It’s NY Fashion Week, ya’all, and rich lips and smokey eyes have already made appearances on the runway.

Don’t be scurred to wear a dark lip in real life. With a little help from Gordon Espinet, Vice President of Makeup Artistry for MAC Cosmetics, you can pull it off.
How to get the look…
Begin by lining your lips with a lip-colored pencil. If you’re tempted to use black liner (LOL, like I did in the early 90s), resist. “You’ll have a monster of a time trying to blend it away,” says Gordon. “Use a lip pencil that’s the natural color of your lip but slightly darker. I always recommend something like MAC Spice or Stripdown.” What you want is a neutral, forgiving color that’s easy to work with.
Choose a dark burgundy or brown lipstick like…
- MAC Photo – Golden brown
- MAC Film Noir – Intense brown
- MAC Diva – Intense reddish burgundy
What’s Gordon’s favorite dark lip color? “There’s one lipstick that I absolutely adore,” he says, “and it’s called Paramount. It’s one of those lipsticks that got parked for awhile there because browns and dark lips fell out of favor.” But Paramount is back with a vengeance!

Use a lip brush. The lip brush is your best friend, especially when doing dark lips. Gordon advises against applying directly from the tube because it creates the tendency to over-apply. “If you have on too much dark lipstick it can look, well, threatening!” Gordon’s lip brush of choice? — the MAC #316.
Start brushing from the center of your mouth, right where your lips touch. It’s where you’ll want the strongest color. To avoid harsh lines, spread the product from the center of your mouth, up or down, fading toward the lip line.

Take care not to build an overly dark lip outline, says Gordon. “You know you don’t want to look like a goth vampire. It’s really about having a mouth that may be dark but still sensual.”
Ultimately, the look you want is somewhere between matte and shiny. If you’re struggling with excessive shine, blot with a tissue to take it down a notch.
Straight off the runway! Just kidding… more like straight from my living room!

In the pic above I only used one layer of MAC Paramount. If you want a deeper lip, you can always add more layers to intensify the color.
What do you think? Sexy or scary? Discuss.
Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,
Karen

“All the elements of beauty that we think of in classic glamor are definitely going to be playing a big key for the whole beauty story for the fall,” says Gordon. Picture the classic Hollywood film star look — think Rita Hayworth and Lauren Bacall.











