Can the viral black lipstick become your daily go-to?
During its runway show, the models wore outrageous designs by Daniel Roseberry, including miniature saddles that were converted into shoulder pads, and a pulsating, crystal-encrusted heart attached to a satin gown. The collection was enhanced by well-known artist Pat McGrath's make up. Clean skin but with a glow, hair sternly slicked back, and a glossy black pout in focus. McGrath had taken black lipstick out of the punk-goth circles and made it perfectly suitable for the couture runway.
But can you wear black lipstick, now a viral beauty trend thanks to the Schiaparelli show, in your daily life? And does it suit everyone?
There are many ways to do the black lipstick look, says celebrity hair and makeup artist Arti Nayar, who works with stars including Sonam Kapoor Ahuja and Kareena Kapoor Khan.
'You can go completely black on the lips, or even do a burgundy or deep cherry ombré that looks black. Regardless of what you choose, you will need a good lip scrub first to get all the dry skin off," Nayar says, adding that the colours can work for anyone. "You can even use a soft toothbrush, and then apply a balm. Do this before you begin your make up, so when it's time to apply the lipstick after the base, your lips are hydrated."
This makes it easier for a black lip pencil or a lipstick to glide over and look plump too.
Always start with a lip liner. Ideally a matte finish black lip is a good bet, says Nayar, as creamy or glossy blacks often don't have a good pigment payoff. 'Even if I want a creamy finish, I first use a matte black lip pencil, and top it with a cream or glossy formulation to get intense pigment. The key to a good black lipstick is a little little bit of shine, it can be concentrated in the centre to get that slightly pouty finish, or you can do it through and through," says Nayar.
Dab a little extra powder around the mouth, so if there's some colour running, it's easy to correct with a sponge and powder. If you wish to make black lipstick more intense and long lasting, you can top it with a black eyeshadow. Apply a lot of loose powder around the lips so if there's any fallout, you can just dust it off, suggests Nayar.
For a creamy or glossy look, apply your glossy or cream top coat just before you are ready to leave home (Nayar does it just before a model faces the camera), or it will give you an uneven finish and pigment output.
'This rule applies to black eyeshadow too: If I want a glossy lid, I go with the gloss on top just before the shoot to make it last long and reduce touch ups," says Nayar.
For the rest of the face, it's best to keep it neutral and not go heavy on the eyes. 'You can play with the level of shine with your highlighter, but don't go overboard with eyeshadow. I will probably use something subtle but high shine so that it's balanced throughout. You can accentuate lashes instead, and open up the eye with a little rose gold or white on the waterline, because the black lip look is very intense," says Nayar.
Another option to try is a graphic liner—just a flick at the corner of the eye or accentuate the inner corner. You can even do a black line in the crease or on the lid.
'If not black, do a deep cherry on the outer corner and black in the middle or reverse. This ombré effect gives dimension and juiciness when applying dark colours," says Nayar.
Dhara Vora Sabhnani is a Mumbai-based writer.
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Mint
3 days ago
- Mint
Can the viral black lipstick become your daily go-to?
The most striking beauty look at the recently concluded Paris Haute Couture Week was at Schiaparelli: black lipstick. During its runway show, the models wore outrageous designs by Daniel Roseberry, including miniature saddles that were converted into shoulder pads, and a pulsating, crystal-encrusted heart attached to a satin gown. The collection was enhanced by well-known artist Pat McGrath's make up. Clean skin but with a glow, hair sternly slicked back, and a glossy black pout in focus. McGrath had taken black lipstick out of the punk-goth circles and made it perfectly suitable for the couture runway. But can you wear black lipstick, now a viral beauty trend thanks to the Schiaparelli show, in your daily life? And does it suit everyone? There are many ways to do the black lipstick look, says celebrity hair and makeup artist Arti Nayar, who works with stars including Sonam Kapoor Ahuja and Kareena Kapoor Khan. 'You can go completely black on the lips, or even do a burgundy or deep cherry ombré that looks black. Regardless of what you choose, you will need a good lip scrub first to get all the dry skin off," Nayar says, adding that the colours can work for anyone. "You can even use a soft toothbrush, and then apply a balm. Do this before you begin your make up, so when it's time to apply the lipstick after the base, your lips are hydrated." This makes it easier for a black lip pencil or a lipstick to glide over and look plump too. Always start with a lip liner. Ideally a matte finish black lip is a good bet, says Nayar, as creamy or glossy blacks often don't have a good pigment payoff. 'Even if I want a creamy finish, I first use a matte black lip pencil, and top it with a cream or glossy formulation to get intense pigment. The key to a good black lipstick is a little little bit of shine, it can be concentrated in the centre to get that slightly pouty finish, or you can do it through and through," says Nayar. Dab a little extra powder around the mouth, so if there's some colour running, it's easy to correct with a sponge and powder. If you wish to make black lipstick more intense and long lasting, you can top it with a black eyeshadow. Apply a lot of loose powder around the lips so if there's any fallout, you can just dust it off, suggests Nayar. For a creamy or glossy look, apply your glossy or cream top coat just before you are ready to leave home (Nayar does it just before a model faces the camera), or it will give you an uneven finish and pigment output. 'This rule applies to black eyeshadow too: If I want a glossy lid, I go with the gloss on top just before the shoot to make it last long and reduce touch ups," says Nayar. For the rest of the face, it's best to keep it neutral and not go heavy on the eyes. 'You can play with the level of shine with your highlighter, but don't go overboard with eyeshadow. I will probably use something subtle but high shine so that it's balanced throughout. You can accentuate lashes instead, and open up the eye with a little rose gold or white on the waterline, because the black lip look is very intense," says Nayar. Another option to try is a graphic liner—just a flick at the corner of the eye or accentuate the inner corner. You can even do a black line in the crease or on the lid. 'If not black, do a deep cherry on the outer corner and black in the middle or reverse. This ombré effect gives dimension and juiciness when applying dark colours," says Nayar. Dhara Vora Sabhnani is a Mumbai-based writer.
