From rainbow
bright lips to nudes and pretty corals, this spring there’s a colour choice for however bold or demure you want to be when it comes to your lip shade. And if you’re tired of goopy, disappearing glosses, you’ll be happy to learn that you can set it aside for your new spring beauty routine. “Lipstick is back with a vengeance,” says Beau Nelson, New York-based celebrity makeup artist. “New formulations make them more comfortable to wear and longer lasting, plus gloss has become a bit ‘
Housewives of New Jersey/Atlanta/any city’ to the fashion pack.”

To make your lipstick colour last longer, he suggests lining and filling in lips with a matching colour lip liner. “You could also use a stain in a similar colour under the lipstick to improve last-ability,” says Nelson, who’s repped by Page One Management in Toronto.

Spring beauty lip trends: Bubble gum pink

A super bright pop of pink lit up lips on the Milly runway. “Bubble gum pink isn’t a color thats naturally found in the body, which is why it pops so much on skin,” says Nelson. So how to pull it off in real life? Nelson cautions against everyone trying this trend. “I prefer to see this colour on paler girls because if you have too much of a tan it can come off really Barbie and look very cheap—unless you want to look cheap…then it’s perfect!” he says, laughing. He recommends toning down the rest of your makeup by wearing this lip with mascara and a neutral shimmer shadow or some clear eye gloss.

Spring beauty lip trends: Chic coral

Seen on the Rebecca Minkoff catwalk, coral lips is one of the most versatile brights, says Nelson, adding that it looks great with a tan (faux, of course) or on pale girls. All corals are not created equal, though, when it comes to finding one that’ll suit you. “Look for something with a bit of a reddish coral cast if you have a tan, and a pinkish coral if you are paler, he says. Format-wise, he suggests going for a creamy or sheer formula in this shade.

View our top picks for red lipsticks here!

Spring beauty: More hot lipstick shades to try on the next page …

Spring beauty lip trends: Orange crush

Jen Kao’s models sported a neon orange while over at Jason Wu, the girls had on a matte orange-y red lip. When it comes to bright orange, a cream formula is best, though, says Nelson, rather than matte. “Matte lips are very of the moment but they are also sometimes a bit drying,” he says. For a mouth this bright, he suggests using a matching lip liner to line and fill in the lips with first
applying the lipstick shade with a brush for precision to get bolder, longer lasting colour.

Spring beauty lip trends: New nudes

For those who shy away from bold lip colour, there are nudes, too, in for spring, as seen on the Fendi and Gucci runways. Nelson suggests applying nude lipstick in a tapping motion. “That way you get a slightly feathered edge to the lip and it looks like it’s more part of the lip than sitting on top of it.” But how to rock a nude lip without looking washed out? “It’s important to look at the undertone of the lip colour—does it lean a bit pink or peach? If it does, the chances of it washing you out are slim, but if it veers a bit gray, brown or yellow it might not work for you,” he says. “Best way is to try it on and see how it makes you feel.”

Spring beauty lip trends: Just peachy

A retro-inspired peach lip at the Erin Fetherston show is one of the most versatile lip colour trends this spring and we can’t get enough of it. “Peachy pink looks great on strawberry blonds and redheads especially, but everyone can wear a variant of this shade,” says Nelson.

Read more:

Spring’s hottest lip colours

Celebrity beauty: The best red lips

The best red lipsticks under $30

Say goodbye to chapped lips