Zendaya Is the Ultimate '90s Baby with Her Nostalgic Lipstick
The look was first made popular by Naomi Campbell.


When it comes to beauty and fashion, Zendaya can truly do no wrong. The Euphoria actress is currently promoting her newest film, Challengers, but has taken some time to attend Paris Fashion Week ahead of the film’s April release. Most recently, she was seen attending the Fendi Haute Couture Spring/ Summer 2024 show, decked out in an unforgettable nostalgic look that injected some much needed warmth into the gray Parisian atmosphere.
The star’s makeup was anchored in her dark, ombré lip, which was a burgundy shade of red lined with a darker shade, growing gradually lighter towards the middle of the lip. This was particularly noticeable with Zendaya’s bottom lip, while her top lip had a more consistently dark hue all around.
Zendaya is only the latest star to try this trendy style, and is joined by the likes of Megan Thee Stallion and Kylie Jenner. The latter even posted a tutorial on how to achieve the look. This proliferation of dark, often glossy lips featuring heavy use of lip liner signals the return of 1990s beauty. After all, the trend was initially championed by Black and Brown superstars like Naomi Campbell and Jennifer Lopez, and was a makeup staple beyond the red carpet throughout the entirety of the decade. In the early 2000s, the trend gave way to lighter, brighter glosses, just as 2023 makeup mood boards were overrun with clean girl, “no makeup makeup” looks rather than highly pigmented lipstick and lip stains.
Now the pendulum has clearly swung back around to dark lipstick—a move that ‘90s babies like Zendaya will undoubtedly adore. Below, products to help you channel the trend.
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Gabrielle Ulubay is a Beauty Writer at Marie Claire. She has also written about sexual wellness, politics, culture, and fashion at Marie Claire and at publications including The New York Times, HuffPost Personal, Bustle, Alma, Muskrat Magazine, O'Bheal, and elsewhere. Her personal essay in The New York Times' Modern Love column kickstarted her professional writing career in 2018, and that piece has since been printed in the 2019 revised edition of the Modern Love book. Having studied history, international relations, and film, she has made films on politics and gender equity in addition to writing about cinema for Film Ireland, University College Cork, and on her personal blog, gabrielleulubay.medium.com. Before working with Marie Claire, Gabrielle worked in local government, higher education, and sales, and has resided in four countries and counting. She has worked extensively in the e-commerce and sales spaces since 2020, and spent two years at Drizly, where she developed an expertise in finding the best, highest quality goods and experiences money can buy.
Deeply political, she believes that skincare, haircare, and sexual wellness are central tenets to one's overall health and fights for them to be taken seriously, especially for people of color. She also loves studying makeup as a means of artistic expression, drawing on her experience as an artist in her analysis of beauty trends. She's based in New York City, where she can be found watching movies or running her art business when she isn't writing. Find her on Twitter at @GabrielleUlubay or on Instagram at @gabrielle.ulubay, or follow her art at @suburban.graffiti.art
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