Some experts recommend against exfoliating your lips, as this can cause small tears in the skin of your lips, making them dry and chapped in the long term. Having healthy, well-moisturized lips is better than exfoliating your lips, but if your lips are flaky, exfoliating is a quick way to make them smooth.
If your lips are dry, chapped, or cracked, it will be difficult to apply a smooth line to them, particularly if you intend to fill them in completely with liner.
If you don’t have that kind of time, wait at least a couple of minutes, and then dab your lips with tissue to remove any excess moisturizer. You want your lips to dry but well moisturized before you apply anything else to them. If you find your balm takes too long to dry, try applying it right before bed. This will help ensure that you have hydrated lips for when you do your makeup the next day.
If you intend to wear lipstick, you can apply a lip liner to your entire lips, and this will also help hold the lipstick in place. Concealer or foundation can be used in place of primer. These are good options if you’re planning to change the shape of your lips. You can also apply concealer around your lips to highlight them. [1] X Expert Source Frankie SandersonMakeup Artist & Stylist Expert Interview. April 14, 2020.
Sharpening your liner before each use helps to remove bacteria before you use it. A trick to make sharpening easier is to place your lip pencil in the freezer 20 minutes before sharpening it. This is supposed to help prevent the tip from breaking off, and should produce a cleaner, sharper point.
Another way to warm up your lip liner is to rub the tip between your thumb and index finger.
Another common lining method is to start at the center, drawing an “x” at your cupid’s bow, and then outline the corners and bottom of your mouth before lining the rest of your lips. [4] X Research source This helps get achieve an even shape. You can even do this, then fill in your liner on your lips if you want to skip lipstick. As you trace your natural lip line, be extra careful to ensure that you’ve applied liner to any creases or cracks in your lips; this will help prevent your lipstick from bleeding. To get a fuller look without over lining, trace from the outside corner to the center of your lips instead of from the center out. This helps create a fuller, rounder shape.
If the liner tugs at your lips at all, it’s too hard. Try warming the tip up by rolling it between your thumb and index finger, or drawing on the back of your hand; you can also see if sharpening it helps. [6] X Research source
If want a natural look, you’ll blend the liner into your lips and follow it up with gloss. If you want to wear lipstick, you’ll fill in your lips with liner before applying the lipstick.
Even if you’re not wearing lipstick, a little bit of lip liner lightly applied to your natural lip line can do wonders for helping to define your lips. If you’re going for a natural lip, your lips should now be done!
Some people fill their lips in with liner and just wear the liner itself. If you do this, consider using a gloss or similarly colored lip balm over top of the liner to help it look smooth and even.
Even if you want your lipstick to go on thick, you can use a brush — it’ll just take a couple of layers to get the same thickness as using the lipstick.
You can clean up the line with a bit of moisturizer or makeup remover on the edge of a cotton swab or kleenex. If you need to refine the line, simply draw over the necessary areas with your lip liner, then use your lip brush to blend where needed. [8] X Research source
Use a small brush or a foundation brush to paint a small amount of concealer or foundation around your lips, as needed. You can also set the foundation/concealer with a small amount of powder.
If you’re going to use tissue paper, make sure it’s a thick, good-quality tissue that won’t leave any bits of fluff on your lips.
Note that darker colors and mattes can make lips look smaller.
In 2014 Kylie Jenner sported newly plumped lips with a ’90s-inspired lining style of having a darker liner and a lighter lipstick. Experts say it’s important to use a darker liner and then lipstick that’s only slightly lighter (e. g. , a burgundy liner and a cranberry lipstick) for this look.
Go thick with this application, as you’ll need to be able to drag it up and blend it into your lip line.
Note that darker colors and mattes can help make lips look smaller.
Use a nude lip liner for nude-looking lips, or a darker shade for a more dramatic effect. Darker colors can help make lips look smaller.
Avoid liners that go on translucent, chalky, and/or crumbly. If it’s at all difficult to draw a line on the back of your hand with a liner, avoid it.
A solid beginner’s set of lip liners would include one nude, one red, and one pink. [11] X Research source
There isn’t a lot of advice available as to how to purchase a good-quality sharpener; it’s best to ask friends or do an online search for highly reviewed sharpeners within your price range. Sharpeners can cost anywhere from $2 to over $40, but it’s certainly possible to get a good-quality one for under $10.
For particularly stubborn marks, put a little bit of moisturizer or makeup remover on some tissue paper or the tip of a cotton swap, and gently rub at the mark until it disappears. It can help to dab a tiny amount of moisturizer on the mark then use the dry side of the cotton swab to rub the mark away.
A good lip balm will sink into your lips and make them feel moisturized. Avoid anything too goopy, which will make it difficult to apply anything else to your lips.
If you don’t have a primer, you can also use concealer or foundation to prime your lips.
