Your Makeup Bag Needs A Yellow Lip Gloss, Apparently

It’s a good time to be a gloss girl. With formulas that plump, stain, and change with your pH, there are more ways than ever to play with your lip combo. And TikTok just found one more: Yellow lip gloss is having a moment.

The sunny shade started making the rounds after creator @meganodoch gave it a try — and 12.5M views later, she definitely wasn’t the only one intrigued. “To the girl who put me onto yellow lip gloss ... God bless you,” another creator captioned a video of herself swiping one on. “I’m never going back to pink.”

Granted, it might look a little shocking in the tube, kind of like melted butter. On your lips, though, the yellow tone actually makes your natural lip color look extra peachy. Think of it as the opposite of the blue gloss trend that took over last winter; instead of canceling out the warmth, yellow dials it up.

Ahead, two makeup artists explain why the unexpected shade is worth going bananas over — plus, exactly how to wear it.

Why Yellow Lip Gloss Just Works

Let’s be honest: Yellow is a pretty intimidating color to put anywhere near your lips. But thankfully, the result is much more subtle than you might think.

“Most yellow glosses are translucent, so they give the lips this really pretty warmth and dimension,” says celebrity makeup artist Jamie Greenberg — and exactly how they do that comes down to color theory. “They neutralize purple tones, which brings out warmer pinks,” she explains.

In other words, rather than reading yellow on the lips, the sheer pigment can make your natural lip color look warmer and rosier. Another bonus? “It adds a luminous sheen that makes the lips look fuller as well,” says Steve Kassajikian, celebrity makeup artist and head of global artistry for Urban Decay.

That’s what sets it apart from the lippies you might already have in your makeup bag. “Clear gloss gives you shine, and that’s it. Pink gloss gives you a rosy, fresh effect. Yellow or gold gloss gives you shine and warmth,” says Greenberg. Side by side, it’s a small difference, but one that can make your natural lips look more dimensional.

Of course, not every yellow gloss looks the same. Honey yellow tends to look the most natural, Greenberg says, “almost like a golden filter over your lips.” Creamy butter yellow pushes your lip color more coral or orange, while amber shades go a little deeper. Shimmery gold, meanwhile, acts more like a highlighter, catching the light to make your lips look even more pronounced.

As for who can pull it off? Kassajikian says yellow tones tend to be especially flattering on medium to deep complexions, where the color “adds warmth and complements the undertones beautifully.” On fair, cool skin, he recommends experimenting with sheer formulas or layering yellow gloss over a lipstick shade you already know works for you.

In that case, Greenberg recommends layering yellow gloss over a lipstick shade you already know works for you. Or you can start with a super-sheer formula, like Urban Decay’s Lip Toy in Pop Off, which lets more of your natural lip color peek through. Either way, “as we move into fall, warm tones are the moment,” she adds.

How To Pull Off Yellow Lip Gloss

Inspired to try yellow gloss? It can be as simple as swiping it onto your bare lips and calling it a day. Or, take a cue from TikTok and pair it with a blurred brown liner for definition that doesn’t look too done up. After all, the goal with yellow gloss isn’t *really* to make a statement — it’s to give your lips that warm, golden-hour glow.

If you want to make things a little more interesting, though, both experts recommend layering it over lipstick. “It acts like a warm, translucent modifier,” Kassajikian says, meaning “it will slightly shift the overall tone” without completely covering up the color underneath.

Over a warm red or terracotta lipstick, yellow gloss can make the color look more orange or tomato-y; over a cool pink, it pushes the shade closer to peach; and over a caramel or beige nude shade, it ends up looking extra rich and toasty. Already-warm corals, meanwhile, become even more vibrant, notes Greenberg.

Basically, if there’s a lipstick in your makeup bag that’s always felt a little too cool, don’t toss it just yet. A layer of yellow gloss might be all it needs. Consider it the easiest way to warm up your entire lip wardrobe.