I’m going to show you how to ‘fake’ fuller lips.

What you’ll need:

Three varying shades of lip color.
It doesn’t matter what color you chose. I’ve chosen red because it will show up on screen better, Valentine’s is coming up, and well, I like red.
The easiest tool to work with will be lip pencils, but you can also use lipstick and a brush, or a combination of liners and lipstick. As you become more familiar with the basic technique you can expand and experiment.

Your finger is the easiest tool to ‘smudge’ out the lines—I’m all about the easy—but again you can use a brush.

Step 1

With the darkest shade, outline your top lip, from the corner to the half-way point, just under where they begin to curve into the bow. Mirror this on the bottom lip.

Step 2

Take your medium shade, starting at the dark shade, bring it up and just over the bow, leaving the center open. Mirror this on the bottom lip.

Step 3

You guessed it, finish off your outline with the light shade.
This is where I do things a little different. Instead of copying the exact curve of the bow, I bring my line across in a slight sweep connecting the two points. This gives a ‘pouty’ look, again making the lips look fuller. You have to be careful not to exaggerate it too much or it will look clownish. Practice, practice, practice and be aware of your lip shape. It’s a personal preference, if you don’t like it, don’t do it.

Step 4

Using the same colors and placement, fill in your lips.
The idea is to fade the colors into one another, darkest at the outside edges and gradually getting lighter toward the center.

Step 5

This is where your finger comes into play, use it to softly ‘smudge’ the color. You can always add more if needed, it’s more difficult to take it away without disturbing what you’ve already done.

Step 6

Now it’s time to ‘cleanup,’ especially with darker colors. I have a tendency to ‘color outside the lines’ and I always have to clean up my edges.
You can use a concealer and a lip brush or my favorite tool, the NYX Wonder Pencil. It’s an amazing multiuse tool.
Trace the outside edges and blend the concealer or Wonder Pencil into the rest of your face makeup wherever you have boo-boos.

Optional finishing touches.

As a finishing touches, add a bit of gloss to the center of your lips to enhance your new pout.

Dab contour under the bottom lip in the cleft of the chin.

Dab highlighter above the cupid’s bow and on the point of the chin.

With a little practice you too can fake it!

Questions? Something you’d like me to chat about? Leave your comments below.