All you have to do is swipe through TikTok or Instagram for a few minutes before you’ll see that lips are trending. Thanks to vaccinations and a break from masks, folks are picking up lipstick again — even going as far as touching up their lip filler that dissolved during lockdown. But there’s a more permanent lip trend that’s gaining speed and is set to blow up in 2022: lip blushing. According to Yelp’s 2022 Beauty Trend Forecast Report, lip blushing services are predicted to increase a whopping 130 percent next year.
But let’s take a step back for a minute and explain what lip blushing is. It’s a beauty service where a professional tattoos color onto your lips to color correct, as well as enhance the shape and size of your lips. It can give the illusion of fullness without lip filler and lasts up to three years depending on care and maintenance. The color is often a your-lips-but-better shade that starts off deeper and fades over time. It’s very much like eyebrow microblading.
Lip blushing is not a brand-new service so why does Yelp expect it to continue to grow at such a rapid speed? Connie Ko of JellyLab Permanent Cosmetics in Pasadena, CA has some ideas. “I feel like since everyone is wearing masks and adopting a more natural look since the pandemic, they are looking for an alternative to heavy makeup or wearing lipstick which can smear while wearing masks,” she tells STYLECASTER. Prior to Covid-19, Ko’s clients in the medical community were already fans of lip blushing since they already wore masks at work.
Source: InstagramLately, Ko has been seeing “busy professionals,” she says, who want to get ready faster but look put-together. “A lot of people work from home now too, with Zoom meetings they want to look their best without the whole heavy makeup look,” she adds. It seems the popularity of lip blushing is both because of wearing masks and the rise of low-key makeup, as well as because we’re getting to take off masks — sometimes — and want to look our best while saving time.
There’s also the popularity of lip fillers, and fuller lips in general. Lip blushing can make your pout look fuller without filler. “By restoring the lost color especially borders of the lip, we can give an illusion of fuller lip,” Ko explains. “I also enhance the shape slightly —without overlining and tattooing the skim which is a big no — and that also helps with creating fuller-looking lips.”
Prices of the service vary depending on where you live but generally run between $500-$1,500 per appointment. To find a reputable professional by you, check out their recent Yelp reviews and before-and-after photos. Be sure to do your research because it’s not the kind of thing you want to skimp on.
