How To Put On Your Lipstick And Make It Shimmer
There is a secret to creating lips that glisten and shimmer.
With just a few tips you can make your lips dance in the light. The techniques are a lot like those used for creating highlights, and contours with eyeshadow and eyeliner. The main idea is to use two shades of lipstick and two shades of lip liner. The versatility you get with using two colors also lets you shape your lips, making them a little fuller in just the right places, without looking like you just came from a clown convention.
The great thing is that you can use these tips whether you’re going for a fresh and natural look, or want to spice it up a little with rich, vibrant night-on-the-town colors. What you need are two lipstick colors that go together; a darker color and a lighter color. You also need two lip liner pencils that match the lipsticks your going to use.
For a fresh and natural look, select neutral colors and if you’re using warm colors on your eyes then stick to using warm colors on your lips.
Why Use Lip Liner Pencils?
Using a lip liner can look really gaudy if it’s put on in a way that makes it stand out. Choosing the color to match the lipstick as close as possible is essential to preventing this. But lip liners perform some important functions:
- They define the edge of the lips
- They are used to contour and make little lip shaping corrections
- They prevent your lipstick from bleeding around the edges
Lipstick Application
There are six basic steps to applying lipstick with this method. To add some contouring or shaping to your lips to make them fuller or narrower, you can use the contouring corrections discussed below first, but these are the basic steps:
- Outline your lips using your dark lip liner pencil.
- Fill in the lips with your dark lipstick which matches the pencil color you just applied.
- Blot. Use a dry, lint free tissue. Press your lips over it like you’re biting into it, but be carful not to press so firmly that you smudge it.
- Re-outline your lips using your light colored lip liner pencil.
- Fill in using your light lipstick color
- Blot again.
After you’re finished, and depending on how flat your lipstick is, you can apply some gloss to give them some extra sheen. Gloss can be used on vibrant or neutral colors.
Lip Contouring Corrections
If you want your lips to look fuller or you think they’re too wide you can create a contouring layer of color before applying your normal lipstick. Contouring or shaping is done by applying your dark and light colors plus an additional medium color in certain places around your lips. This contouring layer is put on first and then the basic lipstick application discussed above goes over top.
It might take some practice, so don’t get discouraged if it doesn’t turn out runway ready the first time. These are the different lip types and how you can make suttle corrections with a little contouring magic:
- Wide lips. Outline and shade the corners of your lips with a medium pencil. Be sure to stay inside the lipline. Outline the center of your lips, just outside the lipline using a light liner pencil. Apply the basic lipstick application. If you use gloss, apply it to the center of the mouth and not to the corners.
- Down-turned corners. On the inside of the lipline, outline your top lip using a medium liner pencil. Outline your bottom lip with a light pencil applied to the outside of your lipline. Then apply your basic lipstick as normal.
- Thin lips. Outline the outside of your lipline using a light liner pencil. Cover the outline with a medium colored lipstick. Blot. Apply basic makeup, but just the light color. Light colors and shiny lipsticks work well to bring more fullness to thin lips.
- One thin lip. If either you top or bottom lip is overly thin then use the thin lip correction on the thinner lip. Use a normal lipstick application on the other lip. Only apply gloss to the thinner lip and only if it is your bottom lip, otherwise don’t use gloss.
Note: Your lipline is the natural outline of your lips. By applying liner and lipstick to the outside of the lipline in certain areas, you are making these areas larger and fuller. By keeping your makeup inside the lipline, you keep certain areas smaller.
Wrapping Up
Hopefully you can see how using different shades and creating two or three layers can bring a richness to your lips. These little extras give your lips an extra dimension that brings them alive far more than just a swipe of your usual lipstick can.
Play around with the different techniques. Try different colors, both natural and vibrant, warm and cool. You’ll love the results you get using these professional techniques. It takes a bit more time and concentration, but that’s good. That’s just what you want to take your mind off things and ease your jitters if you’re getting ready for a big date.
