I know, beauty TikTok is creating some serious fatigue. Brimming with what seems like new trends hourly, it’s impossible to keep up with every lip tip, blush hack, or fruit-inspired beat. But, I can say with confidence that some hacks are worth the hype—they’re just so damn cute when you take the time to try them out for yourself. I’m all for a good foundation trick that will give me a serious glow, or a viral TikTok brand that features highly effective items that are less than $20, but my latest obsession is the “honey lips” trend.
Don’t worry, it’s an incredibly easy thing to try and only requires a little gold eye shadow, lip liner, and gloss—that’s it! The idea is to create a plump, luscious glow on the lips without the stinging or burning that can come with some plumping glosses. The gold eye shadow adds a touch of glitter and gives the lips a bit of a wet look. For a few extra tips on how to execute this one to perfection, I asked celebrity makeup artist Emily Gray Higgins. Keep scrolling for all her advice and products she’d use to create this look on a client.
To prep and set your lips for a look like this, Higgins has a few key hacks she swears by. “I have a whole system [for] making sure your lip look will stay in place all day,” she explains. “First of all, lip prep is essential. Scrub the lips gently with a wash cloth or cotton round to remove any flakey skin. Next, put on a lip mask while doing the rest of your makeup (I always leave the lips for last, so that they should have plenty of time to soak in the lip treatment).
“I love Catrice’s Lip Lovin’ Overnight Lip Mask. When it is time to do the lips, blot off the lip treatment with a tissue thoroughly. You want to make sure you remove it, as it will cause any products on the lips to run, since its very emollient. Afterwards take the lip liner around the border of your lips, buff the edges of the lip liner with your finger, then (this is the magic part), take a little translucent powder on a powder puff and go over the entire lip. Then follow with the gold shadow and gloss to finish your honey lips look. The powder creates a matte base for the other lip products to grasp onto, making it last!”
“I would recommend one of my personal favorite liners and one that I wear on the daily, Catrice’s Plumping Lip Liner in the shade Starring Role.” — Higgins
“If you have deeper skin, I would suggest the shade “Go All-Out”. These are great brownish nude liners perfect for the honey lips trend. They stay in place all day long, blend out beautifully if you like to buff out your lip liner, and contain ingredients that actually plump your lips. They are my go to liners!” — Higgins
Charlotte Tilbury lipsticks and liners never let me down. My usual go to liner shade is Pillow Talk Medium. It’s the perfect neutral pink hue to pair with a gold shadow on the lips and a neutral, brown, or pink-tinted gloss.
“If you want to splurge a little, one of my favorite brown shimmer sheer glosses is the Fenty Beauty Gloss Bomb in the shade in Hot Chocolit. A stunning formula and sounds odd, but I love the smell of these glosses so much.” — Higgins
“For an affordable and vegan option, I would suggest Catrice’s Powerfull 5 Liquid Lip Balm in the shade “080 Golden Ginger. These nourish the lips like a balm, but have the beautiful gleam of a gloss.” — Higgins
This cult-loved lip plumper from Dior also comes in a gorgeous, shimmery hazelnut shade that would pair perfectly with a slight golden tint on the lips.
“If you’re looking for a great yellow-gold shadow for this trend, Pat McGrath’s Eyedols Eye Shadow in Gold Standard is a wonderful option. And it comes in a single format!” — Higgins
This Makeup By Mario reflector is perfect to apply for this because it provides more of a translucent wash of gold on the lips that will almost look entirely natural.
The pearlescent finish on this shadow along with the flecks of glitter give it the perfect amount of shimmer. This shade is more of a rose gold, but it will give the lips more of a champagne look and pairs well with a lighter brown or pink gloss.
Okay, this option is a tad *dramatic* (they aren’t kidding with the “hologram highlighter” label). It’s definitely for days you want to amp it up, but the multidimensional pigments catch the light in just the right way.
This is one of my favorite highlighters to date. It’s so pigmented and the gel-powder formula goes on so creamy. It’s the perfect addition to a honey lips
This Too Faced Highlighter leaves such a beautiful rose gold finish on the skin. I love this highlight because it isn’t too overpowering and would pair well with a juicy, honey-inspired lip.
