It's been a tough old time for makeup lately, and lip liner is the most recent makeup staple to get put on a Performance Improvement Plan. It follows a wider beauty reassessment that's seen mascara get benched for barely-there lashes paired with a more statement lip, meanwhile under-eye concealer has undergone a renaissance, with many embracing their natural shadow over a brightening hit of coverage.
Compared to the 2010s which centred around immaculate cut-crease eyeshadows, razor-sharp cheekbones and meticulously symmetrical, voluminous lips, the 2020s has moved into a softer direction that focuses on blurred, barely-there, soft-focus finishes in line with the “clean” and “minimal” makeup movements. So, it stands to reason that lip liner is the latest makeup hero to be revised.
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Lip Liner 2.0
Over the past year in particular, trend-setting brands have begun to introduce new lip formulas that challenge the status quo. It started with Refy, who released the Blur Liner last September. Unlike the sharpened pencil appearance we've come to expect from lip liners, the product changed the game with a domed, crayon-like applicator, in a creamy, blendable consistency, designed to hug and contour lips but with a softer, subtler shape.
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Then, Hailey Bieber dropped Rhode's newest innovation, the Peptide Lip Shape in January, following her signature blueprint of soft-focus, ultra blendable, gently-defining formulas. “I love lipliner, I also love contour, I love bronzing my face,” Hailey told GLAMOUR of the launch. "When you think about the creaminess behind a face contour and the way that you're able to shape and structure – I wanted to bring that same concept just for the lips,” she explained. As for application? “I'm really going by my natural lip structure," Hailey notes. “I think that's what gives it that your-lip-but-better look," she said of the creamy crayon.
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And, every Clean Girl's favourite brand, Merit, joined the revolution last month with the launch of its Signature Lip Liner, a sheer, balmy formula that disappears seamlessly into lips whilst bestowing some pretty definition. It's the ultimate lip liner for girls (like me) who struggle to achieve a “perfected” “crisp” lip shape and who want something more relaxed and low-key.
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So, is lip liner as we know it over? It depends on the aesthetic you want to achieve. We'll always have a place for an exquisite statement red lip. But the good news is, there's a whole new edit of blurring, blendable lip sculptors offering a softer alternative, if you want it.
For more from GLAMOUR's Senior Beauty Editor, Elle Turner, follow her on Instagram @elleturneruk
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