Lipliner should define mouth

By Al Varela

A reader wants to know: I have seen many women using a dark lip liner to outline their lips and then, using a lighter shade of lipstick, they fill in between the liner. Is this the correct way to use lip liner or is this just a passing fad?

What you are seeing is not just a passing fad but a look that it is long gone. The dark liner used to outline the lips was popular in the '60s. The current fashion in makeup calls for the lipstick and liner to be properly matched and blended then accented with a lip gloss.

The lip liner should be used as a tool to help define the mouth. It is instrumental in helping make thin lips look fuller and taking full lips and reshaping them to appear thinner. What is most important about the lip liner is not to use so dark a color that it becomes the focal point of the mouth, unless the color of the lipstick is also dark, which has become very fashionable recently.

A deep berry colored lipstick with rich brown tones lined with a prune or maroon lip liner is a very stylish and sophisticated combination today. This can be topped with an iridescent gold or silver lip gloss.

As we age, the shape of the mouth continues to change and a lip liner can come to the rescue by giving us a more flattering shape. Lip liner can also be used to give a color base to the lips and can prevent lipstick from feathering outward around the mouth area.

The typical application begins by lining the center of the top lip with an "x". Then join the top of the "x" to the corners of the mouth. Follow by lining the bottom lip from end to end. Remember that the angle by which you hold the pencil will determine the thinness or thickness of the liner. Also, be sure to keep your lip liner sharp.

Follow this application with lipstick, and since shine and glitz is now in style, dab a small amount of lip gloss to the center of the bottom lip and allow it to spread naturally. Use a distance perspective by looking in a mirror. If your lips scream out at you, tone it down and reevaluate.

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