If Dee Carrion’s work existed throughout ’80s and 90s, we’d have seen it on avant-garde lipstick lovers like Grace Jones, Missy Elliott, and Lil’ Kim. Defying the constraints of time (and beauty), she uses an iconoclastic approach to lipstick, turning new trending artists like Doechii, SZA, and Tems into the glam-punk pop stars of our time.
“I want to create looks that challenge the standard of beauty,” Carrion tells ESSENCE. To do this, she taps a mélange of color from matte to metallic, swampish green to bright orange, blending shades you didn’t know could co-exist. “I like to use colors that someone wouldn’t see on a lip everyday and figure out ways to create something different and fun,” she says.
Growing up painting, drawing, and creating, the Portland-born Los Angeles-based makeup artist turned lips into her latest canvas. “Sometimes I’ll sketch them out but when I’m just flowing I usually start with a darker lip liner and then go from there,” she says about her process. “I’m really big on creating custom colors. I like to use multi-use cream products to create unique shades.”
Her MO? Color theory. “I reference it a lot when creating color combos,” she says. Using the Made By Mitchell Essentials Colour Case and precise lip brushes from MYKITCO., she created an “intricate lip where we played with light/dark and line work” on Doechii. Then, she mixed up ombré brown, rust, and green colors for Doechii’s “swamp lip” at a show in Tampa. “I come from an art background so I’m always implementing color theory, shading, and light.”
Whether she’s going for a classic red lip (think: Tems’ 2023 Met Gala look) with just a Morphe lip pencil and a matte MAC Ruby Woo lipstick or a legendary recreation of Pat McGrath’s porcelain couture makeup, lipstick is the axis in which her artistry exists. “I’m always trying to create something that hasn’t been done before.”