Ombré has been a huge trend for a few years now. The graduation of colour throughout the hair is reminiscent of childhood when hair was innately lighter from the sun during the summer months, making the roots look darker in winter giving a subtle gradual appearance to the hair. This has been popular with celebrities in order to give them a more youthful appearance and when done correctly, can look natural and beautiful. I also find it makes women look softer and more feminine. My hair is naturally ash brown and after three years of resisting bleaching agents, I asked my mum to scatter a few honey highlights throughout my hair during a summer holiday in Florida in 2010.
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| The beginnings of my love of all things ombré . |
I let it grow out for just over a year, leaving me with with an ombré effect without knowing what ombré hair was at the time.
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| Accidental ombré hair. |
After seeing Drew Barrymore's balayage hair and the younger appearance it gave her, I decided to have a few extra slices of blonde put through the ends and so I was immersed in the ombré trend.
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| Subtle balayage effect. |
I loved the dip-dye effect so much that I kept it with baby pink ends when I dyed my hair completely blonde...
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| Honey blonde with a pale ping ombré. |
...And then re-hashed it with white blonde hair and silver tips...
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| White blonde with silver blonde ombré ends. |
...Then added hot pink and violet to the ends in addition to the the sliver blonde...
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| White blonde with silver, pink and purple ombré tips. |
...Before doing a total 360° and trying out a rich brown colour with copper and dark blonde tips.
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| Brown ,blonde and copper ombré hair. |
Now I'm trying to get my hair to a healthier condition and as close to my natural hair colour as possible before getting a professional to do the balayage technique on me once it is a bit longer. But I love the ombré look so much that I want to hang on to it for as long as possible. I may not be able to do it with my hair just yet, but can do it with my nails and make-up, specifically with lip art.
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| Ombré lip created using a matte fuchsia lipstick and a royal blue pigment making shades of blurple . |
Ombré hair may make you look younger and more girly but an ombré effect with your lipstick can make your lips look fuller and plumper without the need for surgical intervention. Favoured by drag queens and make-up artists globally today, this was a trick that vintage Hollywood artist Allen 'Whitey' Snyder favoured when making up Marilyn Monroe.
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| Whitey creating that distinct and iconic ombré lip on Marilyn. |
Whether Marilyn wore red, pink, peach or nude lips, Whitey used the same ombré technique to make her lips look fuller. Whitey did not use pencils, rather he applied lipstick with a brush in order to achieve precision and a smooth application. He did this outside Marilyn's natural lip line and extended the corners of her upper lip past the corners of the lower lip to make the upper appear fuller than the lower. Whitey used a few shade variations of the same colour family and placed the deepest colour on the outer edges of Marilyn's lips, slightly past where her lips naturally ended. Whitey continued with the lighter shades, going from darkest to lightest as he went towards the centre of the mouth. He left the very lightest colour in the middle of the lip so that when Marilyn opened her mouth the fullness was more prominent in this area. For added volume, Whitey placed a white eyeshadow or shimmering highlight powder to catch the light.
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| Marilyn Monroe, the queen of the ombré lip. |
Whitey's technique is essentially, the steps to take when creating an ombré lip. Whether done subtly or more vividly noticeable, this technique makes the mouth more full, round and pouty.
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| Matte red ombré lip with iridescent gold powder. |
The graduated lip is a fun way to incorporate more colour and texture to the lips and can be as subtle or as dramatic as you want.
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| Green glitter ombré lip. |
Ombré lips can be achieved with lip paints and glosses as well as lipsticks and pencils.
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| Pink ombré lip. |
While more flattering to contain the darker colours on the outer portion and the lighter shades at the centre, ombré lips can also be achieved by applying the colours vertically...
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| Vertical ombré lip. |
Or horizontally.
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| Horizontal ombré lip. |
My quick guide to achieving an effortless ombré lip is listed below with this season's most popular shades of orange, peach and coral.
1. Choose your products. I prefer matte products but for this picture tutorial I used a glossy paint in addition to matte lipsticks. I used:
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| Step 1: Choose your products. |
2. Use a pencil to outline your lips, drawing outside the natural curves of your mouth.
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| Step 2: Sketch your shape. |
3. Fill in the outer portion of your mouth with your darker lip colour, concentrating on the corner, extending towards the Cupid's bow and slightly towards the centre on the bottom lip.
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| Step 3: Fill in outer portion of mouth with the deepest colour. |
4. Use a lighter colour and fill in the remaining portion, blending in to the darker tone.
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| Step 4: Apply the mid-tone colour to the centre, blending in to the darker corners. |
5. Blending the colour with the pencil and add a touch of either a pale colour or a white product to give the appearance of a gradient effect.
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| Step 5: Add a pale r colour or a white lip product in order to create more of a gradient effect. |
6. Finish with a shimmering powder or gloss to the very middle of the bottom lip. I prefer an iridescent powder as it gives more dimension and texture to the lip.
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Step 6: Finish with a shimmering powder for added dimension and texture.
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