The minute makeup artist Romy Soleimani saw Tracee Ellis Ross’s dress for the 2024 Vanity Fair Oscar Party, she knew it called for a lip. “It needed something to help it pop,” says Souleimani of the custom black-and-white body hugging look. “And I wanted to pop it with something hot.”  For Soleimani, only the super saturated tomato-red pitch of Lip Suede Lipstick in Le Rouge would do.  

To play up the "warm and fresh" pigment, Soleimani prepped and massaged the American Fiction actress’s complexion with Skin Activator serum for a natural glow. Lids were kept clean and luminous, too, with just a touch of eye shadow in Tabac for warmth. “I wanted to let the lips really shine,” says Soleimani of the less-is-more look. “It feels modern to not put so much [makeup] everywhere.”

Here, Soleimani breaks down how to wear a lip like Ellis Ross. The key, she adds, is to have “enough confidence to not let it wear you.”

Tracee Wears: