Tips to Make Lips Fuller with Makeup

The other day, researchers went public with a new study saying that a woman’s age could be guessed not by the wrinkles on her face or the bags under her eyes, but rather by her lips. Therefore, the plumper the pout, the younger the woman appears. If plastic surgery is an option you can’t or won’t consider, a fuller effect can also be achieved with makeup, stylist Charlotte Tilbury says for the Daily Mail.

The idea is that lips also require makeup, just like the eyes or the rest of the face. That is to say, simply putting on some lipgloss or color will not do: there’s exfoliating and moisturizing to do, while steps must also be taken to ensure the lippy stays on and doesn’t start bleeding less than an hour after it was applied. The first step towards achieving the impression of a fuller mouth consists of exfoliating properly, Tilbury says.

“Exfoliate before applying color to ensure lips are soft and smooth. There are exfoliating lip scrubs available from chemists, but you could use a soft-bristled children’s toothbrush in circular motions. Then dust a veil of light cosmetic powder over lips with a brush to ensure they are free from moisture,” the stylist says for the publication. This out of the way, move to applying lipliner, which should be as essential to lip makeup as the lipstick itself, the stylist goes on to say.

By tracing the line somewhat farther than the natural line, we can achieve the impression of a fuller mouth. (Said line, the stylist underlines, must be firm for emphasis but soft for shape.) Of course, unless we want to look like a clown, we should strive to make this as subtle as possible by making sure the distance between the line we draw and the one our lips have is not too big. For color to last longer, after we trace the contour, we can also fill in the rest of the mouth with the liner, the stylist recommends.

“Dust over lips once again with a light powder and try applying the lipstick as a soft stain rather than a full-on effect. This will give less lipstick buildup and stop the product bleeding. Simply pat on lipstick using your finger for the best result. Dab your lips with a tissue after the first lipstick application and then reapply a second time to make the color last. The best way of applying lipgloss is gliding it over lips – it is great for lip plumping because it allows light to reflect from the surface of the lip, giving the illusion of fullness and depth,” Tilbury further explains.