This article was written by The Zillennial Zine’s senior fall editorial intern Dalal Daher. Find her on Instagram at @dalalllldaher. If you would like to share an article with The Zillennial, send us an email at thezillennialzine@gmail.com.
Concealer lips are back… God save us all. If you grew up during the early 2000’s, you might be entitled for compensation from many of the questionable beauty trends of the time, including but not limited to the infamous concealer lip. Somehow, the throwback trend of slathering your lips in concealer has been revived in a newer, cuter form. If imagining a 2000s concealer lip is making you shudder, I promise you’ll be pleasantly surprised by its revamped 2024 form. Read on to learn more about this trend and how you can finally, actually make concealer lips cute!
@isabelgalv44 Butt hole lips 4evah nostalgia 2000s
♬ original sound – isabelgalv – isabelgalv
If you’re unfamiliar with the original trend of concealer lips, it essentially entailed covering up your lips with concealer, with the effect being that your lips blended into the rest of your skin. 2000s concealer lips are the antithesis of the bold, overlined Kylie Jenner-esque lip style that dominated the late 2010’s and highlighted lips as a focal point for makeup. The retrospective disgust it evokes is largely due to the unflattering, cakey look of concealer lips, its often dry textural effect, and the fact that concealer lips run the risk of overpowering your face.
@isabelclanc #duet with @Mireya Rios #concealerlips2024 do we mean butt hole lips are coming back? #nostalgia
♬ original sound – Mireya Rios
Concealer lips may not be the most well-remembered beauty trend, being imbued with a campy, cakey feel that runs against current American makeup aesthetics such as the sleekly minimalist clean girl makeup wave and the ever-popular Instagram baddie “full glam” style. However, alongside other classic 2000’s trends, concealer lips have undergone a modernization and subsequent popularity boost in the past few years, being integrated into makeup styles of the 2020’s. So what does the current iteration of concealer lips look like?
The main way concealer lips have been rebranded into modern makeup is in the form of an ombre lip. Rather than use concealer as the basis of the entire lip look, most trendy iterations of the concealer lip involve patting a dab of concealer onto the middle of already lined lips. Want to replicate the look? Your first step should be to use a matte lip liner or lipstick and fill in your lips- a neutral brown shade, just a bit darker than your skin tone, or pink shade are ideal. Then, pat a small amount of concealer in the center of your lips and blend out. If you want, top it off with a gloss! The overall look is a subtle, softer take on the 2000’s concealer lip, popularized by socialite Sofia Richie Grainge’s viral demonstration back in 2023. My personal favorite trick is to pat a bright pink glitter eyeshadow, or pigmented blush, onto the concealer part of the lip as an extra pop of color.
There are plenty of other ways to spice up your concealer lip as well. For a dramatic diffused lip- which is essentially a reverse ombre style, with the darkest color being in the center and the edges of the lip blending into your skin tone- concealer is the perfect hack! Diffused lips are a great soft, romantic look, and definitely stick to the 2000s concealer lip ethos of blurring out the lip line. To accomplish this look, you’ll start out as if you’re doing a classic concealer lip. Blot concealer (or foundation) lightly over your lips to blur them out. Then, pat a lip stain or lipstick on the center of your lips, and blend it out with your finger or a brush. A k-drama approved hack is to make this blend even more subtle by blending out the lipstick further with a powder blush.
If the thought of concealer lips still gives you PTSD, perhaps try this subtle way of incorporating it back into your lip routine. I personally like to use concealer to clean up the edges of my lipstick by applying and blending it with a thin brush. It’s a great way to add a crisp edge to your lip look and elevate it!
@markspencermakeup How to do a diffused red lip. A diffused lip, sometimes also called “popsicle lips” can be so soft and pretty. Here’s how to get the effect! #diffusedliptutorial #liptutorial #diffusedlip
♬ original sound – Mark Spencer Makeup
As the online makeup space continues to get more and more creative, trends pop up that show us how to use our favorite makeup products in an innovative way, or even revamp trends we thought were irredeemable. 2000’s concealer lips are a great example of a trend that got recycled and turned from repressed makeup memory to a subtle way to add extra flair to your makeup. Just because our modern trends don’t necessarily reflect the campy beauty standard of the early 2000’s doesn’t mean that there’s no hope buried in the millennial memory of overly orange foundation and dry concealer lips. From clothes to makeup, it’s clear the 2000’s are back, and honestly adding a much-needed infusion of fun to our minimalistic makeup trends.
Would you try concealer lips? What do you think about the renovation of this 2000’s beauty staple? Let us know!
More Beauty Articles
Lifestyle Articles
Relationship Articles
