Thanks to celebrities like Kylie Jenner and likely almost every member of the Real Housewives franchise, lip injections have become seemingly no big deal. Fully, pouty lips are making a come back. Everywhere you look women are enhance their lips in one way or another.
Kendall Jenner was recently accused of following in her younger sisters footsteps when fans pointed out that her lips look fuller. Instyle magazine even did a full feature breaking down her subtle, but noticeable beauty transformation. Kendall fired back, claiming that while her lips did look fuller, she hadn't used injections.
How can you get fuller lips without injections?
With a few makeup illusions and good hydration, according to top makeup artists. You too can enhance your lips with the simple tricks below. They might not look as pouty as Kylie's, you'll need injections for that. But they will look fuller. Here's how to enhance your lips, no filler needed.
Stay Hydrated
Hydrated lipsStocksy
Hydration might not sound like a step you need to take seriously, but it can really transform the look of your lips. Dehydrated lips actually look smaller. Enhanced lines on and around the lips can make them less plump and aged.
To hydrate your lips try using a lip and skin balm like this one from RMS. It's important to moisturize not just your lips, but also the skin around them. If you want to exfoliate first, you can skip the lip scrubs and use just a warm, wet washcloth instead. Exfoliating lip scrubs, don't actually work that well. Also consider adding a hydrating lip mask to your skincare routine. This lip sleeping mask from Laniege has rave reviews.
What about lip plumpers? You can skip them too. Lip plumpers might feel moisturizing when you first apply them, but they'll actually dry out your lips even more. Most contain skin irritants that temporarily plump, but cause more flakiness in the long run.
Define Your Lip Shape
Define lips with linerLuna Sol
Using a lip liner in a slightly darker shade than your lips helps create the illusion of a fuller pout. Celebrity makeup artist, Daniel Martin, recommends blotting out the tone of your lips with a little concealer first to help see the real shape of your lip. This will help you trace the entire outline of your lips.
Remember to apply your lip liner BEFORE filling in the rest of your lips with a gloss or lipstick. Try using this gel lip liner from Sephora. It's softer than most liners and will help keep your lips moisturized.
Add Some Shine
Enhance lips by adding shineGlossier
If you are going to stick with lipstick, look for one with a creamy consistency or a subtle shine. Apply it to your lips, and then blur the edges with your finger to help the edges blend into the start of your lip liner. Try this cream lipstick from Marc Jacobs. For extra shine, add a coat of lip gloss on top.
Another lip plumping trick is to gently dab a little highlighter onto your cupid's bow. This helps draw attention to the fullest part of your lips, making them look bigger. Here's an extra shimmery highlighter from Fenty Beauty.