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A foolproof 6-step guide to acing the TikTok-viral 'halo lips'
In Nina Park, we trust - as do Emma Stone, Mia Goth, Sadie Sink, Kaia Gerber and all of BeautyTok
If you can't quite put your finger on what exactly makes celebrity makeup artist Nina Park's signature-stamped ‘halo lips’ routine so viral - you already have your answer.
The brief is without-a-doubt dripping hot, but in an understated way. Think preppy and sexy stirred quick with some curated old money energy. Nina usually completes the look with slightly defined and lightly lined eyes, neatly smudged out over the crease and filtered ‘natural’ skin. But the other two only work if the lips are aced.
Now Nina's list of muses may span Emma Stone, Mia Goth, Sadie Sink, Addison Rae and Kaia Gerber to name a few - but experts show you how to replicate the sorcery step-for-step.
#1 Contour
Celebrity makeup artists Katie Jane and Melissa Murdick are in agreement. A creamy bronzer to create a perimeter around the lips is the first step. A small eyeshadow brush and a shade just a smidge darker than your own should suffice. This step must be approached in the same way you'd line your lips and then smudge it out to do away with a harsh line - just outside the perimeter of your pout instead of on it. If you've been overlining your lips forever, this should be pretty easy.
#2 Line and powder
The next step is a cool-toned lip liner or a slightly sharp eyeshadow stick (for precision-sake). This goes exactly over the contour you drew over the vermillion border. What this does, is double down on the pigment. The powder, which must be dabbed onto a fluffy eyeshadow brush, is there to lock the lines in and essentially make the contour look like a natural extension of your lips. Again, to be clear, the goal is for the lips to not look intentionally overlined.
#3 Colour it in
But gently. Katie and Melissa are again in agreement over this step where the standing direction is to just apply your lipstick of choice on the centre of your lips, using a brush to smudge the colour out to the sides. When you approach your extended edges, merge the lip colour with the blotted lines to create a seamless transition.
#4 The lip liner returns
If you haven't already gauged it, the Nina Park style of lips relies heavily on creating lines and blotting them to give your lips a ‘natural’ lift and pout, without treading into Kylie Jenner's lippie era. For this step, pick a warm-toned lip liner to define the edges where you merge the colour with the contour.
#5 Blur
This is where the magic happens. While everything should already be appearing pretty seamless, using a fluffy brush to lightly blur the meeting points of the multiple pigments used so far, is what makes the looks professional (and evidently viral). Don't skip this step.
#6 Contrast
This one is optional but an absolute winner if you want to blow your own mind. Pick a lip liner that is a hint darker than the lip liners you've already used for this look. Now with a light hand, go in with this, just under the point where the colour was blurred into the contour lines. Then with the original lip liner you used, blend in any harshness. The darker tone of this third lip liner simply highlights the blend initially created. This is in turn what creates that natural, upturned pillowy effect.
Are you ready to go all Picasso on your lips?
