In the ’90s we had the eyebrows, sometimes excessively, sometimes foul. The skin also passed its own: from the white powder to the noble lead to today’s “glass skin”. And the lips? These came into the forefront somewhere in 2016, when Kylie Jenner inaugurated the era of “King Kylie” with a more full mouth and a … viral lip kit.

Since then, people have been looking for ways to get richer lips: shot glasses (let’s not remember them again), Fillers, you name it. But now, makeup artists have found ways to inflate their lips only with makeup. No needles, no pain, no maintenance costs. Welcome to lip contouring, the new trick that makes the lips look bigger, in a completely natural way.

What is Lip Contouring?

It is a deletion technique that gives the illusion of lip lips, using a lip pencil in cold tones. As we Contour in cheekbones or jaw to create shadows, so in the mouth: using a slightly more “gray” pencil than your natural color, you can imitate the natural shadows that would have been in a full mouth, and the result is incredibly convincing.

Is it the same as lip liner?

Not exactly. Lip liner is the product, a pencil that determines the outline of your lips. Lip Contouring is technique. You can use lip liner to do it, but in a different way than usual.

Lip Contour is usually done with facial or pencil in cold tones. You focus on places where of course you would fall on the shade, that is, over the Cupid’s Bow and under the center of the lower lip, where it protrudes over the chin. The key? No hard lines. We want blending, diffusion and completely natural effect.

How to make lip contour step by step

1. Prepare your lips

Start with hydration. Lip balm or a lip mask (such as Laneige’s Lip Sleeping Mask) and allow it to absorb for an hour. Before you start makeup, wipe it gently with paper.

Then, put a little base (whatever is left in the sponge from the foundation or concealer) on the lips and a little powder on top. This will help the product “stick” and stay in place.

2. Draw your shape

Take a lip pencil in a cold tone (something to “gray coffee”) and lightly overline only in two points:

  • At the top of Cupid’s Bow
  • in the lower center of the lower lip

Then, extinguish the lines with the finger or with a dense shade brush. Do not go the outline to the edges of the lips, it will look unnatural.

3. Added depth

Start to turn the product inward, not outward. This gives the feeling of a shadow that grows the mouth. Then give a little depth to the corners of your lips (where they are darker of course), for even more three -dimensional effects.

4. Complete with your lipstick

Now that you have done the contour, put on your lipstick, pencil or gloss, erasing them gently towards the “shadows” you made. You want the result to be seamless, without seeming where the contour starts and where the product ends.

Beauty tips for longer

Don’t overdo it: The temptation to go to a more “darker” outline is big, but makeup artists warn that a little shadow is enough. Don’t overdo it with contour or bronzer.

Powder everywhere: If you use a cream product, seal it with a little transparent powder. It may sound a bit … dry, but it is a pro tip, and it holds everything in place.

That was! Lip Contouring is the ultimate beauty hack for lips richer and juicy, without needles, without commitments. A small trick, a big difference.