The world went mad for lip liner this year, and in 2026, we’ll be experimenting with new ways to use it. Enter Katie Jane Hughes—makeup artist, founder of her eponymous KJH Brand, and the woman behind some of Dua Lipa, Lily Allen, and Hailey Bieber’s most show-stopping looks—who has taught countless beauty fans a thing or two about makeup application (head to her TikTok if you’re not there already). Her prediction for next year? “Crisp, hard-lined lips are out, and soft, pillowy, blurry lips are in.”
Think of it as a kind of “halo” lip. Hughes first encountered the look early on in her career, while assisting on a photoshoot. Rather than keeping a bold red lip sharply defined, the makeup artist softened and blurred the edges with a brush. “It looked super effortless,” Hughes recalls. “I just thought, oh, that’s cool.” Now, she name-checks fellow makeup artist, Nina Park, as someone who nails the look time and time again.
