Is the World Trying to Make Blue Lips Happen?

published 21 January 2014

We're huge fans of the 'no makeup' makeup look and going au naturale has been a steady topper in our wheelhouse season after season. But we have to admit, the daring edge-factor that comes from this wildly unnatural beauty look has us reeling: blue lipstick. Stay with us now.

We're advocates of free speech, free expression, and free wheelin' (sup Bobby D!), so it's only reasonable that we get on board with the freedom to wear strange lipstick colors and get away with it. But first, a little research.

Louis Vuitton went full-on Smurfy with it back in 2008 for their spring/summer collection.

And then pop culture, avant garde street style, and more runway designers followed suit in 2011.

Ke$ha at the Wireless Festival in London.

Lady Gaga at the MTV Europe Music Awards in Ireland.

Backstage at the Vivienne Westwood runway show at Paris Fashion week.

Backstage at the Richard Chai Love runway show at New York Fashion Week.

And straight through 2012.

Claire Evans of the band YACHT at the Outside Lands Music and Arts Festival in San Francisco.

A photographer in the audience at Governors Ball Music Festival in New York City.

Next up, the rest of the fashion crowd broke with convention and—in our humble opinion—officially made blue lips a thing in 2013.

The Christina Exie runway show at Australia Fashion Week.

The Ria Keburia show at Russia Fashion Week.

The Christina Exie runway show at Australia Fashion Week.

Mia Moretti and Caitlin Moe of The Dolls at Lollapalooza in Chicago.

So, in the interest of practicing what we preach, we grabbed the new matte Obsessive Compulsive Cosmetics Lip Tar (opens in new tab) and gave the look a go. While it is definitely NSFW at any typical business casual establishment, it works here at MC. Needless to say, however, the Twitter reviews were mixed.

Our social editor Hallie Gould tries the look on for size.

Yes? No?

@marieclaire @gouldhallie @occmakeup No. Just, no. #yuckJanuary 17, 2014

@justquiqui Yay or nay? I kinda love “@marieclaire: .@gouldhallie trying to make blue lipstick happen. #fetch.... pic.twitter.com/gkkQZEutFG”January 17, 2014

@marieclaire OMG it's like that lipstick Joey advertises in China in Friends #notsosureJanuary 17, 2014

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Hallie has worked in beauty editorial for ten years and has been editorial director at Byrdie since 2021. Previously, she was a senior editor at Byrdie since 2016. During her time at Byrdie, she's written hundreds of high-performing stories on skincare, wellness (including fitness, diet, mental health, body image, et al) makeup, and hair. She's a regular on set, helping to source inspiration for makeup and hair looks, as well as interviewing celebrities, models, and other notable women and men in the beauty space.

Before that, Hallie ran Marie Claire's social media and wrote beauty and culture stories for the site, and helped launch Time Inc.'s digital-only beauty brand, MIMI. After college, she contributed to Time Out New York’s Shopping & Style section before landing her first beauty editor gig at Hearst's Real Beauty. Hallie's writing has also appeared in ELLE, Cosmopolitan, and InStyle. Hallie graduated with a BA in Communication Arts from the University of Wisconsin-Madison.