Make Thin Lips Appear Fuller

Your lips can frame a beautiful smile and help attract others to you. In fact, fuller lips are often considered a sign of youth, vitality and beauty.[1] But you may not have been blessed with a naturally plump pout. Never fear: you can easily have fuller looking lips by contouring them with makeup or trying other products formulated to plump up their appearance.

Steps

Contouring with Makeup

  1. Prepare your canvas. Dry lips don’t reflect light and can make your lips look smaller and less full. Before you start contouring your lips with makeup, brush off any flakes and moisturize your lips to smooth out your canvas.[2]
    • Brush your lips lightly with a toothbrush in a circular motion. This can remove dry flakes and improve circulation, which gives your lips a small boost and rosy color.
    • Rub a bit of sugar or brown sugar on your lips. This can remove flakes, add moisture, and boost your circulation.
    • Consider buying a commercial lip exfoliator, which may have added moisturizers. You can purchase these products at many pharmacies, large retailers, and cosmetics stores.
  2. Line your lips. A lip liner can optically change the contours of your lips. It can also give them the appearance of more depth, which in turn makes your pout appear fuller and more luscious.[3]
    • Choose a liner that matches the color lip you want to achieve. The darker the lipstick, the darker your lip liner should be. For example, if you want to do a pretty red lip, consider a dark chocolate liner. For a nude lip, you may want to try a pink, nude or white liner. Remember that you don’t want to choose a liner that is too dark or the first thing people may see is your liner and not your fuller lips.
    • Make sure your liner is sharpened to get the most accurate lines. You can soften up the lines by gently dabbing them with your finger.[4]
    • Start by lining the cupid’s bow of your lip. Extend the liner slightly above the cupid’s bow to make the shape of your lips larger. After this, line the center of your lower lip using the same technique. Then draw the outer corners of your lips. Again, you can extend the lines slightly above and below your lip line to make them appear fuller. Finally, connect the lines and blend them together with your finger.
  3. Fill your lips with color. Now you’re ready to add some color to your pout. You can use a lipstick, gloss, or lip pencil to fill the contours between your liner with color.[3]
    • Apply the color using the lipstick tube, a separate applicator, or your fingers.
    • Focus on filling the corners of your pout with color. Extend the color to the middle of your lips by making short strokes that start at the liner outline and extend up to the center of your lips.
  4. Blend the color. Once you’ve filled your lips with your color of choice, blend it together so that it appears smooth. You may need to add a bit more color or may want to use a lip brush to smooth out any uneven areas.[3]
    • Consider using a brighter shade of lipstick to blend your base color. This can add highlights and depth to the color, which can make your lips appear fuller.
    • Start at the center of your mouth and use short blending strokes to even out the color. Avoid getting too close to the outline of your lips you made with the liner. This can erase the depth and fullness you created.
  5. Highlight your lips. A bit of highlighter will draw the eyes to the center of your lips, which is the fullest part. It also adds even more fullness and depth to the shape you’ve created with the liner and lip color.[3]
    • Use either a specific lip highlighting cream or try a shimmery powder. Lightly press the highlighter to the center of your bottom lip with either your finger or a lip brush. Blend in the highlighter so that it produces a gently shimmer on your lower lip.
    • Consider applying a lip gloss if you don’t want to use a highlighter. Dabbing a bit of clear gloss on the middle of your lower lip will have the same effect as a highlighter.[2]
    • Try this contouring trick to even out lips. Apply two different colors in the same shade family. Apply one shade all over your mouth and then a lighter color on the opposite lip that you want to appear fuller.
  6. Moisturize with a balm. Moist lips naturally appear more full. Add a bit of moisture and wetness back to your lips by using a lip balm. Avoid using gloss, which may dry out your lips and be a bit too much with your color.[3]
    • Use most lip balms to get the effect you want. You may also consider using a rose balm, which will moisturize your lips while giving them the slightest hint of extra shine. Rose lip balms are generally a product made out of petroleum jelly and rosewater or rose petals. These ingredients can soothe and moisturize your lips in addition to giving them a little shine.
  7. Line your pout with a concealer. After you’ve got the luscious pout you want, seal it and make your lips pop even more by lining the outside with a concealer. Use a thin brush to apply a concealer that matches your skin tone. Not only can this make your lips appear even fuller, but it may also prevent the color from bleeding or fading.[2]

