“Pout your lip and just push it into the lip,” advised Matin Maulawizada, the global artistry director for Laura Mercier whose handiwork will be on display at the Pamella Roland runway show next month during New York Fashion Week. “It should look underdone.”

Emily Kate Warren, a member of Dick Page’s Shiseido fashion runway team who has also done makeup for Yoko Ono and Jennifer Jason Leigh, calls the 2012 lip “Popsicle mouth” because it appears as if the wearer has been sucking an ice pop. (A variation of the mouth was seen at the Viktor & Rolf spring 2012 runway show.)

To achieve the Popsicle, Ms. Warren advised forgoing lip liners and wands and applying a swab of bright color in the center of the lips, then pressing them together and rolling. “The darkest gradation should be in the center and should blast out to nothing,” she said, adding that the technique is also a way for women timid about sporting a high-wattage lip to try electric orange or red.

Another beauty buzzword for 2012 is restraint. Experts said makeup should not be applied to the entire face. Under-eye circles and blemishes may be covered with concealer, but the rest of the skin should be left natural, à la Ali MacGraw in “Love Story.” If you wear a dark lip, then keep the rest of your skin polished, like Tilda Swinton. Brows are natural, not cartoon geometric.

To embrace the moment, skip mascara, like Lady Gaga did in the fall, or try mascara in, say, blond or red to match your hair color. Lori Hamlin, a New York City makeup artist who counts the lissome cooking personality Padma Lakshmi among her clients, said she likes Yves Saint Laurent’s Mascara Volume Effet Faux Clils in burgundy.