A Liner Addicts Confession

 

This post has been a while in the making, I’d say for the past month now I’ve been indoctrinated into the world of lip liners and I haven’t looked back. Going out without any liner on now feels tantamount to going out totally makeup free – I just feel bare.

The obsession started out with Boots No 7 Precision Lip Liner in Mellon, a brown toned nudey pink that looks really natural. I started playing around with over lining my lips and loved the fuller effect it gave. Next came MAC Soar, followed shortly after by MAC Spice,  Charlotte Tilbury Lip Cheat in Iconic Nude and now the most recent addition, the Charlotte Tilbury Lip Cheat in Pillow Talk. The creamiest consistency has to be the CT liners, they really can manipulate the shape of your lips to give you a totally naturally looking fuller lip. I’ve been wearing liners on a daily basis for a while now and so thought I’d give you my top tips for how to wear them, as they are surprisingly not as high maintenance as you’d expect.

1) Don’t cover your cupids bow. This is a mistake I’ve made, as many YouTubers encourage it to give a fuller lip, it makes you look like a clown or Miranda Sings. Instead smile and then gently trace over the outer edge of your lips, focussing extra attention on your cupids bow so that you define it properly.

2) After the main definition is on, it will stay put for a long time. As it’s on the outer edges, you’ll be surprised as to how pristine that area can stay, even after numerous coffees and meals. I then like to fill in my entire lip area in the same shade. This not only helps give a gorgeous matte fuller looking pout, but means that if you put a lipstick over, the whole lip will last a lot longer. The liner is almost like a primer for your lips.

3) After the lips have been filled in, if I’m feeling indulgent, I’ll then pop on a sheer lipstick with a slight shimmer to it just to the centre of the lips to make them look even juicier and fuller. My current fave is Dior Rouge in Brun Samarcande.

4) In terms of touch ups and maintenance, just keep the pencil on you and maybe touch up the outer line every 2 to 3 hours or so, and if you get bored of filling the whole lip in with liner, simply just use your lipstick and you’ll still have a defined and fuller looking pout.

Lip liner can often look too “done” and I think thats partly due to the shades you choose and what shades work with what makeup. If I’m having a calm eye makeup day then the bolder MAC Soar and Spice work beautifully, however if things are a little heavier than CT Pillow Talk softens everything for a younger more playful look.

Are you a liner lover or loather?

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