Right now, it’s all about a sparkling smile – and I’m not referring to your pearly whites (although give this a go and they will appear brighter).
If scrolling Instagram has required sunglasses lately, you’ll know what I mean: models and celebs alike are parading glitter-coated pouts – the lip equivalent of Dorothy’s ruby shoes in Wizard of Oz.
It’s all thanks to make-up maestro Pat McGrath (see her dazzling creations here), whose Lust 004 lip kits, complete with pots of micro-fine glitter, sold out in seconds in the US.
Never one to say no to a dash (read: LOT) of sparkle, I turned to Carol Mackie, M.A.C Australia senior make-up artist, for a high-voltage how-to. Armed with Mackie’s instructions (see below), a pot of M.A.C Fuchsia glitter pigment (that may or may not now cover the floor of the marie claire beauty cupboard…) and lip pencil, lipstick and gloss, I turned from this:
To this:
The finished product turned out to be more gleam than glitter, which has the advantage of being more wearable, but the disadvantage of being less, well, glittery. Also: I couldn’t eat anything for fear of imbibing half a pot of glitter pigment. Fine when you’re a model; not so fine when you’re accustomed to regular meals.
I wanted a ruby red glitter lip á la Taylor Hill on the Atelier Versace runway, so Mackie suggested lining my lips first using the M.A.C Cherry Lip pencil, before filling in with M.A.C Russian Red Lipstick. Next, I was to dab on a little Lip Glass in Clear before pressing Fuchsia Glitter Pigment onto my lips with my finger (I ended up using the 316 Lip Brush for more control).
If you wanted a more plum/pink look, try the M.A.C Heroin Lipstick and Lip Pencil with the same Fuchsia glitter on top. But maybe have lunch first.
Shot using an iSelfie360 photo booth.
