In Hailey Bieber’s selfies or Dua Lipa’s red carpets, lips suddenly appear fuller, without a rigid edge or dark pencil. A result that is often attributed to injections, when it comes from a makeup trick designed to make your lips stand out, only better.
After years of ultra-designed pencils, 2026 marks a shift: room for blurred, soft, almost diffuse lips. , predicts makeup artist Katie Jane Hughes, quoted by Vanity Fair. This new gesture has a name: Halo lips, or blurred lips.
Why Halo Lips make you forget about ultra-defined lips
The rule is simple: the color concentrates in the center of the mouth, then diffuses outwards, creating a light halo, without ever drawing a clear contour. Inspired by Korean gradient lip techniques, makeup artist Nina Park modernized this rendering by adapting it to the faces of Hailey Bieber, Sadie Sink or Kaia Gerber.
As a result, the lips naturally appear fuller, as if “bitten”, without the frozen effect of dark pencils. The blurred line prevents the red from bleeding, optically erases small irregularities in the contour and gives a real anti-aging effect, especially on lips which have become refined over time. Halo lips also go well with a light complexion and a minimalist look.
Halo lips: the technique of celebrity makeup artists, step by step
To reproduce the technique, start by moisturizing the lips well, applying a balm for a few minutes then removing the excess. Next comes the famous halo: with a small brush and a matte bronzer, follow the advice of Katie Jane Hughes: .
Then apply a lip liner inside this halo, following the natural border, then blend it with a brush. Place a nude or pink shade in the center of the mouth, stretch it by tapping with your fingertip and finish with a balm or light gloss to add relief. In one of her videos, the makeup artist says that this rendering was blurred on a photo shoot, explains Katie Jane Hughes.
Adapt Halo lips to all lips for a volume and anti-aging effect
This makeup works on almost all lip shapes. On a thin mouth, you can slightly widen the halo and choose light and bright colors to accentuate the volume effect. On asymmetrical lips, modulating the intensity of the color in the center helps to visually balance the shape.
For mature lips, blurring is an ally: it softens the marked contours, prevents material from accumulating in the folds and remains flattering even when the color fades a little after a coffee. Cream or satin textures, complemented by a very fine gloss, reinforce this soft and fresh side and make Halo lips easy to adopt on a daily basis.
Halo lips: what is it?
A blurred mouth, centered color, natural volume.
How to make Halo lips?
We hydrate, we create a halo, we fade the color.
Are Halo Lips suitable for everyone?
Yes, on thin or mature lips, the blur softens everything.
