Lip liner can be confusing, in fact I figured it out only last year. I wanted to talk about it today because it's a very interesting and versatile product. You should definitely give it a try! Lip liner gives you a lot of control over the shape of the lips, which can lightly change the proportions of your face and even the perceived shape of your nose.
Lip liner may feel weird and dry, but it doesn't actually dry out the lips.
Two ways to wear a lip liner:
Wear the lip liner instead of a lipstick
Lip liner is the best matte lipstick you'll ever find. It looks more natural, stays on longer, and it wears off much more evenly than lipstick. You can always finish it off with a dab of gloss or balm for a bit of shine.Below a lipstick
Lip liner keeps the lipstick from bleeding and locks it onto the lips. It also makes the lipstick colour pop. It's a must with strong reds and dark colours as it helps them to wear off evenly, as well as with soft lipsticks that bleed.Also, if you want to achieve that crisp, clear lip contour then lip liner is the way to do it.
How To Apply Lip Liner
Basic lining
Start but outlining the V in the middle, and slightly exaggerate the bows (or not, if you prefer the Angelina Jolie look). Continue to the lip corners. This will give you a crisp line, if you want a softer effect you can gently blur it with a q-tip. Make the line thicker, and blend inwards -- this prevents the weird ring around the lipstick effect.You can fill in the entire lips with the liner if you want to.
Over-lining
You can use lip liner to enhance and lightly exaggerate the shape of your lips. First, take a good look at your lips in the mirror. You might see that the coloured part of the lips doesn't fill the lips out all the way. If you want, you can draw in the extra "shelf" and it will look natural, any more outside the contour and it will be look really off. It's just an extra half millimetre, but it can make a lot of difference visually. I've done it on the photo on the top.Of course these are just the basics. You can try experimenting with combining products, I especially like layering gloss over lip-liner.
Do you use a lip liner? Or do you wear your lipstick commando?
