Aussie celebrities jump on new dangerous beauty craze

Lip blushing is the latest cosmetic craze to sweep Australia, and influencers are raving about it online.

An alternative to lip filler, the procedure involves applying a sheer tinted colour all over the lips and ‘tattooing’ it into the skin to achieve plumper, rosier and more kissable pouts.

It can also correct lips that are uneven or discoloured. 

Despite some doctors warning against the procedure, several big-name Aussie social media stars are sharing their positive and horror stories about the treatment. 

Model Laura Dundovic, 36, recently underwent lip blushing and revealed the results on Instagram.

The brunette beauty, who soared to fame when she was crowned Miss Universe Australia back in 2008, was all smiles as she pouted at the camera with her voluptuous new lips.

Laura told her followers that ‘she wished she had done it sooner’.

‘When these wear off I will be doing it again,’ she said.

‘These are my lips with nothing on them now. Attention to detail is [thumbs up emoji].

Meanwhile, former Married At First Sight star Martha Kalifatidis showcased her dramatic lip transformation back in April.

The former reality star, 34, confirmed she had got her lips tattooed when she shared a gallery of photographs from the salon chair.

Taking to Instagram, Martha confirmed the treatment was ‘way less painful’ than she thought it would be.

‘In good hands. Way less painful than I anticipated,’ she assured her fans.

However, some influencers haven’t had the same positive results.

Last year, Bella Johnston was brutally slammed online after getting cosmetic lip tattooing.

The Bachelors star, who appeared on season 10 of the show earlier last year, took to TikTok to show off her ‘patchy’ lips which had been inked with a pinky red colour.

In the video, the 27-year-old said she was scared she ‘had ruined her face’.

‘I got my lips tattooed like a month ago and I keep waiting for me to like them but it isn’t getting better,’ she wrote in the clip.

‘Are they meant to be patchy? Why is the outline so strong?

‘Has anyone had their lips done before? Pls tell me the colour fades more. I better not have ruined my face.’

While the reality star was met with some advice and tips in the comments, several users trolled her for undergoing the cosmetic procedure.

‘Why would you ever do this to yourself,’ a user asked, while another added, ‘Ronald McDonald over here.’

‘Never tattoo your face, it’s always a bad idea,’ one fan wrote, while another said, ‘I’ve never seen it look good on anyone I’m sorry.’

Meanwhile, several users offered sound advice and encourage the influencer to go and get them touched up.

‘With cosmetic tattooing after the first session patchy looks is very common so that’s why the 2nd appointment is needed to make sure everything Blends,’ someone said.

Former Big Brother star Skye Wheatley also had alarming results. 

A few years ago, the model and TV personality, 30, had fans questioning whether she’s gone too far after debuting an extremely inflated pout online. 

Sharing a TikTok video of herself immediately after getting her lips tattooed, Skye explained she wanted to fool her boyfriend Lachlan Waugh into thinking she’d permanently engorged her lips with filler.

A year prior, she showed footage of a beauty therapist gently gliding over her lips with the tattoo gun, enhancing the shade of her pout.

‘Can’t feel a thing thanks to this numbing patch,’ she explained. 

Multiple sessions are required to achieve a desired shade and lip tattooing can last between one to five years.

The procedure can cost from $450 to $1,400 for an initial session, as well as several ‘touch-up’ appointments after, and each session takes approximately 90 minutes.

Experts say the treatments can be painful because the skin on the lips is highly sensitive.

Additionally, experts warn that allergic reactions to cosmetic tattooing procedures are common and the risk is heightened with lip blushing because of the red pigment in the dye used.

Dermatologist Dr Shilpi Khetarpal said: ‘Red is one of the most common allergenic tattoo colours. With lips being pink or red, when you’re depositing that colour, there’s a risk of an allergic reaction.’

And if an allergic reaction does occur, there is no easy solution.

Dr Ava Shamban, a Los Angeles-based dermatologist, told Allure: ‘When correction laser is done to remove the red pigment, it almost always turns black. Expertise, artistry, proper care, and advanced knowledge of the skin will give the patient the lowest risk of complications.’