The Secret Trick to Make Your Lips Look Twice As Full
Luscious, pillowy lips have always been synonymous with female sensuality and beauty across cultures. Today, the perfect pout is idolized more than ever – in magazines, advertisements, Hollywood and across social media. Fuller lips signify youth, good health and vitality.
No wonder so many women desire a little extra volume and definition in their kissers! But not all of us are blessed with Angelina Jolie worthy lips naturally.
Luckily, makeup has no shortage of tricks to fake a fuller pout without going overboard on expensive procedures. One of the easiest and most believable ways is by using lip liner to enhance and reshape your natural lip contour.
Read on as we spill the details on exactly how to pull off this optical illusion lip trick with precision!
Why Larger Lips Are So Coveted
Let’s discuss why the coveted bee-stung lip trend dominates our current beauty standards. What makes the fulsome lip shape so universally desired?
Scientific studies reveal that fuller lips in women are an indication of high estrogen levels and fertility. Lush lips also create facial contrast and emphasize femininity.
This signifies health, vitality and the ability to bear children – ultimate signals of an ideal mate according to evolutionary psychology. No wonder men are inherently attracted to a fuller pout!
Fuller lips also create balance and harmony between facial features. They make the smile more dynamic and are a sign of youth in our younger years. As we age, lips tends to lose structure and volume just like other parts of the face.
Makeup artist Wendy Rowe explains – “Lips get thinner with age as collagen depletes. When lips are fuller and more defined they can make you look and feel younger. A great lip shape also flatters facial contours.”
So defined lips not only increase femininity and attraction, they can also knock years off your look!
Beyond aesthetics, one study by Manchester University revealed that people associate larger lips with positive traits too – like kindness, trustworthiness and calmness.
Contestants on reality shows with a fuller top lip were 27% more likely to end up as the winners or audience favorites.
The proof is in – perfecting your pout pays off in truckloads of confidence, charisma and universal appeal!
What You’ll Need To Line Your Lips Like A Pro
Ready to perk up your pucker with the magic of lip liner? Assembling the right makeup arsenal is step one.
You’ll want to stock your beauty stash with:
Lip liners – Nude, neutral pinks and reds in both light and deep shades. Waterproof retractable liners are easiest to apply.
Lipsticks – Cool nudes, pinks and reds in cream or matte formula to contrast with liner and fill in lips.
Lip gloss – Clear or tinted high shine gloss to layer on top for the illusion of fullness. Avoid dark shimmery glosses which can bleed outside lip lines.
Lip brush – For precise lipstick application after lining. Essential for crisp edges!
Cotton swabs & tissue – To fix messy edges and blot for longevity.
Lip exfoliator – Remove flakey skin so liner glides on smooth.
Lip balm/treatment – Hydrate and plump lips beforehand so liner adheres perfectly.
Translucent powder & brush – Sets liner and prevents feathering, especially helpful for oily skin types!
How To Prep Lips Like A Canvas For Lip Artistry
Prepping you pout is non-negotiable for this technique so don’t underestimate it! Just like painting a portrait, you need a flawless base so start here:
Exfoliate – Buff away dry, flaky bits with a gentle lip scrub using soft circular motions. This unveils fresh new skin. Focus extra on lines and roughness around edges.
Moisturize – Massage in a rich lip balm or mask and leave it on for 5-10 minutes. This infuses nourishment so lips become soft and plump.
Tidy Edges – Use a cotton swab dipped in makeup remover or micellar water to clean up any ragged edges around your lipline. Define the cupid’s bow with precision.
Voila – your blank lip canvas is ready for its makeover! Time to put those liners, lipsticks and glosses to work.
How To Line Your Lips Like A Pro
Here comes the fun part – using liner to elevate your lip shape beyond its natural boundaries! Follow these steps:
- Trace Your Natural Lip Lines
Start by outlining your actual lip shape using your closest-matched nude liner. Stick close to the edges and trace cupids bow accurately. Don’t line further than your natural lipline…yet. - Overline Slightly Above Your Lip Edges Now switch to a liner 1-2 shades deeper than your natural lip color. Using a light touch, draw over the previous outline just slightly outside your natural lip line.
Around the edges – Extend upper and lower lip borders by 1-2 millimeters. Stop well before the wet-dry inner line.
Cupid’s bow – Sharpen bow peaks ever so subtly following the central valley.
Corners – Elongate the outer corners an extra millimeter towards your face’s center. Round off tails so they don’t end in peaks.
Be conservative with overlined shape so it meshes seamlessly with your actual lip contour.
Tip: Use the side of your liner tip rather than the point for a soft blurred effect.
- Connect & Tidy Corners
Complete by joining the top and bottom lines at the corners. Blend these connecting strokes outwards and upwards to lift the shape. Soften any blunt edges with cotton tip or clean finger. - Highlight Bow & Center Dab concealer, highlighter or lighter liner in a V shape along your enhanced cupids bow points and center lower lip. Blend out lightly upwards.
This illumination creates fullness and dimension right where light naturally catches lips.
Fill In Your New Luscious Lip Shape
Lips lined? Check. Now switch from painter to cosmetic calligrapher and fill those babies in!
Choose a lipstick in the pink, red or brown family with cool, blue undertones. Rose golds and corals also pair beautifully with most complexions.
Stay with creamy or satin matte formulas which have great adherence. Using your lip brush, apply color corner-to-corner just inside the lip liner perimeter.
Filling inside creates a subtle shadow in the overlined hollow which enhances the 3D effect better than opaque color.
After coating lips with several layers of pigment, take a tissue and press between lips to soak up excess. Follow by applying lip gloss only on the center half of your lips – this keeps sides structured and shiny center full-looking.
Set It & Forget It! Making That Sucker Last
Like many women, you’ve likely fallen victim to that dreaded post-latte lipstick melt, leaving you with a smuged fuschia mess above your lip line. Not cute.
But no need to sacrifice your Pumpkin Spice fix! Just set your masterpiece so it stands the test of time and greasy fare.
After lining and filling in lips, take a large brush and dip into translucent or skin-toned face powder. Press and pat all over lips to fix liner and lipstick in place. And voila! Smudge-proof succlent lips for 8+ hours. Rejoice!
For extra security, apply a layer of liquid lipstick matching your color over the powder before gloss. This velvety topcoat dries transfer-proof.
Throughout wear, check edges and use cotton swab to tidy up corner smudges after eating or drinking. Reapply lipstick and powder center as needed.
Enhance With Highlights & Contour Too
Take your faux full pout to the next level by blending in highlights and contour with your liner/lipstick combo.
Apply luminizer across cupids bow apex, upper lip center and just above lip corners. Cream or liquid highlighters like Benefit High Beam work beautifully.
Then use a cool-toned powder bronzer and matte brush to add shadow along the edges of your bottom lip and corners. See video for technique.
This multidimensional ombre pout takes the illusion to pro status!
“With the lip liner’s optical effect plus strategic light and dark accents, you can fake a perfect plump pout worthy of a Supermodel! I use this method on my celebrity clients before all red carpets.” – Joey Maalouf, Makeup Artist to Chrissy Tiegan and Mandy Moore
Go Overboard Your Lips Instantly
That’s a wrap! See how a few selective pen strokes combined with the right product picks can transform your lips from simple to showstopping?
Line your luscious dreams with the power of precision. This is Hollywood’s best kept secret for a sultry, camera-ready mouth at every age without needles.
Show off your newfound bee-stung badonkadonk lips in the comments – we can’t wait to see your succulent success! Pucker up, buttercup. You’re a bonafide bombshell.