Trying Different Products

  1. Keep your lips hydrated. A flaky, dry pout won’t reflect light, which can make a small pout appear even smaller. Applying a moisturizing balm or treatment product to your lips daily can keep them hydrated and looking full.[5]
    • Buy a product that contains ingredient such as shea butter, which can moisturize your lips throughout the day. Another good option is a rose lip balm, which is high in moisture and smells good. You can find moisturizing lip products at pharmacies, large retailers, and cosmetics stores.
    • Reapply the lip balm whenever your lips feel dry. Consider using a heavier balm at night or you may want to try a lip conditioning treatment.
  2. Boost circulation. Having plenty of blood flow to your lips can also make them appear bigger and naturally rosy. Gently rubbing your lips can give you a fuller looking pout quickly and anytime you like.[6]
    • Use a toothbrush or your fingers to gently massage your lips. Make sure to get the entire surface by rubbing in small circles.
    • Biting your lip gently may have the same effect. Be careful that you don’t bite open your lip if you try this.
  3. Try a lip plumper. There are certain natural products that can plump up your lips without fillers or surgery. Products containing mint, cinnamon, or camphor can boost your lips—and blood flow to them-- for a few hours.[6]
    • Get a product that contains camphor, mint, or cinnamon. You can find these by reading the labels of products available at cosmetics stores, pharmacies, and large retailers. You can also get specially formulated products for plumping your lips at these retailers.
    • Be aware that some lip plumping products or balms with mint, camphor, or cinnamon can cause allergic reactions. Avoid any products containing ingredients to which you’re allergic or discontinue use if you experience any discomfort or signs of an allergy such as a rash.
  4. Apply a shimmery gloss. If you want to keep your look simple and avoid plumpers or fully contouring your lips with makeup, dab on a shimmery gloss in a light color. The shimmer can reflect light and a gloss mimics very hydrated lips, both of which can make your pout appear fuller and more luscious.[6]
    • Go with a gloss in a light pink or peach and that has small shimmery bits of gold in it. If you are able, test the gloss for its plumping effect before your buy it.
    • Try a nude lipstick if you want to avoid a gloss or product with shimmer. Nude lipstick can have the same effect as a shimmery gloss.
  5. Avoid dark lipstick. A light, shimmery color will make your lips look more hydrated and fuller. By contrast, a dark lipstick can flatten the appearance of your mouth. Stay away from dark, matte lipsticks as much as possible to keep your pout looking full and luscious.[7]
    • Be aware that darker colors can be much more difficult to apply than a lighter shade that will naturally plump your pout.
    • Try contouring if you absolutely want to wear a darker lip. This technique can help you create depth even if you are using a darker color.
  6. Fake a larger canvas. It’s easy to fake a fuller lip without dedicating time to contouring. Using concealer or a lip liner around your lips can create a more luscious pout.[6]
    • Apply a dab of bronzer or a darker neutral powder under your lower lip line to create more volume. Make sure to blend in the powder as much as possible so it isn’t the first thing people notice about your mouth.
    • Pat some concealer on to your lips just slightly above your natural lip line. This can smooth out your lips for color and make the canvas for the color larger without being too obvious.[8]
    • Line and fill your lips with a nude lip liner. Extend the contours of the liner just above your natural lip line. Once you’ve covered the outside and inside of your lips with the pencil, go over it with a clear gloss to make your lips appear moist and full.

Video

Warnings

  • Be aware of lip plumping products that contain potential allergens such as cinnamon, camphor, and mint.

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Sources and Citations