Indian Express
14-07-2025
- Indian Express
Designer Rahul Mishra, artist Gustav Klimt, and a long tradition of art inspiring fashion
Over the last week, several posts featuring the works of Indian fashion designer Rahul Mishra at the Paris Haute Couture Week have amassed thousands of views and likes on social media. This has happened even as high fashion is not always considered accessible to wider audiences. It's not available to purchase on a mass scale, and the designs themselves are often more conceptual than practical. Once in a while, however, runway designs evoke popular interest and agreement on their quality and beauty. In Mishra's case, it was not only the glittery dresses in gold and yellow hues or the floral themes that stood out, but the inspiration he took from the paintings of celebrated 19th-century Austrian artist Gustav Klimt. The extraordinary PAINTINGS of Gustav Klimt referenced by ✨Rahul Mishra✨ in his Fall/Winter 2025 Couture collection.🪡 — La Mode Unknown (@LaModeUnknown) July 7, 2025 Fashion has long taken inspiration from the world of art, and there are reasons why the collaborations work, even as they generate debates and disagreements about the nature of art itself. At a surface level, there are obvious similarities in the realms of art and fashion. Designers begin their work by drawing sketches as the prototype for clothes, and depictions of fashion and clothing are often central to paintings. American fashion historian Valerie Steele wrote in the anthology book Fashion and Art (2012), 'Both fashion and art are aspects of visual culture, involving form, color, and texture… Like art, fashion can be technically and conceptually rich.' Mishra also noted this commonality, telling Vogue India in an interview, 'I kept coming back to this quote by Monet. He said, 'Everyone's trying to paint a bridge, a flower, a tree, a river, but I'm trying to paint the air—the space where the boat, the hut, the bridge and the woman exist.' And I felt like that's what I was doing, creating air, because how do you turn an emotion into something real? Into fabric, into form, into something wearable? The task was to capture emotion'. In discussions on these connections, mentions of the iconic French designer Yves Saint Laurent frequently appear. He once called himself a 'failed painter', having often taken inspiration from his favourite works of art. The most well-known of these was the Mondrian dress, featuring blocks of white, red, yellow and blue, almost lifting artist Piet Mondrian's abstract paintings from the canvas and directly placing them on cloth. An article on the website of New York's Met Museum says, 'The purity of Mondrian's simple lines and color blocks resonated deeply with Saint Laurent, inspiring him to create a collection of twenty-six designs… With strategic darts and seams, he transformed abstract paintings into three-dimensional cocktail dresses that maintained geometric alignment on the body.' The article argued that not only did it popularise Mondrian's works within the cultural elite, but the designer's ready-to-wear line made the artist more accessible to a wider clientele. It also birthed inexpensive copies. 'Whether or not it was his intention, Saint Laurent expanded the reach of artworks beyond the confines of museum walls and into human lives. At the very least, he challenged perceptions by demonstrating that women, irrespective of their race or class, deserved to wear works of art,' it said. Saint Laurent also based shirts and jackets on the works of Vincent Van Gogh and Pablo Picasso. In Mishra's case, using Klimt as a source is, in a way, coming full circle. The Austrian painter is renowned for his detailed paintings that often captured women, with some featuring and inspired by his long-time partner, designer Emilie Floge. Portrait of Emilie Flöge (1902) shows her in a dark, loose blue dress. This was inspired by Floge's designs, which rejected the tight corsets of that era. Where the two diverge Not everyone agreed that the two worlds should be equated. 'A dress is neither a tragedy, nor a painting,' said French designer Coco Chanel, 'It is a charming and ephemeral creation, not an everlasting work of art. Fashion should die and die quickly, in order that commerce may survive'. Chanel was known for her infusion of practicality into luxurious clothing, such as suits for women. On the other hand, her contemporary, Italian designer Elsa Schiaparelli, was known for incorporating unusual motifs and styles. She was friends with surrealist artists such as Salvador Dali, even collaborating with him. Chanel once called her 'that Italian artist who makes clothes'. Steele also noted some 'undeniable differences' in the two fields, such as that fashion has an 'obvious utility' which paintings do not. When it comes to high-end artists, a work of art may still be many times more expensive than a luxury handbag or a pair of shoes. 