How To Use Lip Liner in 5 Simple Steps

With full and luscious lips being all the rage over the past years, many people swear by lip liner. However, if you aren’t as well versed in your lining skills, you may end up looking like you’re suffering from a peanut allergy before you know it. Lucky for you, this does not have to be your reality. 

Whether you have never attempted lip liner before or still don’t feel like you’ve mastered it yet, I’m going to give you a foolproof guide on how to put on lip liner. This steps by step guide is so easy, anyone can do it. So get ready to rock your large, voluptuous lips with your new found skills. 

1. Prep your Lips

While it might seem like a bit unrelated, the most important step in how to apply lip liner is prepping your lips. You ALWAYS want to prep your lips before applying lip liner or lipstick for that matter. When you don’t have moisturized lips, your lip looks won’t turn out well. No matter what, our lips get dry at times. The best way to combat this is to get a lip exfoliator as well as apply a lip oil or chapstick before applying lip liner. 

The exfoliator will grab all the dead skin while the oil or chapstick will help ensure your lips stay moisturized all day. Only exfoliate about twice a week to ensure you aren’t damaging your lips by over exfoliating. This should be plenty to keep your lips looking fresh and smooth. 

2. Color Selection

Next on the list is to pick the right color. This can be a real source of anxiety for those who don’t want to drop loads of cash finding the perfect match for every shade of lipstick they own. You’re in luck. Most of the time, you want to use a lip liner that matches your skin tone. For crazy color options such as purple or bright red, you can use a lip liner that matches, but typically a skin tone match will help create a more natural look and blend with other lipsticks. 

3. Light Application

One of the biggest issues that can ruin your look is lining your lips too heavy. Gently and light application is key to a good blend and natural end result. Having a sharp liner is crucial to executing this step well, so keep a sharpener on hand just in case. 

First, come at an angle to help soften the lining. While almost all beauty gurus seem to finish in one swipe, use small strokes until you’ve lined the lips completely. This helps create less of a harsh line. Lastly, go back over any areas that need more lining. 

3. Create a Shadow

When you’re lining your lips, you want to create a shadow around your entire lip. Keeping this in mind can help you visualize what the end result should look like before you apply lipstick. This is what gives the appearance of larger lips without looking like you overlined dramatically. Keep this subtle, but make sure that you are lining slightly outside of your natural lips. If not, there’s no point in lining your lips! 

The biggest factor with creating a shadow is not to overline on the corner as much as the middle of your lips. That is where it moved into a clown direction. Blend the liner into your natural lips as you get closer to the corners. I promise this does wonders. 

4. Blend with Lipstick

This is the second most important step. Blending your liner with the lipstick is the difference between a 90’s retro look and a natural looking lip. I think I can speak for all of us when I say we would prefer the latter. 

I like to keep my blending to the outer corners for the most part and just a tad on the middle of my lips. Just enough so that your lipstick and liner don’t look that there is an ending to each. Keep the light stroke method for this. You can buff it out with your finger as well to help merge the two. 

Voila! You are finished! Now go grab a lip liner at the store and give it a shot yourself. Plump lips are just around the corner!

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