Meghan Markle Wore Dark Lipstick and It Looks Amazing
For the first time since marrying into the royal family, Meghan Markle forewent her usual neutral lip and wore a dark, berry lipstick for her appearance at the premiere of Cirque du Soleil's Totem show. The raspberry hue complemented the sequined dress Meghan wore by Roland Mouret alongside Prince Harry. And despite dark lipstick being a first-time beauty look for Meghan the duchess (and royal women rarely wearing anything besides light pink), Meghan technically wasn't breaking any royal protocol rules by wearing a bolder lip color.
In an interview with ELLE.com this summer, royal etiquette expert Myka Meier, Beaumont Etiquette's founder/director and a British-American trained by a former member of the Queen's household, explained that Meghan had changed her look when she joined the family because more neutral colors are preferred. "Her makeup is much more muted tones, so we see much more natural colors," Meier said. "We’ve seen her in the past in red lips and now we don’t. She’s wearing that light, neutral pink that is favored in the palaces and other royals."
But light pinks being in favor doesn't mean all other colors, including a statement berry lip, are taboo. Royals can wear dark, berry, or even a bright red lipstick, Meier confirmed. "She’s totally fine to wear whatever makeup she feels is appropriate for the occasion. And I think we still will see her in the future playing with a little bit more color."
Initially, Meier believed that Meghan chose muted colors to help her transition from Hollywood actress to working duchess. "I think for now she’s also trying not to draw too much attention to herself," she said of Meghan's makeup during her first events as an official royal. "She doesn’t want to stand out. She wants to come across respectful and relatable and kind of transition into this role as smoothly as possible. And I think to have red lipstick would be very eye-catching. I think she’s trying to emulate what she knows is respectful in terms of the royals. But I think she’ll play with color more on the red carpet." And the Totem premiere was a red carpet event.
Kate Middleton has also worn more dramatic makeup looks too. "We have seen Kate in the past play with a sparkle, we’ve seen her play with color, we’ve seen her with much more makeup, and we just haven’t had that opportunity to see Meghan yet in her new role, especially on the red carpet," Meier said. "So I do think she still will bring out the colors, she just really hasn’t had the opportunity yet. For day wear, I think it’s customary to stick to more neutral tones, but I think mostly she just doesn’t want to draw attention to herself.”
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