'Moreover, whereas the price of a work of art can escalate dramatically over time, the value of fashion almost always declines after it ceases to be new and only sometimes regains value as collectable vintage,' Steele wrote. That is not to say that fashion doesn't occasionally aspire for longevity beyond mass consumption. The introduction of the book Fashion and Art says, 'Couture, which began in 1850s with (designer) Charles Frederick Worth is a key place to start speculating on the art-fashion nexus. It is when garments start to assume the status of substantive, sculptural objects, which just happen to have the human support to activate them.' Couture began in France at a time when luxury was seeing a revival, and when the royals gave their patronage for the production of goods created by hand, for an exclusive clientele. Mishra's collection was also part of haute couture. Scope for harmony Steeler wrote that today, collaborations between the two forms' artists can 'legitimate the fashion companies' cultural credentials, while also creating buzz and sales. They are undoubtedly useful for the artist also, but primarily in financial terms.' Which raises the question of whether fashion belongs in the rarefied and exalted world of 'art', and if it can be deemed as such. The debate about what comprises art is an old one, and is often seen as being exclusive of newer, more accessible forms of culture. On the other hand, calling everything equally significant can seem ultimately devaluing all forms of art. Saint Laurent was clear about his position. The Met's article says, 'He never likened himself to Van Gogh or Picasso through his interpretation of their works. He was a student of culture and an avid art collector… He emphasized that his homages were the result of a profound admiration of the art form: 'I didn't copy them—who would venture to do that? I wanted to weave connections between the painting and the clothing.'' Rishika Singh is a Senior sub-editor at the Explained Desk of The Indian Express. She enjoys writing on issues related to international relations, and in particular, likes to follow analyses of news from China. Additionally, she writes on developments related to politics and culture in India. ... Read More
Mint
12-07-2025
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Paris Haute Couture Week: Designers celebrate love through fashion
It's been a season of celebrating love in all its forms at the Paris Haute Couture Week. House studios revisited their archives during the fashion showcase, serving pieces with a nod to the past but contemporary in spirit. A case in point being the Chanel show which celebrated nature, wide-open spaces and romance. Rahul Mishra had Sufism on his moodboard and exhibited through his 30-plus looks the evolution of love through seven stages: attraction, infatuation, surrender, reverence, devotion, obsession, and finally, death. This couture season also marked the end of an era at Balenciaga. After 10 years, Demna stepped away from his role as creative director, and at his final show in Paris was a love letter to his own work at the brand. Here are some of the key trends that emerged at the Paris Haute Couture Week. Also read: Paris Fashion Week: A menswear show of designs inspired by India, the 90s Classics with a twist Chanel's latest collection revisited major winter classics and featured suits in natural shades of ecru, ivory, brown, green and black. Staying true to the house DNA, their proportions were borrowed from menswear, ensuring complete freedom of movement. The tweed in the collection took on a knitted allure for a white coatdress with embroidered braids, a suit whose jacket seemed to be a jumper, and two mohair suits in autumnal hues of green or plum. A bouclé tweed gave the impression of sheepskin for a straight-cut coatdress in black and white, a skirt suit and a long gilet, as well as a pair of ivory short trousers that were painted and embroidered. Armani Privé's collection, Noir séduisant, played out every shade of evening black. From luxurious inky velvets to charcoal soigné numbers peppered with crystals to raven-toned plume boas, the show embodied after-dark glam but with Giorgio Armani's exacting minimalist approach. One of the key highlights of the show was a model carrying an opera cigarette holder. Interplay of textures The Chanel show exemplified the tactile appeal of feathers. The tweed pieces also created the illusion of faux fur with a trouser suit, a long coat, an embroidered over-cape and a short blouson jacket. The closing bridal look saw a veiled Chanel bride carrying a sheaf of gold wheat ears symbolising good luck. Armani Privé's final look was a shimmering, corseted suit jacket gown accessorised with a dramatic diaphanous fan covered in sequins. Embracing his core metier, Rahul Mishra yet again extrapolated traditional techniques of aari threadwork, zardozi, naqshi, dabka, and fareesha embroidery. Alongside resham threads, embellishments include beads, freshwater pearls, kundan, salli, and sequins, were all woven onto silk organza, tulle, velvet, and satin fabrics. Art inspo The Armani Privé show got off to a glamourous start with a trio of sculptural black trousers paired with forest green and cobalt blue tops that referenced Monet's Water Lilies. While Mishra's collection had some pieces inspired by the work of Gustav Klimt, Schiaparelli's show was punctuated with archival surrealist influences—whether it was the sculpted torsos or mechanical hearts. What's more, the padded faux skeleton details and molded torsos in duchesse satin recalled Man Ray's Venus Restored of 1936. The Apollo de Versailles motif, an embroidery of the chateau's fountain famously worn by actress and interior designer Elsie de Wolfe in a cape from 1938, was recontextualised on a transparent tulle cape. Manish Mishra is a Delhi-based writer and content creator. Also read: Milan Fashion Week: Designers offer luxury PJs, softly tailored suits
