Illustration featuring ancient makeup by Bailu'er. Clockwise: four kinds of makeup on lips populated in the Wei, Song, Ming and Qing dynasties (220-1911). [Photo/Sina Weibo account of Bailu'er]

As "petal" and "cherry" are the two most-used metaphors to describe lips of women, Chinese aesthetics tend to make female's lips look smaller and redder.

There was an exception in the Tang Dynasty (618-907), when people were more open-minded, women tended to dye their lips black.

Such makeup was connected with grief and sorrow, which was considered a unique beauty in that time. Undoubtedly, such avant-garde experiment only lived for a short period, as it betrayed the mainstream traditional aestheticism.

Other variations had long-lasting life, such as the "bitten lips", which once enjoyed popularity in the Ming and Qing dynasties (1368-1911).

If you want a try such makeup, prepare a concealer, lip balm and a lipstick or lip gloss.

Step1: Cover the edges of your mouth with concealer

Step2: Moisturize your lips with lip balm

Step3: Use concealer to cover the natural color of your mouth

Step4: Apply lipstick or lip gloss to the center of your mouth

Make sure that the color is paler from center to the edges of your mouth. 

Contact the writer at lihongrui@chinadaily.com.cn