The ombre trend isn’t just for your hair anymore! An ombre lip is an easy way to give your vivid lipsticks extra drama, and can create a subtle contoured appearance without having to break out the heavy ’90s-era liner. Designers like Rebecca Minkoff and Anna Sui featured the effect on their fall runways, and while there are many products on the market devoted to imparting the subtle gradation in tone, you can try your hand at it using what you already have in your makeup bag—just pick out two coordinating lip colors, like the red and hot pink hues Associate Fashion Editor Andrea Cheng used to demonstrate.
Keep reading to see our how-to GIF, and step-by-step instructions to getting the look!1. Start by choosing two complementary colors, with one noticeably lighter than the other. Trace your pucker with the darker hue first—we used Kami Cosmetics lip paint in Secret Affairs ($16; kamicosmetics.com), which delivers the intensity of a lipstick with the blendable formula of a gloss.
2. With a lighter shade like Snob’Ish by Kami Cosmetics ($16; kamicosmetics.com), fill in the center portion of your top and bottom lips, then press them together to blend the two colors.
3. Add more red or pink as needed. If you want to give the look extra drama, add a dot of pale, reflective lip gloss like Ilia’s White Rabbit ($24; iliabeauty.com) to the center of your lips over the hot pink hue.
Click through our gallery to shop the best lip products of 2014!