior Addict Gloss in Seafarer has a bit more pigment, so I give it a shot without any pencil, instead pressing it into my lips with my fingers. I end up with a pretty stain that has just enough sheen—no constant touchups required.
The verdict: Lip gloss may never match the sophistication of lipstick but with a look this fresh, why bother growing up?
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