How To Apply Lip Liner

By The FabFitFun Team | March 9, 2022

You have your lipstick, your lip gloss, and your trustiest stick of lip balm in your makeup bag — do you really need to introduce lip liner to your beauty routine?

Aside from becoming one of the meteoric trends in the beauty blogosphere, it turns out that lip liner has remarkable utility as both a stand-alone product and a support to the lip makeup you’re already using.

Here, we’ll review all the reasons why lip liner should have a starring role in your makeup bag and how to apply lip liner like a pro.

6 Tricks of the Lip Liner Trade

Whatever visual effect you’re going for, there are a few lip liner tricks the pros swear by—and a few innovations we’ve seen cropping up everywhere from YouTube to TikTok.

Read on to get the six commandments of wearing lip liner like a guru.

1. Work Your Angles

More often than not, you probably won’t get the look you’re going for if you hold your lip liner the way you’d hold a regular pencil. Aiming directly at your lips with the point of the wand is a big no-no, resulting in a stark ring around your lips after a long day or night of wear.

Instead, take makeup artists’ advice and apply lip liner at a 45º angle using a light touch and short, progressive strokes.¹ This method will give you added control over the lip shape you render and ensure a more natural fading process if you don’t have time for a touch-up.

2. Work Backwards

Most of us learned never to question the order of makeup operations: lip liner first, lipstick after.

However, there are some perks to bucking the system—namely, not having to deal with that dreaded halo around the lips when lipstick wears off. By applying lipstick before lip liner, both products will age gracefully in unison, which means you’ll have a much more flattering look before you need to hightail it to a mirror for a touch-up

#3. Add Dimension

Contouring techniques aren’t just for your cheekbones. Diversifying your lip liner cache and working with two colors — one darker, and one lighter — can give the illusion of a lusher, fuller pout.

Here’s how to do it:

Step 1 – Beginning with a darker shade, accentuate the cupid’s bow and the centermost part of your bottom lip, filling just a touch below the natural line. Blend.
Step 2 – Going back in with a lighter lip liner in the same color family, line the rest of your lips and blend, creating an ombré effect with the darker hue.
Step 3 – If you’re using lipstick, gently pat it into place using the pads of your finger. If you’re going without, be sure to use a balm or gloss to moisturize the lip and bring your handiwork together.

4. Create a Dewy Effect

Just as using a darker shade can volumize your lips, applying a nude, light, or natural lip liner in the same regions can brighten the rest of your face by fostering the illusion of more light.

Also known as “lip strobing,” take these steps to get that luminous, glowing-from-within look:

Step 1 – Using a light or white lip liner, line just the cupid’s bow and the very bottom of your lower lip, edging towards the skin. Blend into place.
Step 2 – If using, take a natural lip color or lip balm and coat your lips, avoiding the places where your lip liner application is most concentrated.
Step 3 – Lastly, take a clear lip gloss or one that’s a shade or two lighter than your natural lips and apply it to just the top crest of your upper lip and the bottommost section of your lower lip.

And voilà—an instant makeup refresher that leaves skin looking healthy, dewy, and candle-lit.

5. Don’t Be Afraid to Color Outside The Lines

The old rules of lip liner no longer apply — these days, it’s on-trend to push the boundaries and take your lip liner for a spin beyond your natural lip line.

For a play-by-play on how to get it right, check out this YouTube video from Sagonia Lazarof who uses just three products — exfoliator, lip stain, and lipstick — to pull off faux full lips without looking overdrawn.

6. Try The Round Lip Look

Highlighting the cupid’s bow is a timeless way to make your lip liner work for you, but the TikTok universe is buzzing with a round lip look that keeps the cupid’s bow understated.²

Here’s how to line lips for a softer look:

Step 1 – Using a blendable concealer, lightly apply to the outermost corners of the mouth, hitting both the top and bottom lips. Blend it out using a fluffy face brush.
Step 2 – Taking a darker, skin-toned lip liner, sculpt over your natural bow contour to create a flattening effect just outside the top of the lip. Repeat on the bottom lip by gently applying liner just below the natural lip line. Blend.
Step 3 – Using the remainder of your concealer on the face brush, mute the outermost edges of your lips to create a subtle circular shape, with liner concentrated on the inner lip.
Step 4 – Finish by coating the entire lip in a peachy or clear gloss.

The result is a wearable, babydoll makeup look perfect for day or night (or a well-deserved selfie photoshoot in your bedroom).

Stay On-Trend with FabFitFun

Keeping up with the beauty world can feel like a full-time job, as is finding those exact holy-grail products that work for you. With FabFitFun, you’ll get the earliest leads on the top lip shades to shop for this spring without having to spend an eternity browsing your local beauty store.

FabFitFun members enjoy full-sized products, members-only sales, and daily glam tips — courtesy of industry pros — delivered straight to their inbox. Keep your finger on the pulse, be your own guru, and join a community of fellow beauty-lovers when you sign up for a membership today.

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