The halo lip trend may go viral in 2026, but Indians have been doing it for years — here’s the desi hack

Dua Lipa’s makeup artist, Katie Jane Hughes, has once again created a ripple in the fashion world, with a new glam prediction. Speaking to British Vogue, she predicted that 2026 will be all about halo lips. “Crisp, hard-lined lips are out, and soft, pillowy, blurry lips are in.” Here’s everything you need to know about the halo lips trend.

The halo lip trend is a makeup technique that creates soft, pillowy, fuller-looking lips by blurring the edges of lip liner and lipstick for a diffused, effortless look, often achieved with a brush to blend.

According to fashion entrepreneur, personal stylist, and designer Rinkoo Shroff, the halo lip trend is about creating dimension around the mouth rather than defining the lip line. “The idea is not to contour the lips sharply, but to soften the area around them,” she explains. Here’s how you can achieve the look, as per Shroff: However, Shroff notes that this technique has long been part of Indian beauty routines. “Of course, it’s a trend, but we Indians have always been ahead of the trends. We may not have given it a name earlier, but we’ve been doing it,” the fashionista tells indianexpress.com.

Further revealing a desi hack to create the same look without any fancy or expensive makeup tools, she said: “You don’t have to go overboard with bronzer, separate fluffy brushes, or crayon lip liners. With just one product in the bag, which most of us already carry, you can just get, set, go!”

Unveiling the hack, Shroff says,  “Simply take a cheek or lip tint, dab your finger on it, make a pout, and spread the tint towards the fuller, cushiony part of the lips. It’ll give the same effect as the halo lips look and add more dimension to the lips.”

Shroff says that this falls under “spread look,” where we are not contouring the lips for a fuller look. Thus, even though the trend now has a “technical term,” Indians have been using the hack for long.