The History of the Dark Liner, Light Lipstick Look That Defined the '90s

02.06.2022, 12:30 allure.com

Clara Bow's cupid's bow. Marlene Dietrich's overlined lips. Marilyn Monroe's contoured pout. All three of these now-iconic makeup looks could not have been done without lip liner. The simple, slim colored pencil is one of the tools the world's best-known makeup artists have been using since the 1920s to literally etch out the American Beauty standard. And that standard, naturally, was very white.