Your lips are something people always notice, and when you have your makeup done just right, it balances your facial features and ties your look together. Beauty experts are sharing some of their favorite tips on how to make your lips “pop” when applying your cosmetics.
1. Lip T.L.C.
Many people are unaware of just how delicate the lips are. Lips lack sweat glands and can get dry rather quickly as they are made of sensitive and thin tissue. Your lips cannot secrete oils to keep them hydrated and are vulnerable to environmental conditions. Your lips can also get sunburned and even develop skin cancer.
That is why lips need tender loving care or TLC to maintain their suppleness. Of course, a nourishing lip balm adds protection, and there are excellent, moisturizing gels for the lips to apply at night or before your makeup routine to enhance their natural shape and volume.
2. Lip Exfoliation
To maintain the smoothness and fullness of your lips, makeup artists also recommend performing a small step called exfoliation. You don’t want to be aggressive but always use a gentle touch.
Buy an extra toothbrush with soft bristles for this little beauty procedure and only use it for lip exfoliation. Buff your lips using circular movements. That will get rid of dry, dead skin cells, and help to rev the circulation.
There is an added bonus after exfoliation. Then, you can apply formulas from the lips collection that will glide on evenly and allow the lips to immediately look plumper.
3. Lip Pencil
Now, you don’t want to overdo this step, but using a lip liner can create the illusion of fuller or bigger lips. The best way to do this is to line just beyond your natural lip line.
Professional makeup artists recommend choosing a lip pencil that closely matches your natural lip shade or selecting one that is just a bit deeper than your lip color. Don’t worry about defining the sides of your lips. What’s key here, is overdrawing at the top of the cupid’s bow and the center of your bottom lip. This will create the illusion of lips with more volume.
Some people even have great luck using an eyebrow pencil as a lip liner because it has a nice, waxy consistency and appears to stay on the lips for hours.
4. Lip “Concealer”
The concealer that you use under your eyes can also be applied to make your lips pop when you’re doing your makeup. There are a couple of methods you can try.
The quickest one is this trick: Once your lips are lined, and you have your favorite lipstick shade on, you can create a plumper pout in the center of your lips. One makeup artist takes a small flat brush and taps a tiny bit of concealer in the center of the lips. Your lips will appear a shade lighter, and this will give the subtle illusion of volume.
The second method is to apply concealer to your lips and trace slightly outside your natural lip line using a lip liner. From there, just fill in your lips with matching lipstick.
5. Lip Gloss
To complete your gorgeous, sultry lip game, swipe on some lip gloss. It is the icing on the cake so to speak. A sheer lip gloss will deliver a high shine and seal in the hydration you added at the beginning and allow your lips to look smooth and lush.
A gloss in sheer is your best bet or one that closely matches your lipstick shade.
The benefit of using lip gloss is the beautiful light reflection it creates.
There are also plumping lip glosses that contain ingredients such as palmitoyl tripeptides that make up collagen. Using peptides on the lips can help to produce more collagen in the lips. There is also hyaluronic acid (sodium hyaluronate) added to some plumping glosses to moisturize, improve firmness and help stimulate volume.
Conclusion
Your lips deserve attention, hydration, and to look their best. The good news is in the incredible products you can apply for creating that gorgeous “pop” when doing your makeup. Try these tips, and have some fun!