Cardi B’s Two-Tone Liner Trick Makes Her Lips The Star Of Her Whole Look

There’s an overwhelming amount of evidence that suggests Cardi B would be a star no matter what generation she was born into — ‘70s, ‘80s, ‘90s, or beyond, just take your pick. It mostly boils down to her overwhelming charisma and overall talent, but Cardi’s ability to pull off any decade’s top beauty and fashion trends can’t be discounted either. Over the past year alone she’s worn a curly, Prince-style mullet and 2000s-perfect skinny brows, but her latest look is one that was both a major hit back in the day and is still ruling red carpets and social media. Cardi B’s dark lip liner was used to create an eye-popping, 3-D two-tone makeup look that makes a true statement, and it would likely feel just as at-home on an R&B or superstar of the ‘90s.

Cardi debuted the supremely cool, deep red lip look on a June 25 red carpet for the 4th Annual Hollywood Unlocked Impact Awards in Beverly Hills. She paired the strong makeup with a particularly demure (but no less sleek) black-on-black suit set, complete with a set of lacy gloves. Long, shiny raven hair with a deep-swooped side-bang acting as an ideal finishing touch for the getup.

Cardi’s go-to makeup artist, Erika La’Pearl, created the unreal makeup moment, utilizing a rich, brick-red liner concentrated around the outline of the rapper’s mouth and blended into a lighter shade toward the center, with a glossy effect layered over it all. Not only does it make her already-full lips seem even bigger, but it feels like such a fun homage to the ‘90s — and it’s a trend that’s come back around in a big way over the past several years.

Cardi’s long been a fan of dark lip liner, but the deeper outline combined with a rosier shade through the middle is a statement-making look in its own right. Rihanna’s done it with a rich brown liner and a sheerer gloss, and Lori Harvey just showed off a matte, near-black pencil carefully blended into her own lips just weeks ago.

With Cardi B showing yet another glamorous way to wear the look, expect this trend to stay strong for the foreseeable future.