No, there’s no special ombre lipstick out there… unless you have mad Photoshop skillz like I do. Instead, find out how you can get creative with layering to create ombre and other wildly fun lip looks.
Girl, don’t get me started about some ombre. I saw a woman on the 50 bus wearing the best denim sundress with bold purple lipstick with hot pink lipliner. And, she had blended it well. I also want to mention that very attractive plus-size sista with a dead-on sense of style. She was amazing. Another example of what you can do: at American Apparel in Georgetown, another Black woman, who unlocked the dressing room for me, had the best scarlet ombre lips I’d seen in the 90s or in 2016. The red liner seemed to blend into her nude lips, and I’m in a little panic right now that I have no idea how she did it and can’t imagine how I’ll figure it out. Dang, I should have just asked!
Get the Tools You Need
First, Make it Bright
Well, at least for solid rather than nude ombre lips, I can suggest some tools to help. Again, being kind of a wild-child, I saw Maybelline’s COLORsensational in Wickedly White and, long desperate to try white lipstick, I grabbed it. Now, I’ve tried it on, and white lipstick is definitely not everyday wear, and it might maybe be club wear but I’m not even certain of that…
I layered, and then another time, I was more careful with my application… finally, I concluded that this kind of white lipstick isn’t exactly meant for wear on its own. But, put it on first before wearing another color and it will brighten it up. And, you can amp up lipstick that is already bright to fluorescent. I added a picture of a rainy day experiment I did on my Facebook page. I turned some orange MAC lipstick into something soft, yet wild, that Aja from Jem and the Holograms might wear. Use with caution, or, just for that hot party—I was a little scared of my own reflection after I did it and ducked right out of the mirror with a fangirl squeal.
Then, Get it Dark
I grabbed Maybelline’s COLORsensational in Pitch Black lipstick too since, at least from what I’ve seen, finding real black lipstick outside of the dollar store has been hard as heck. A girlfriend of mine was glad to tell me that she chose to use eye black, the stuff football players use under their eyes. In my opinion, she was right to take it there—black is really fun to wear on your lips, and really, we shouldn’t have had to wait this long for it.
How to Create Ombre Lips
I’m not sure, because it’s not so strong for a matte, nor is it glossy, but I bet you could use Maybelline’s COLORsensational in Pitch Black as regular black lipstick. As for me, I’m going to mix it up with my glossy dollar store version to get some staying power and color richness. As for the eye black that I also sought out prior to all this discovery… well, it does have castor oil in it and my southern mom told me they used to make kids take castor oil when they were sick (or to empty their stomachs when they were sick), so I’ll tuck it way in the back of my makeup case. It’s only fair that I warn you. And, you know, because you want to enjoy a grunge look, but not end up getting emo about it.
And my basic instruction for making your lips look ombre? I hear that you can play with a gradient of the same color (dark blue and light blue for example), then line your lips with the darker color and fill in the center of your lips with the lighter shade. If you want to play with the Maybelline black and white lipsticks I mentioned, you can use those shades beneath the color you want to create an ombre effect. What I would do is line my lips with the black, fill in the white at the center, and then gently go over that, starting at the center, with the color I really want.
Estée Lauder also has Lip Flip Shade Transformer, which I’ve added ontop of the lipstick color of my choice to watch it lighten (with Turn Up, a yellow-looking lipstick that does not go on as yellow) or darken (in shade Turn Down). Turn down made every shade of lipstick I had on turn brown… which might be a matter of my applying it in the wrong way, or it may have been a ‘glitch’ with lipsticks not fitting with darker skin tones. I can’t say for sure.
You can, and should, gently dab your lipsticks clean of other colors with a tissue once you’re done.
I also liked the assortment of shades (it was as pleasant as plumbing through a chocolate box!) in the red Maybelline New York Lip Color Palette. They also have a plum spectrum, so that may be a great way to cheat and create ombre without mixing black and white. The L’Oréal Colour Riche Palette boasts “1,001 ways to wear nude.” I haven’t mastered these yet, but it’s been fun so far. I like the step-by-step guide on the back of the golden L’Oréal case.
Lipstick Tips
Need more specific instructions on how to do ombre lips? Makeupandbody.com lays it all out nicely. Looks like they went for eyeliner, if not dark lipliner. But now that I’ve shown you where to get black lipstick, you have the advantage.
I also found some excellent tips from LoveAnette2 on how to wear bold colored lipstick, especially the deep green. By the way, I want all her products, especially the Maybelline Megaplush Volume Mascara. I loved the highlighting and contouring she did to bring out beautiful ethnic features: high cheeks, soft round nose, etc.
Next week, some really wild lipstick options if you want to make your own statement. So check in, and then look forward to someone checking you out!
Does anyone have any more great tip videos to share?
Royal Jelly 