MAC Cosmetics debuted "lollipop lips" on the runway last spring, and this is definitely not your average beauty trend.
The lollipop lips trend is an experimental makeup look that's meant to resemble your natural lips after you eat the juiciest lollipop ever. After MAC shared this bizarre-yet-oddly-nostalgic look on Instagram, it quickly went viral.
Unsurprisingly, this lipstick look is not for everyone. Twitter users have described it as a "Kylie Jenner lip challenge gone wrong" and a "heated makeout session with a vacuum cleaner."
And while lollipop lips make me wonder if beauty companies are secretly trolling us, you have to admit that there's something intriguing about this aesthetic, no? If you're still not sold, the look makes slightly more sense in context, as part of a full outfit (kind of, sort of).
Okay, fine, it looks like a child ate a lollipop. (Or perhaps a popsicle. In fact, these should definitely be called “I Ate a Popsicle And Forgot To Bring Napkins” Lips.) Except, you know..sexy?
In any case, I decided to try this bizarre lip look for myself. I’m no beauty guru, but I do have an unhealthy addiction to lipstick, as well as the type of curiosity that absolutely kills cats, so I was game. I was pretty confident that I could pull it off – I don’t think you have to be a MAC makeup artist to achieve a look that basically amounts to smudged lipstick.
The Inspiration
The Supplies
Sure, you could achieve this look by simply making out with someone or sleeping in your lipstick, but I wanted to do it the proper way.
Luckily, I already own approximately one million lipsticks. Rather than stick to the classic pinkish-red lollipop lips, I used three specific Blow Pop flavors as inspiration: Pink strawberry, cherry red, and blueberry. I chose a few different brands to achieve my looks.
Then I picked up some clear lip gloss, an item that I have never purchased and that took me entirely too long to find in my local Walgreens. I finally located one by Wet 'n Wild for $2. (Although matte lollipop lipstick has been done, I definitely prefer the shiny version, so lip gloss was a must.)
The only other things that I needed were my fingers and a rather large number of makeup wipes. Time to get to work.
Look #1: Strawberry Lollipop
First up: Strawberry! For this look, I first moisturized my lips with EOS lip balm, then applied Colourpop in the shade “More Better.” Man, I love this lipstick. I almost didn’t want to ruin it by smudging it all over my face.
Next, I layered with a fuchsia lipstick — Tarte LipSurgence in “Lively.” Both of these formulas are extremely matte, so for my top coat, I added a ton of clear lip gloss and smudged the outer edges with my fingers.
Voila! Strawberry lips! As you can probably tell by my expression, I had mixed feelings about the results. It looked like a child applied my lipstick, but if MAC Cosmetics says it's fashion, then it's fashion, baby.
Look #2: Cherry Lollipop
When I unwrapped the cherry lollipop, I discovered that it was the exact same shade as the strawberry lollipop. My inner child felt a little betrayed. The wrappers are totally different colors! How does that make sense?!
But the cherry lollipop wrapper was red, so red lipstick it was. I started with Stila liquid lipstick in the shade “Beso." Then I topped it with Revlon Moon Drops Lipstick in “Hot Coral,” which also happens to be the only lipstick that I’ve ever used down to the bottom of the tube. Finally, I added the clear gloss.
I smudged the color outside my lip line with my fingers again, wincing and groaning. There's something about intentionally messing up the natural outline of your lips that feels blasphemous, like combing your hair toward the roots instead of away from them.
Something I never realized about my own face until this experiment is that my bottom lip sticks out a bit, which made the smudged lipstick much more visible on the top than the bottom. I'm not sure if that's a good thing or a bad thing. Everything about this look is confusing.
All in all, I felt pretty ridiculous. Not so much because of the look — which I already knew would look weird — but because I was messing up my lipstick! On purpose! It just felt so strange.
Nonetheless, the show had to go on.
Look #3: Blueberry Lollipop
I was a little excited about this final look, because I haven’t seen anyone else do blue lollipop lipstick, and I pride myself on being innovative. But I was also dreading it because by now I knew that it couldn’t possibly look good on me—or anyone who is not a MAC Cosmetics model.
I used just one lipstick for this look since I only own one blue shade: Fenty Beauty’s Mattemoiselle in “Clapback.” More lip gloss, more smudging, and…
Well, actually, this is my favorite look of the three. If you’re going to do something as ridiculous as lollipop lipstick, you might as well go all out and use blue! The two weird thing cancel each other out and become one normal thing. Okay, maybe not normal. But from far away, if you squint your eyes, it looks pleasantly artsy.
The Verdict
By the end of my beauty adventure, I had lipstick everywhere. It was on my hands. It was on my phone. It was on my soul. I couldn't bring myself to go out in public with any of these looks, but I did send some photographic evidence to my family.
My sister's reaction: "What the hell!!!!"
My mother's reaction: "I like the lipstick. But is there supposed to be a line above your lips?" (Yes, Mom.) "Oh. I think it's cute. It's nice."
Bless her heart. So there you have it: Lollipop lipstick is a look that works really well if your own precious daughter, who can do no wrong, is wearing it. Or if you're a MAC model.
The more you know.
