Lip gloss is back: Making the case for a high shine pout

Make way for a new generation of easy-to-use glosses

Gleaming lips on show at Gareth Pugh Autumn Winter 2016 (Getty)

Matte lipsticks have seen a resurgence of late but if this season’s runways were anything to go by they might just be on their way out.

Instead another old-school and quite literally tacky formula is taking its place.

Most of us probably haven’t reached for a slick of gloss since the early 00s when strawberry flavoured formulas offered up a high-shine saccharine pout but, thanks to high-end designer reimagining that’s all about to change.

Sibling Autumn Winter 2016 (Rex Features)

Too sticky, too glittery and too hard to reapply during the day, gloss has accrued a pretty bad rep. Lucky for us then, that the beauty world should deliver a new generation of formulas that are easier to work with and far less full-on than glosses of the past.

It’s a look that dominated the autumn/winter runways with Dior, Maxmara and Gareth Pugh all opting for lips lacquered in vinyl-like shine. What’s interesting here though is that each and every one of them graduated the formula using bold, statement hues.

For Dior, polished black-cherry pouts were created using the Dior Addict Ultra Gloss while both Maxmara and Pugh sent their models down the runway in a variety of rich crimsons and vampy plums. A far cry from the clear, glittery glosses of yesteryear these lips came with a hit of sexual identity.

Dior Autumn Winter 2016 (AFP/Getty Images)

Incorporating gloss into your everyday routine is actually very simple and while this look highlights lips at its focal point they don’t have to be excessive. The simple and most understated way to broach this trend is to concentrate the product on the centre of the lips; this will give them shine and the illusion of fullness without looking too OTT.