Frosted Lipstick Is Back: The 4 Shades That Actually Work
L'Oréal's Ballerina Shoes revived the frost trend single-handedly. But one shade can't flatter every mouth — here are the alternatives worth owning.
- ~$8SeeRevlon Super Lustrous Pearl 420 BlushedOur pickclosest to the viral shade, and actually in stock
- ~$9SeeL'Oréal Colour Riche 135 Ballerina Shoesthe original TikTok shade, sells out constantly
- ~$8SeeRevlon Super Lustrous Pearl 610 Gold Pearl Plumplum with a gold shift, built for deeper skin tones
- ~$10SeeL'Oréal Color Riche Satin 302 Bois de Rosesatin rather than frost, for testing the trend gently
A $7 lipstick did what no marketing campaign had managed in fifteen years: it put frosted lips back at the centre of the conversation. L'Oréal's Ballerina Shoes, an icy pearled pink, has been looping on TikTok for months and sells out almost as fast as it gets restocked. The catch is that a single shade cannot possibly work on every mouth.
Why frost is coming back now
Beauty runs on twenty-year cycles, and 2026 is landing us squarely back in 2006: face-framing layers, velvety matte skin, and lips with a shift. But there's a more practical reason than nostalgia. We're coming out of several years of all-gloss — lip oils, clear balms, textures that deliver shine and almost no colour. Pearl gives dimension without the tackiness of a gloss, and it outlasts an oil by hours.
It's also a direct response to matte returning on the complexion. When skin goes velvety and shine-free, the mouth becomes the only light source on the face. Frost steps straight into that role.
The real problem with Ballerina Shoes
It's a light, warm, heavily pearled pink. On fair to medium skin with pink undertones, it does exactly what it promises. On deeper skin it turns grey — an ashy cast that American creators work around by reaching for Sugar Plum from the same line, which is far deeper.
The three alternatives that hold up
Revlon Super Lustrous Pearl 420 Blushed is the obvious stand-in: a very similar pearled pink, around eight dollars, and reliably in stock. It's the one I'd buy first if you want to try the trend without chasing a restock.
Revlon Super Lustrous Pearl 610 Gold Pearl Plum plays the opposite hand — a plum base shot through with a warm gold shift. It's the shade that works where icy pink fails: medium to deep skin, warm undertones.
L'Oréal Color Riche Satin 302 Bois de Rose is the cautious sidestep. Satin rather than outright frost, it gives dimension without an obvious shimmer. The right pick if the idea intrigues you but you'd rather not commit to a full 2006 moment at the office.
“Frost isn't a colour, it's a texture. A shade that suits you in matte won't necessarily suit you in pearl — the shift changes the temperature of the pigment.”
How to wear pearl without looking costumed
One shiny zone at a time. If the mouth is pearled, the eyes stay matte — otherwise the whole face bounces light back and the look tips into fancy dress. It's the most common mistake and the easiest to avoid.
Second rule: skip the dark contrasting liner. Two-thousands frost was worn with a lip pencil several shades deeper than the lipstick, and that single detail is what dates the whole thing. Stay tonal, or skip the pencil entirely.
Pearl has one advantage matte will never have: it catches light, so it creates volume. On thin lips it's the fastest way to gain fullness without injecting anything or overdrawing a single line.
