Gradient lips are hot right now, and they couldn’t be easier!

If you don’t spend your free time googling “Korean beauty trends” (and if not, why not?), then you may have missed out on a major Korean beauty trend that’s hot right now: the gradient lip. And since what’s hot in South Korea will eventually be hot everywhere else (that country has its finger on the veritable pulse of cuteness/beauty trends), we need to talk about gradient lips right this second, before we waste any more time not in-the-know. Stop whatever else you’re doing, THIS IS URGENT.

The gradient lip is simply a way to use makeup to make your mouth look like you’ve been sucking on a watermelon popsicle, and keep it looking that way for hours. It can be extremely natural-looking when you use pink and red shades, or showstopping if you use colors like purples, blues, and greens. While ombre lips have been around for a long time, we like the look and subtlety of this particular style. See how lips look like they could be naturally just like that? Or maybe you were slurping a cherry candy? Isn’t that cool? It’s also a fun way to subtly change up your lip game!

And it’s super easy to do.

1) Take your favorite concealer, base, or nude lipstick and use it to line the outside of your lips. You heard me: blend in the concealer or nude lipstick to make your lip line match your skin shade. It doesn’t matter if it’s not perfect—this is a quick n’ easy look, and we don’t need to care about precision.

2) Grab your favorite red or hot pink lipstick or lip tint (we used Too Faced Melted in Candy) and make a few light strokes on the middle of your bottom lip, close to the inside of your mouth. Do the same with your top lip.

3) Blend it in—you can use a brush, your fingers, or a Q-tip. Then smack your lips together for good measure.