Beauty news from Paris Fashion Week

If lips do the talking, then black is the new red in Paris

It all started harmlessly enough with a few blackened lips last season at Luella in London. No problem, we mused, it's only for show. Fast-forward six months and everyone's at it.

Yesterday in Paris alone three designers had their models sporting the trend, causing a run on black lipstick throughout the city.

It was as if Halloween had come early at Dior, Vivienne Westwood and Gaspard Yurkievich, although each designer used the hue in very different ways.

For John Galliano at Dior, darker than dark lips helped translate the Nefertiti-inspired ensembles, which also included full-on eye make-up and Egyptian updos. At Westwood, meanwhile, it was all part of the dressing-up-in-the-face-of-the-credit-crunch ethos.

Don't like the idea of black lippie? Well, you can always take your lead from Maison Martin Margiela and wear a pair of tights over your face instead.

SEE ALL THE LATEST PARIS FASHION WEEK PHOTOS HERE

SEE ALL THE LATEST PARIS FASHION WEEK VIDEOS HERE

Report from Carla Bevan in Paris