Having *This* Feature Makes Lips Look Two Times Plumper — And If You Don’t, Here’s How to Fake It
And learn how using concealer can volumize your lips too
Videos posted on social media showcase hundreds of tricks that can help lips look fuller from lip lining hacks, DIY plumping treatments, layering lipstick and more. But there’s actually a feature that you might already have that can make the pout look plumper: a double lip line. It sounds just like what it is, having two distinct lip lines, and women are talking about how they discovered they have one on TikTok — in fact, videos tagged with #doublelipline have gained over 85 million views. To learn if you have a double lip line and how to accentuate it or create the look of one, keep scrolling.
What is a double lip line?
“A double lip line is when your lip has a nude border around it,” says makeup artist Emily Gray, who’s worked with Kimberly Schalpman and LeAnn Rimes. This is also called a vermillion border, which is a second line between the lip and the skin around it. If you have this border, you’ll notice the skin here tends to be lighter. And Gray says having this feature creates the illusion of fuller lips.
To check if you have a double lip line, grab a mirror and use it to take a close look at your mouth. First, identify the natural, outer edge of your lips where your natural lip color ends. Then, take a look for a second border around your lips that’s lighter than the color that makes up lips.
If you’re having trouble visualizing all of this, watch this TikTok video from Jasmin C., a nurse practitioner and aesthetic medicine expert, who shares plenty of examples of vermillion borders.
Related: Over 50? Plastic Surgeon’s Easy Lip Plumping Hack Will Turn Back the Clock Instantly
How to enhance a double lip line
If you have a natural double lip line and want to showcase it for a lip-plumping effect, you’ll need to start by choosing a liner that’s one to two shades darker than the natural shade of your lips. One note: Make sure you choose smudge-free lip lining pencils because you need the liners to stay in place. And “if the lines run together, you won’t get the clear definition of that double lip line,” explains Gray.
To do: Use the darker pencil and line lips within their natural border. Next, take a liner that’s similar to the shade of your skin tone, and use it to line slightly outside that first line — this will define the vermillion border, which will make lips look instantly more plump. “In the end you should have two defined lines,” says Gray. “One right on top of the other.”
If you’re having trouble lining the second line on your bottom lip, take a cue from beauty influencer Śola Victoria, who in the video below says you should and curl your bottom lip in towards your teeth so you can better see the line.
Best of all, there’s actually no need to apply lipstick. You can simply top lips with a gloss and lips will still look more plump. However, if you want you can apply lipstick — just be sure to keep it within the borders of your lips and stick with a tone that’s close to one of the two liner colors, cautions Gray. This way it looks natural and not overdrawn.
Double lip line tip: You can also enhance it with concealer
Another pro tip Gray offers is to skip the second lip liner and use a concealer shade around lips for a contour effect instead, like beauty influencer and makeup artist @SarahsSuperSpa does in the TikTok video below. “If you want to use concealer, you definitely do not have to use a lip liner close to the shade of your skin for this effect,” says Gray. “Unless you want a lip look that is really natural,” she notes, which in that case you’d want to use lip liner in a shade similar to skin. She also adds that you’ll only want to use the concealer trick when it comes to applying lipstick and use liner when using just a lip gloss.
If you don’t have a double lip line but want the lip-plumping perks
Gray says that you can use lip liner to get a similar effect of a double lip line and achieve a fuller-looking pout. Her to do: Take a lip liner, and draw on the edges of skin right above the natural lip line, instead of on the colored part of your lips. This trick “overlines the lips even if you do not have a discernible double lip line, and it will definitely make lips look fuller,” she adds.
“My top advice would be to remember that less is more,” says Gray. “A natural double lip line creates a guideline that’s easy to follow, but if you don’t have one, it’s also easy to go a little crazy with overdrawing.” And when it comes to lining lips like this, Gray likes to use a lip liner that is slightly darker than the lipstick being applied. “You just want to create a natural definition to the lips, a kind of lip contour,” she says. “It makes the lips look dimensional.”
To see this trick in action, check out how beauty influencer Torrie Brieby overlines her lips in her YouTube video below.
The best lip liners for a double lip line look
Here, Gray’s two picks that enhance a double lip line or create a similar lip-plumping effect.
Catrice Cosmetics Plumping Lip Liner (Buy from Catrice Cosmetics, $4)
Gray favors the shades “Mainhattan” and “Starring Role.” In fact, she loves them so much, she uses the latter on herself daily. “I actually just used the double liner technique on one of my clients for a late night talk show appearance using these lip liners,” she says. “They create the perfect border, are long-lasting and contain peppermint oil to naturally plump lips!”
Charlotte Tilbury Lip Cheat Liner in Pillow Talk (Buy from Sephora, $25)
This is another liner Gray recommends for the perfect natural lip liner. “This shade mimics the natural lip color for most people and is perfect for double lip lines,” she raves. And it’s a waterproof formula so it won’t smudge.
Now that you’re all filled in — grab everything you need to create your own double lip line look. Following the steps we outlined above, you’ll have a fuller pout in no time flat!
Related: 7 Best Lip Plumpers That Make Thinning Lips Look Thicker Both Instantly and Over Time
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