Hannah Waddingham shows why this ‘lip lifting’ trick makes all the difference to lips over 50

A glossy lip. It’s a no-brainer when you’re older, right? A simple slick of shiny, sheer colour is easy to do, non-intimidating, and has no fear of feathering either. But did you realise there’s one simple extra addition that will instantly elevate it, especially on a 50-plus lip? To prove the case, look no further than Hannah Waddingham.

The Ted Lasso actress, 51, showed off a spring-fresh makeup update in Paris, stepping out at Stella McCartney’s a/w show with the perfect juicy lip. The shiny pop of pink made a gorgeous centrepiece, but it’s the detailing that makes all the difference.

Stephane Cardinale – Corbis

Hannah’s lip look adds fullness and lift

While most of us just swipe and go when we apply a glossy lip, Hannah’s look incorporates lip liner as well. This one extra step immediately changes a balmy tint from casual to considered, and is something we should all try out over a certain age.

That’s the word according to mature makeup guru Gucci Westman, who includes Nicole Kidman, Jennifer Aniston and Anne Hathaway among her regular clientele.

‘I’m completely committed to my lip liner, I can’t be without it,’ Gucci tells us. ‘I feel like the older I get, the more dependent I’ve become on lip liner because lips lose colour with age, and they just blend into your skin, which is so not happening!’

Stephane Cardinale – Corbis

Hannah’s pretty pink lip matched her dress beautifully too

While gloss can, of course, be used on its own, using it to fill an outlined lip ‘completely changes the vibe’, Gucci tells us.

Her advice is to apply the liner first, add a pop of glossy colour, then go back with liner to refine the shape. ‘What’s such a giveaway with lip liner is when you go over that natural ridge on the lip. It really bothers me. It takes away that lovely natural highlight at the high point of the lip.’

Lynne Hyland

Gucci Westman shows us how to create the perfect lip and liner combo

For older women especially, she likes to enhance the natural lip shape itself, then pat the liner in for softness. ‘You want to lift up the corners a little bit if you can, depending on your natural lip shape and what looks best.’

To create this visual lift, she advises drawing the eye to the top middle of the lip. ‘I like Cupid’s bow to be a bit more pointy and not rounded,’ she says. ‘I will take the liner across the whole lip shape, but I’ll pat it away more at the edges and on the lower lip so you don’t have that heaviness. Then I like to go back and add the emphasis on the upper lip, right in the very middle, for that lift.’

Stephane Cardinale – Corbis

A makeup look worth smiling about

Hannah’s latest lip look shows how beautifully a great gloss works in partnership with a liner, particularly with a subtle lift to her Cupid’s bow.

Her regular makeup artist, Scarlett Roberts, hasn’t shared a breakdown of the look, but GH can thoroughly recommend Gucci’s own take on the grown-up glossy lip.

Gucci’s Westman Atelier line has just launched Hydrobalm Tinted Lipstick, with 12 wonderfully wearable colours which plump lips, smooth away lines and are moisturising enough to double as a treatment.

‘I’m putting it on at night, and my lips still look this good when I wake up. I swear, I’m not kidding!’ Gucci tells us.

If it’s good enough for Nicole Kidman, we’ll be tempted to take it to bed ourselves.

Westman Atelier HydroBalm Tinted Lipstick – Bob

Westman Atelier HydroBalm Tinted Lipstick – Pop

Westman Atelier HydroBalm Tinted Lipstick – Nectar

Westman Atelier HydroBalm – Brique

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