It was a triumphant night for Lesley Manville at this year’s Olivier Awards. Not only did the actress pick up the coveted Best Actress award for her role in Oedipus, she won the Good Housekeeping special gong for services to the lip liner.
In candid behind-the-scenes footage, the actress blew kisses to her makeup artist, Amanda Grossman, and we can see exactly why. Lesley, 69, looked incredible in a sleek, grey Loewe gown but for us the true star of her look was her perfectly sculpted lip.
Contoured liner has been a breakout trend for 2025 and looks set to continue, with brands like REFY and Merit setting the pace. The move towards a sharper, more defined Cupid’s bow has been paired with an outline that’s obviously darker than the main lip shade which is great for viral Gen Z looks like the peel-off lip stain but can be a touch unforgiving on a more mature face.
For Lesley, though, Amanda has cleverly opted for a soft, tulip-pink lipstick (plucked fresh from the catwalk trends, FYI) and matched the shade seamlessly with Lesley’s liner for a sculpted, subtly volumised look. The overall effect is chic, sharp, and contoured without veering into “weird AI-generated makeup” territory.
“Lesley looks great and yes, the whole look is lipliner, lipliner, lipliner!” says Grace Fodor, makeup artist and founder of Studio 10. “It's not just for preventing feathering, it helps keep everything in place and softens the appearance of fine lines. But as Lesley shows, lipliner is the quickest way to achieve fuller, shaped and more defined lips. Spanx for the lips!”
To copy Lesley’s sculpted look, she advises using a lipliner close to your natural lip colour so it works with any lipstick or gloss. “This also allows you to slightly overdraw your lips for added fullness,” she says. “However, avoid applying liner to the inner corners, as this can exaggerate any downturn and draw the lips down.”
To create a clean shape like Lesley’s and cheat a more 3-D effect, “apply a soft highlighter on the cupid’s bow,” says Grace. “This adds instant volume and plumpness.” Try Studio 10 Lip Perfecting Plumping Liner, £25, which combines an anti-feathering liner with a suits-all highlighter to make the lip contour pop.
Although we’ll have to wait to find out the exact lip products Amanda used for Lesley, we can reveal the secret behind her radiant complexion: seaweed! And not just any old bladderwreck but skincare from rock royalty Georgia May Jagger, who’s the founder of May Botanicals.
“Loved using @maybotanicals Kelp Seaweed sheet mask - boosting skin's elasticity & firmness bringing hydration, nourishment and a beautiful glow to the skin,” Amanda posted. But sadly no backstage footage of the rather murky-looking brown sheet mask – there are limits!
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