Lip Liner Tricks: How To Shape, Plump and Refine

Lip liner is an essential part of making your lips look their best. Beauty Daily offers all the tricks on how to apply lip liner to shape, plump and define that perfect pout.

Lip liners aren’t going anywhere. According to Google, they’re currently trending, hitting over 56,000 searches every month. Here’s the lowdown on how to update your look with this must-have make-up product.

Prepare your lips

Lip scrub

It’s essential to exfoliate the lips to stop dryness and stimulate circulation. The microcrystal beads in the Comfort Scrub are an excellent exfoliant and the oil in the scrub doubles up to nourish the lips. Apply to your lips with a massaging movement and remove with damp cotton wool. Use once or twice a week.

Lip balm

A balm is an excellent base for lip liner and lipstick – and it moisturises. We recommend the Hydra-Essentiel Moisture Replenishing Lip Balm for parched lips, which hydrates and restores.

If you’ve got fine lines above the lip, try the Extra-Firming Lip and Contour Balm that helps plump and smooth any wrinkles; with over double-figure five-star reviews, you know your skin will improve every time you use it. 

Lip nourishment

Each Clarins’ best-selling Lip Comfort Oils are infused with a trio of lip-loving, aromatic plant oils—including nourishing Organic Jojoba and Hazelnut—plus a unique ingredient of its own. This is ideal for women looking for maximum comfort for their lips but also want to give them a shimmering shine. 

There is a choice of eight shades that give you the sheer but non-sticky feel. The curved sponge applicator has been specifically designed to follow the contour of your lips so that the oil glides on effortlessly. 

How to choose the right lip liner shade

There are four shades of Lip Definer to suit every skin tone – both the Nude Fair and Nude Beige match all of your light lipstick shades, while Roseberry and Red offer a highly pigmented and dynamic touch of colour. 

First, choose the right shade of lipstick to suit your skin tone using Clarins’ innovative virtual Try-on experience– this lets you upload a photo of yourself or use your camera.

Then all you have to do is scroll through the shades to see what each one looks like on you instantly. Once you’ve found the shade of lipstick you’re going to wear, you can select one of the four liner shades that would suit the lipstick best.

Match the lip liner colour to your lipstick

Charlotte McHale, Clarins Training Manager, gives the following advice on colour: “The four Lip Definer colours work well with most of our shades. There is a choice of two nudes, which you can use with most lipstick shades. We’ve got a red that works well with all of our red shades and the roseberry shade works well with the plums and pinks.”

How to apply lip liner

What goes first? Make sure you apply lip liner before putting on lipstick or lip stain.

1. Start at the centre of the mouth and trace the cupid’s bow with a small ‘x’. You don’t want to give yourself an oversized cupid’s bow, so keep it close to your natural line. 
2. Trace the curve of the lower lip. You should apply the pencil with very small sketching movements. Don’t try to line the lips in one go. That’s when you make mistakes.
3. Use a lip brush or your finger to soften the line, especially if the colour of the lip liner is not a perfect match to your lipstick and you want to eliminate harsh lines.
4. You can use the lip liner to fill in the lips all over and it creates an excellent base for lipstick or gloss.
   

How to fill lips with a lip liner for a fuller effect

According to McHale, the curve of the lower lip is the only place where you should add a little more volume to your lips with lip liner. “Create a small line under the shadow of the lip,” she advises.

Beauty Daily Tip: For extra fullness, try placing your cheek highlighter strategically: using a small, narrow brush, sweep the powder onto the cupid’s bow and on the philtrum (those two lines between the nose and mouth). And then down the centre of the lip. It gives youthfulness and offers a 3-D plumping effect. 

How to shape your lips with lip liner

Lip liner has been created to outline your lips and stop lipstick bleeding into lip lines. So make sure to choose a lip definer in a colour that will do just that without detracting from the shade of the lipstick. Unless you want to make a statement!

How to apply lip liner for a natural look

If you are fair-skinned, Nude Fair (01) and Nude Beige (02) work well here. For medium and darker complexion, choose the shade that matches your natural lip colour best. Line your lips with it, then gently blend into the lips with your fingers for a natural effect. For longevity add a sweep of powder to fix. Cover with Hydra-Essentiel Moisture Replenishing Lip Balm for a glossy, healthy finish. 

Lip Liner tricks  

Beauty Daily reveals three of our lip liner tips:

• Don’t sharpen your lip liner before using it. Instead, make it blunt by warming the pencil first (write on your hand with it) to soften it. It will then be easier to blend. 
• If you want to create a new shade of lipstick, experiment by blending it with different lip liners.
• Lip liner is specially formulated to prolong the wear of your lipstick – blot with a tissue and then apply face powder to make it last even longer.