How To: Create The Illusion Of Bigger Lips

I have always been fond of the look of bigger and fuller lips on myself but every time the thought of getting lip injections crosses my mind I chicken out and just stick to the temporary magic that makeup does. I tend to embrace what mama naturally gave me on most days but when I fancy channeling my inner Rosie Huntington-Whiteley (those lips tho!!) I usually follow some the techniques below (or all of them at once if I’m feeling extra brave). They’ve all been tried and tested and trust me - the results are seriously “wow!”-worthy. Let’s discuss…

Prep

Prepping your lips is always a good idea but it’s extra important if you’re going to have a little play around and want to make them look extra plump. The reason is twofold. Firstly, you want to create a soft and smooth surface for your products to go on to – chapped lips are a big no-no. Secondly, by exfoliating you get blood flow to your lips and the slight irritation makes them look a bit swollen (in a good way) and poutier as well. You can read all about my lip exfoliation remedies here but basically all you need is a good scrub like the ones Lush do (here) or just a toothbrush to help you get rid of the dry flakes. Once that’s done pop some lip balm on to help soften the lips. Voila – now onto the next step…

Lip Plumper

This is totally optional but I feel like it makes such a difference, so I always incorporate it in my routine when I’m after the fuller lip look. If you are not a lip plumper fan you can always go for something like FullLips (here) or use the cinnamon trick. If you’re not familiar with it, basically all you need to do is just apply one drop of cinnamon leaf oil on your lips (or mix some Vaseline with cinnamon extract), leave it on for a couple of minutes and wipe it away with a wash cloth. This is the best non-makeup lip plumping technique I’ve tried and it really works wonders. If you fancy going for the heavy-duty makeup option though, this City Lips Advanced Formula Lip Plumper* (here) just rocks. It enhances your lip line and adds fullness naturally in less than five minutes and I adore the results. It is one of the few lip volumizers that I’ve tried that actually work and I love how this gem makes my lips so much juicier and bigger without the painful stinging. You can pop it under (or instead of) your lipstick and enjoy your transformed pout – love.

Lip Liner

Out of all techniques the quickest and easiest way to create the illusion of filler lips is without a doubt using lip liner. By just following the natural line of your lips and filling them in with a lip pencil they already look plumper, more defined and slightly bigger. If you want to make them look even fuller you can use two close shades of dark nude lip liners – a lighter and a deeper one. Apply the darker shade in the outer corners of the lips and then fill in the rest with the lighter and this will instantly enhance the lips and make them look larger. I adore the combination of MAC Soar (here) and Rimmel Exaggerate in Eastend Snob (here) – hello poutier lips! My favorite way to trick people into thinking that I have naturally fuller lips is to overdraw them Kylie Jenner-style. This could, however, be a bit tricky and I find that the foolproof way to do it is to go no further than the white highlighted line that is above the lip. Nikkie has a fab tutorial here that you can check out to see what I am talking about and see what the right way to overdraw is. I follow this rule on a daily basis and I love the au natural effect of bigger lips it gives.

Contouring

One of the easiest ways to create an instant illusion of fuller and juicier lips is to use the Holy Grail trio - lipgloss, highlighter & bronzer. All you need to do is apply your lip color as usual and then just pop some lipgloss in the center of your lips. This will bring the attention right to the center of the pout and will make it look plumper and bigger. You can use a clear gloss but I find that the ones that work the best at creating that 3D effect are the ones that have some fine golden shimmer particles running through. If you are not a lipgloss kinda gal you can also use lighter shade of lipstick, pearly eyeshadow, highlighter or even concealer – it’s up to you. Now that’s done take your favorite highlighter and run it gently on your cupids bow. This will make your upper lip look more pouty and fuller. Last but definitely not least, take your non-shimmery bronzer and place some in the little hollow that’s right under your lower lip. This will deepen up the shadow and instantly make your lips appear bigger and juicier – simples.

Okay, ladies these were all my tips and trick to making your lips look larger and I really hope you found this post helpful. Make sure to report back if you end up trying some of these techniques. Pucker up!

Lots of love,

Andrea