Lipstick toppers to give you that signature lip colour, plus tips from Song Hye Kyo

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Not too long ago, you had to be an It girl – think: Sofia Coppola, Kim Kardashian West, Emily Ratajkowski – to get your own lipstick shade. Not anymore. Today, anyone can create a personalised lip colour (or more personalised fashion items here) by layering two different hues from the reformulated Laneige Silk Intense Lipstick collection.

Claire Jin, senior vice-president at Laneige, explains that after 20 years of heritage, the brand is getting a fresh injection of youth and positioning itself as an iconic brand for millennials. This wide range of colours – 35 in total – allows Gen-Yers to express themselves more fully and, as Claire says, “show off their unique styles” (here are some Seoul Fashion week street-style looks to wear).

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You Get Great Colour Payoff and Maximum Comfort

The revamp sees the colour pigments downsized and packed tightly together for a brighter and stronger colour payoff.

One layer gives you vibrant colour with a clear, slightly translucent and almost dewy finish, thanks to its high moisture content. Multiple layers of the same colour will achieve a bolder and more opaque finish. The lippie comes in five colour families, namely the reds, purples, pinks, beiges and corals, and is formulated to adhere well to lips and provide maximum comfort (8 more comfy matte lipsticks here).

“We’ve been searching for the smoothest and most comfortable way to cover lips, and found the answer in silk,” shares Jeongmin Cho, brand manager at Laneige South Korea. “When analysed under a microscope, we found that the surface of fabrics such as silk is made up of superfine fibres that feel soft and adhere well. Inspired by the inner structure of luxurious fabrics, we created a smooth and long-lasting lipstick by mixing in silk-like polymers and fibres.”

Laneige Silk Intense Lipsticks in Exotic Yellow and Forest Fantasy, $36 each. 

Customise Me Pretty

Customisation has been the name of the game for a while now; everyone wants their own beauty concoction, from bespoke skincare serums to personalised perfumes. Laneige has extended this trend to lip makeup with its revamped Silk Intense Lipstick in 35 new luscious shades, including two – Exotic Yellow and Forest Fantasy (grey) – meant to be used as topcoats over the other hues.

“There is a strong desire for personal style today,” says Jeongmin. “While fashion trends (trends from more than 200 fashion brands here) may lean towards certain colours, they may not be suitable for you. With that in mind, we have created two mixing colours that can be worn on their own, or used to tone up (Exotic Yellow) or tone down (Forest Fantasy) your lipstick hue. With them, you can fine-tune any colour to suit your skin tone and personality.”

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How to Maximise Exotic Yellow and Forest Fantasy

When you layer the two mixing hues over the other 33 individually, you get 99 shades in total, not including ombre-lip permutations. Fair warning: while you can wear the grey and yellow hues on their own, you may want to hold back on that as the former makes your lips look ashen and the latter has a jaundice-like effect.

Singapore is the only country in the world to carry all 35 colours! Even Laneige’s home country, South Korea, only offers 33 shades.

When worn over reds, pinks and purples, both Exotic Yellow and Forest Fantasy deliver on their promise, with the former making colours brighter and more vivid, and the latter making them look cooler and more subdued.

Besides expanding your current lipstick wardrobe, the two mixing hues can enhance existing lipsticks that don’t suit you or you no longer fancy. For instance, if you just came back from a beach holiday (click here on the beauty must-haves to pack) and want to brighten up the lipstick colours you already have to complement your new tan, Exotic Yellow will do the trick.

These new lipsticks can be layered on so well because of a new ultramicronised pigment technology. “Pigments are minimised until they’re micro-sized, and are perfectly aligned to achieve vivid colour with one touch,” explains Jeongmin. This means that when colours are layered, they won’t lose their rich and vivid hues.

Lip Tips from Song Hye Kyo

Laneige ambassador, Song Hye Kyo

Launched in 2012, the Laneige Silk Intense Lipstick shot to fame when South Korean actress and Laneige ambassador Song Hye Kyo wore it in her hit series That Winter, The Wind Blows. To keep her lips plump and pretty in real life, she uses Laneige Lip Sleeping Mask ($27). She says: “When my lips get dry and flaky, this helps exfoliate and moisturise them effectively.”

One Lipstick, Three Ways

South Korean celebrity makeup artist Ryu Hyun Jung shares three application tips.

1. For a Natural-looking Blushing Effect:

Skip the lip liner and tap the lipstick on, starting from the inner part of the lips and working your way out. Your lip colour should be bolder on the inner part of the lips, lighter as it moves towards the lip line, and smudged near it. This effect works well with pink shades such as Love Me New Me.

Here's what to expect with these lipstick toppers.

2. For Bold Lips:

For more precision and perfection, apply the lipstick with a lip brush and work inwards from the lip line. Apply two or three layers for bolder colour (try these 10 new shades from Nars). This effect works best with statement colours or red ones such as Get The Red.

3. For Ombre Lips:

After applying a layer of lipstick, use either Exotic Yellow or Forest Fantasy on the outer part of the lips to create two-tone gradation.

This story was originally published in the May 2017 issue of Her World magazine.