Sept. 12, 2025

The Ombré Lip: A Multi-Tonal Masterpiece from Mata Mariélle

Photography Phil Engelhardt
words sarah brown

EE72 Beauty Director-At-Large Sarah Brown asked today’s most exciting makeup artists to create the look of now. Mata Mariélle paints the ultimate lip.

Makeup artist MATA MARIÉLLE

To top it off, I added the thinnest layer of M.A.C Lip Glass on lids to create that sweaty, punky feeling— anything sweaty and punky is London, so I needed to get that twist in there. It’s quite effortless, and makes a dramatic difference to the eye.

— Mata Mariélle

If you haven’t already heard of the “Mata lip”, feast your eyes: it’s ombré. Lacquered, almost. Its mesmerizing liquid tones impart the feeling of molten lava. It’s the calling card of London born-and-bred Mata Mariélle. Achieving her signature lip is an involved process that entails the lining, blending, and layering of a constellation of products — a handful of MAC eye pencils (“they take a lot to budge”) and shellac-like Lipglass, Danessa Myricks’ metallic pigments — not to mention the burning of a lip liner. The what? “I burn the edges. Just brush it through the flame to warm it up, then, wait a second. Do you have a lighter?” This technique, she says, turns a classic pencil into a liquid lipstick that glides on to skin and then sets. “I’ve been burning liners for years. It’s major.” The end result reminds Mariélle of a painting. “If you look closely, you’ll be able to see the different shades and textures. It’s magical,” she says dreamily. “You can do a one-tone lipstick, but that’s a little boring. Why not put five tones on and see where you go?”

THE PRODUCTS:
MAC Eye Kohl in Feline
MAC Eye Pencil in Coffee
MAC Lip Pencil in Chestnut
MAC Lipglass in Clear4
Danessa Myricks Color Fix Liquid Metals in Hot Fire and Gilded

Photography PHIL ENGELHARDT. Makeup MATA MARIÉLLE at The Wall Group. Hair PÅL BERDAHL at LGA Management. Model BEBE PARNELL at NEXT management. Stylist ENIOLA DARE. Casting PIERGIORGIO DEL MORO for DM Casting. Production Bellhouse / PATRICK ARMSTRONG. Photo assistants KLAUDIJA AVOTINA and MARIA GORODETSKAYA