Why Everyone Should Own a Tube of Yellow Lipstick

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(Image credit: 2101 Records)

published 1 October 2015

The first time we laid eyes on yellow lipstick, it was 2013 and Jennifer Lopez was donning a canary-hued pout in her music video for "Live It Up." As much as it added to her golden goddess allure, we chocked it up to the fact that J.Lo can, in fact, do no wrong. It didn't occur to us that it was something us mere mortals could pull off.

But since then, we've slowly observed an uptick in the yellow lip trend both in new products and in practice (by way of many a beauty vlogger), which is something that we attribute to the fact that color play is at an all time high—particularly in the lip arena.

Sean Lim, founder of Korean-based makeup line Touch In Sol—which recently released its one-second lip crayon in a semi-matte, sheer yellow—believes it's a fun way to experiment with color if you're going for Nicki Minaj-esque statement look—especially on warmer skin tones.

On the other end of spectrum,you can use it to customize classic colors or experiment with a soft gradient lip.

"Yellow is great for layering as it allows you to mix and match to create an ombré lip or a new shade entirely," explains Lim. "When mixed with pink you'll get an orangey peach and with red, you'll get an orangey coral."

Considering that Korea is the beauty capital of the world right now, a K-beauty seal of approval means it's on the brink of something big in the states. So get ahead of the trend by throwing a tube in your arsenal. It may be intimidating at first, but its versatility makes it so that you can start small—a touch of ombré = baby steps—before making an ultra-bright yellow lip the focal point of your beauty look.

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1. The Gold Standard: Guerlain Rouge Automatique, $37; bloomingdales.com.

2. The K-Beauty Must-Have: Touch In Sol One Second Vivid Lip Crayon, $16; sephora.com.

3. The Drugstore Steal: NYC Cosmetics Macaron Lippies, $5.99; ulta.com.

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Lauren is the former beauty editor at Marie Claire. She love to while away the hours at coffee shops, hunt for vintage clothes, and bask in the rough-and-tumble beauty of NYC. She firmly believes that solitude can be a luxury if you’ve got the right soundtrack—that being the Rolling Stones, of course.