Statement Metallic Ombre Lips (Chinese Festival Colors)

This is a fun tutorial with a twist on the "traditional" ombre lip using a metallic pigment. You can choose any colors you want as long as they sort of stand out from each other. (Test on the back of your hand to see if you like the effect.)

Just because this is the Mid-Autumn Festival period for many Asians, I went with a nice coral red (Revlon Ravish Me Red) and a bright amber-gold pigment (Coastal Scents mica in Metallic Rustic Gold).

The only other things you'll need are a flat eye brush that isn't too small, and Q-tips in case you need to clean up any mess.

Step 1: Simply slick on your lipstick as neatly as possible. Matte lipsticks will allow the pigment to "float" and be more obvious. The glossier the lipstick, the more the pigments will sink into the moisture (and look dull).

You can still use a creamy lipstick. You'd just need to layer on more pigment.

Step 2: Using your flat brush, press one side of it into the pigment and then tap the brush to remove any excess. If you don't, all the pigment is going to end up on your chin. Not very sexy.

Step 3: The 1st step to laying down the color is to gently pat a thin layer of pigment onto the top lip. Go from center outward one side at a time, so that most of the pigments will be concentrated in the center. The first layer you lay down may not be very vibrant and opaque, but don't worry about that.

Step 4: This is where you pack a 2nd layer of color down the center of both top and bottom lips. On the top lip, this should give you that nice ombre effect where the gold is most intense in the center and then slowly fades out into the red.

On the bottom lip, I wanted more dramatic contrast (like gold foil pressed onto the lips), so I only pressed the brush down around the center. No ombre, no fading outwards like we did with the top lip.

If you need to, use a Q-tip to carefully clean up the edges if your lip, but if you didn't pick up too much pigment earlier, you shouldn't need to.

Now all you need is minimal makeup on the rest of your face, and you'll have the most vavavoom lips at the party! (Just be very careful about eating and drinking.)