Why is TikTok so obsessed with ‘Latex Lips’?

The viral makeup trend explained

Beauty Crew Beauty Editor / October 22 2023

TikTok is home to some of the biggest and best trends in the beauty industry.

It’s where we found out about the butterfly bob, unapproachable makeup, the cowboy copper hair colour trend, and many, many more. 

The latest TikTok trend to know about? ‘Latex Lips’. The wet-look lip makeup has got the app in a literal chokehold, and the hashtag #latexlips has a whopping 18.2 million views alone. 

The term was coined by makeup artist and beauty influencer Claudia Neacsu who’s dropped several TikTok tutorials teaching viewers how to recreate the glossy, lacquered lip look in various shades of candy apple red. 

It’s not surprising that people are loving the lip makeup trend; the process to create latex lips is relatively simple and it only requires three products — a brown-nude lip liner, a red liquid lipstick, and a clear gloss. 

Although Neascu frequently uses the Fenty Beauty Stunna Lip Paint Longwear Fluid Lip Colour ($45 at Fenty Beauty) on her models, she’s not loyal to a particular lip liner or clear gloss combo. 

Fenty Beauty Stunna Lip Paint Longwear Fluid Lip Colour

She simply outlines the perimeter of the lips with whatever nude-brown lip liner she has on hand and adds shading to the corners of the mouth for depth. Then she coats both lips in an even layer of the Fenty Beauty Stunna Lip Paint. Once the lip paint has dried down, she tops it all off with a glaze of clear lip gloss. That’s it.  

@victorialyn Latex lip combos!💄👄💦 Which color was your fav? #makeup #beauty #lipstick #lipgloss #latexlips ♬ Lo-fi hip hop - NAO-K

The thing we love the most about the latex lips trend is that it works on just about anyone. Plus, it's relatively adaptable, as long as you have a lip liner, liquid lipstick and a clear gloss in your kit, you can recreate the effect in a myriad of colours. 

@makeupbytammi All for my girlies🥰 I decided to try the glossy makeup look with a different colour…what are we thinking? #glossymakeup #blackgirlmakeup #glossyeye #glossyeyelids #glossylips ♬ FOR THE GIRLS - VintageBlackHottie

You can even ditch the liquid lipstick if you like and try a glossy lipstick. 

The clear gloss will diffuse the colour of the lipstick and create an iridescent finish that lends itself to the ‘latex’ vibe.

@2000syx Subtle Sparkles 🪩🩶 #LATEXLIPS #MACTREND products Eye shadow in L.E.S Artiste Lockedkiss Ink Lipstick in Mischef Squirt gloss lip balm in Jet Lipglass Clear #맥 #맥소속직원 #맥트렌드 #lockedkissink #maceyeshadow @maccosmetics #blacklipgloss #maclipglass #machalloween #MACLIPSTICK #Lipgloss #glowymakeup #lips #silvereyeshadow #beauty ♬ Pretty (Sped Up) - MEYY

Makeup collection missing a liquid lipstick? Here are seven liquid lipsticks we really rate that won’t leave your lips looking dry and cakey. 

Image credit: @claudianeacsu

Briar Clark got her start in the media industry in 2017, as an intern for Marie Claire and InStyle. Since then, her keen interest in fashion and beauty has landed her gigs as a Digital Content Producer and Beauty Editor with titles like Girlfriend, Refinery29, BEAUTYcrew and beautyheaven. She loves the way seemingly innocuous topics like skin care and style have the ability to put a smile on people’s faces or make them think about themselves a little differently. A big believer in self love and experimentation, Briar has made a point of becoming the Australian beauty industry’s unofficial guinea pig for unusual treatments and daring hair trends. When she’s not testing out the latest beauty launches, Briar is big on broadening her horizons, mostly in the form of food but she’s also partial to travelling to new destinations both near and far (and of course, allocating an extra bag to bring their best beauty offerings home with her).

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