'Euphoria' star Maude Apatow's guide to her signature 'fancy' red lip

Being on a show that redefined makeup for your generation has to mean you’re a bit of an experimental makeup whiz yourself, right? Well, according to Euphoria’s Maude Apatow (AKA our beloved playwright, Lexi Howard), not always.

“No one really expected it would be as big as it is, and it’s so crazy seeing people doing ‘Euphoria makeup’," she shared in a Vogue Beauty Secrets video. "I’m so jealous, I feel like I’m too shy to wear that bold of a look.”

There is one statement look, however, that Apatow keeps in her back pocket for any time she wants to look particularly chic. “I just feel like a red lip makes any look more fancy,” she said. “I look more put together when I wear a red lip.”

She doesn’t necessarily think that’s unique to her, either; Apatow happens to see the look as a universal one. “I have friends who say 'Ah, I can’t pull off a red lip' [but] I’m like 'I don’t think that’s true'. I think anyone can,” she added.

So how does she get those lines so crisp, you ask? And how does her lipstick seem to last without flaking/smudging/ruining everything? The right combination of careful prep and very careful product selection, of course.

“[If] I’m gonna do a red lip, I’ll do the Charlotte Tilbury [Magic] Lip Scrub ($35 at Charlotte Tilbury) [while I apply my skin care],” she explained in the video. A clever move considering flake-free lips are obviously the best possible canvas you can work with for a bright lip colour.

Next comes a hefty coat of nourishing hydration, which she leaves to sink in and soften her pout while she does her base and eyes. “[Once my lips are scrubbed], I’ll put [on] the Charlotte Tilbury Magic Lip Oil ($106 at Charlotte Tilbury). This stuff’s so good,” she shared.

As for the application process, the actual red lip action comes in the form of a sole product. Yep, you read that right: no lip liner. “This Laura Mercier Velour Extreme Matte Lipstick ($45 at MECCA) never moves; it’s so good and it doesn’t dry out your lips too much. Because I don’t usually use a liner with this one, I’ll just start with it as if it were a lip liner.”

According to Apatow, once it’s on, there’s actually no need to fret about the threats that haunt other statement lips. “It stays all night, so [I’ll use it] if I wanna go [out] and not feel like ‘oh my gosh, is my lipstick on my teeth?’ or ‘is my lipstick getting messed up?’”

While she doesn’t rely on a liner for crisp edges, Apatow does like to polish things off with a little shape-sharpening, shade-enhancing trick. “[To finish], I use this skinny brush to put concealer around the lips so they pop more,” she explained, noting that she’s a fan of the NARS Soft Matte Complete Concealer ($45 at MECCA).

And that’s it; a cherry red power pout that polishes your look in five minutes (but won’t get messed up within the following five). Apatow, we owe you.

Main image credit: Getty Images

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