Spring Beauty Trend: Bordeaux Lips
Photos: Imaxtree
Fine wine: Bordeaux lips as seen in the Louis Vuitton and Yves Saint Laurent Spring 2011 runway shows.
In a season marked by orange lipstick and Crayola-inspired eye shadow, it was refreshing to see that makeup artists hadn’t completely lost touch with their dark sides. Witness the Bordeaux lips seen at some of spring’s most influential collections.
The trend kicked off in New York at Marc Jacobs, where makeup legend François Nars dressed lips in a dark, matte burgundy (Nars Volga Pure Matte Lipstick, to be exact). With the glossy, disco-inspired eye makeup, it was fun—pure Anjelica Huston–at–Studio 54—just as the designer intended.
“A wine-colored lip makes its own bold statement,” says Magda Ogbe, who worked alongside Nars at the show. “It screams fashion, power, sex appeal but also has a bit of a gothic, rocker edge.”
The look was reprised in Paris, where Jacobs was still feeling the dark lips for his Louis Vuitton show. This time, however, they were painstakingly lacquered—a fitting complement to the jewel-toned and Eastern-inspired collection.
It seemed almost impossible to make merlot lips any more striking, but makeup artists managed to find a way at YSL and Givenchy. By passing on eye makeup and bleaching out the brows, the contrast was cold, hard and glamorous—the antithesis of spring beauty but no less covetable this season.
How to pull it off: “To take a wine-colored lip down a notch from the runways, make sure it is the focus of your makeup,” says Ogbe.
“Start with clean, flawless skin by using both a primer and sheer foundation for an even and polished finish. Follow with neutral blush, and also keep the eyes neutral by using earth-toned colors. Finish with a few coats of mascara. Apply Volga Pure Matte Lipstick on the lips, just as Nars did backstage at Marc Jacobs.”
