The lip as it were has appeared a lot throughout the fall 2010 fashion week schedule. Yet unlike with previous presentations, whereby one application technique was employed en masse, here we’ve been offered the choice three.


#1. At Dolce and Gabbana sophisticated ruby red lips were commonplace. They were bold but by no means garish. They were vivid and opaque but still didn’t look cartoonish. And while they were perfect they never displayed any harsh, over-drawn lines. Furthermore, not once did the lip take over the face. Instead it banded together with the liquid-lined eye, the porcelain base, and the flush of colour on the cheek to create a beautiful, balanced face.
 
Create this lip by painting your chosen lip colour (try a traditional red or pink shade) with a lip brush. Blot. Then using your finger carefully press more colour onto your lips for a softer though still refined look.

 
#2. The lip at Missoni was more like Rodarte’s of last season: dark and rather gothic-like, but thanks to a hint of gloss - which often caught the light - still beautiful. The aubergine lipstick, which had been painted within an immaculately traced lip line (to prevent the edges from bleeding and thus the look from softening), was all the more bold thanks to little competition from the cheeks - well, there was no cheek to speak of, really - or the eyes, which featured nothing but a sheer wash of taupe shadow.

Create this lip by blending foundation over your lips first. Then draw their outline using a lip pencil in a matching shade. Paint on your chosen lipstick (why not try burgundy, purple or a shade that is borderline black?). Blot. Then reapply before finishing with a clear lip-gloss applied to the centre of your lips only.

 
#3. At Marni a pretty bow lip was the look of choice. Make-up artists daubed rose-coloured lipstick onto the peaks of the upper lip and the centre of the lower lip before feathering the edges and blending the colour to resemble a tint. In order to enhance the new shape and make it more defined in the absence of lip pencils and brushes, the corners of the lips were subtly blocked-out with foundation.
 
Create this lip covering your lips with foundation before by gently pressing your chosen lip colour (any colour will work well here) onto the centre of your lips, using the round tip of your finger as a guide when creating the shape. Blot, but do not reapply. Maintaining the sheer nature of the look is key.