Ryan Kelly is taking body painting to a whole new level. Her canvas? Her lips!
A little over four years ago, Kelly started this unique trend to engage Instagram followers with a little fun. With over 78K followers and several media interviews, her small hobby turned into something pretty major!
Thank you for being a friend
Life is like a box of chocolates
How does she create these detailed masterpieces?
She told Allure “When I first started playing with lip art, I had hours and hours to paint and play with ideas. At that point, everything was painted freehand, and looks could take up to six or seven hours.”
Six or seven hours? That is nuts! But that changed when she became a mom and realized her hobby was taking too much time away from her family.
“I saw another makeup artist use transfer paper — similar to what a tattoo artist uses — for body painting, and a light-bulb went off in my head. It took some serious refining, but now I love having that as an option for days when I’m limited on time.”
Here’s a sneak peek at her process
With her new process, she’s able to quickly sketch a pair of lips on paper to gauge proportions and how the image will appear. Once the drawing is complete, she scans it and prints it on temporary tattoo paper. From there she easily applies the tattoo to her lips voila! Ready for makeup and details.
Her designs span from fruit to pop culture to hip movies and shows. The possibilities are endless.
Little Mermaid
Hocus Pocus
Popular Rock Icons
Game of Thrones
Home Alone
“I love creating lips that will make people laugh, or feel a little twinge of nostalgia. I have the biggest to-do list ever! Often I will sketch out a few looks at a time and then grab one that inspires me when I have a window of time to paint.”
I don’t know about you, but I’m feeling inspired!