Agony Al: Lip Liner 101
Make it stand out
YOU ASKED: just *how* do you use lip liner?
Maybe it’s because white culture is having lips like defrosting prawns so I need liner to bring life to my face, maybe it’s because I have hooded eyes so lips are often the highlight of my makeup look, or maybe, as a well meaning but still fucking rude anonymous instagram DM pointed out, I bravely exist as a person with a naturally wonky mouth, but I could not live without my lip pencils.
When we think of lip liner, images of stark, unblended, brown rimmed lips spring to mind; while this *is* an iconic look, lip liner is actually so much more than just a 90s throwback.
Lip liner is such a versatile product, depending on your application technique it can be used as an undetectable primer, to modify colour, to reshape your lips and more.
Want to make a bold lipstick more wearable? Lip liner.
Fancy fuller lips? Lip liner.
Sick of gloss smearing? Lip liner.
Lip liner can feel overwhelming, unnecessary or like you’re going to veer your daytime beat into drag queen territory, so in this week’s Agony Al, we’re going to demystify liner while I take ya through the basics of this misunderstood product.
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Lip Liner As Primer:
Lip liner doesn’t always mean a bold lip. In fact, when working on clients, I most often use lip liner as a base for more emollient lip products such as bullet lipstick or lipgloss, and you can barely tell the lips have been lined at all!
Prepping lips with liner extends the longevity of products you layer on top, as the pencil’s waxy texture gives something for them to grip to. The liner will also act as a barrier to stop your lip products from migrating over the face or bleeding into fine lines.
My bare lips. The white bumps are visible oil glands, which is ironic and hurtful because my lips are Saharan desert dry.
To use liner this way, follow the natural shape of your lips, starting at your cupid’s bow and using short strokes. As you’re not making any changes to the shape of your lip and the liner will be covered with a different product, don’t stress about the colour; I recommend using a pencil that’s close in shade to the product you’re applying over the top, but you can also use a liner that matches your natural lip, or even one that is clear.
Blink and you’ll miss it! Here I’ve traced my lip line with Illamasqua’s Raw pencil, a liner that’s a super similar colour to my natural lips.
For an extra long lasting lip look, colour in the entirety of your mouth with liner before applying your lipstick or gloss. That way, if the product on top fades, you’ll be left with an even colour underneath.
High pigment glosses are a smudgy nightmare without a liner underneath, but a trusty pencil helps keep them where they should be.
Overlining With Lip Liner
Arguably lip liner’s most famous use is to make lips appear fuller. If you existed on the internet in 2015, you’ll remember the chokehold overlined lip tutorials had on us. Seven years later, things haven’t slowed down. Kylie Jenner might have popularised overdrawing lips technique to a whole new generation, but as early as the 1920s makeup artists have been using lip liner to create the illusion of plump, pouty lips. 100 years of pouts can’t be wrong, can they?
To fake fuller lips, grab a liner that is slightly deeper than your natural lip colour or the shade of lipstick you plan to wear. Make sure your pencil is sharp, so you can make precise lines.
When overlining, I first lock in my lip shape by placing dots on the corners of my mouth and at the highest point of my cupid’s bow. The key to a natural overlined lip is to at least partly follow your natural lip shape, so these dots help anchor my lines.
Dot placement
Starting at the corner of my mouth, I begin drawing outside of my natural line, curving upwards to meet the dot at my cupid’s bow.
While a crisp, straight lip line can look effortlessly chic, more curved lines, especially around the cupid’s low, add fullness and volume.
I’ve went a lot deeper than I would normally, so you can see the placement of my lines.
Overlining a bottom lip can become extremely Miranda Sings, extremely fast. I recommend concentrating on the centre of the lip to add fullness, sticking to your natural lip line in the corners.I follow the natural curve of the edge of my mouth, but make my line thicker towards the middle of my mouth.
My bottom lip is pretty full naturally - thank you Dr Zizmor! - but I still colour outside the lines in the very centre.
Once your lip liner is laid down, go in with your lipstick or gloss. Voila! Plumper lips!
Kylie Jenner whoms?
Make Lipstick More Wearable With Liner
Do you have a lipstick gathering dust in the back of your drawer, unworn because it’s unflattering? That’s nothing lip liner can’t solve.
I am an orange lipstick stan and recently have been leaning more into paler, peachier orange shades. Unfortunately, applying these shades alone doesn’t work for me; they blend into both my pale face AND ten years a smoker teeth. With a lipliner that’s deeper and more neutral toned, I can get the lip definition my face needs while still wearing a vibrant colour.
To use lip liner to make a bold or pale shade more wearable, first start by applying the lipstick as you would normally.
Me wearing Kash Beauty’s Soleil by itself. Heinous.
Next, go in with your lip liner, applying it around the edges of your lips (overlining as above if ya fancy, but just following your natural lip line will work too.)
Begin adding more lip liner onto your lips from the edges of your mouth, then blending with a lip brush or your fingers. Your aim is to create a subtle ombre from the liner to your pop of colour lipstick
When you’re happy with the blend, you can add a touch more of your previously unwearable lipstick for added brightness.
Ombre Lip Liner:
Call me a killjoy, a pick me girl or a pseudo intellectual - I prefer the term “lesbian” - but I don’t care for Love Island. Something about muscular, heterosexual men rubs me the wrong way - especially when they’re gaslighting women - why would I wanna watch them on the telly when I could just go to a Lloyd’s bar?
Despite actively avoiding the show, every time I log into Twitter or Tik Tok I’m met with memes about an islander Faye’s… different… lip liner, so it’d be remiss if in an article about lip liner I didn’t mention how to cop her iconique brown ombre lip look, though with a liiiittle bit more blending.
I fully respect the girl’s hustle and I’ve no doubt having such a signature lip will secure her brand deals for the next million years.
For this type of lip, create lines as you would with a classic overlined lip, but this time in as dark a brown colour as you dare.
Trust the process! This looks bananas but is soooo close to being the ultimate late 90s, early 00s lip liner lewk.
Using your finger or a pencil brush, begin softly blending the lip liner towards the centre of your mouth, fading away any harshness and creating a softer, more diffused bridge between the colour of your lips and the liner.
Why does me mouth sort of look like a medium rare steak? It’s not everybody’s cup of tea - or cut of meat - but I actually I would wear this 90s lipliner moment as is.
Once you’re happy with how the liner is blended, add a pale, nude lip colour to the centre of your lips.
Lipstick placement: lips are looking 10% prolapsed anus, 90% ombre lip
Using the same brush or finger you blended the original liner with, marry the nude lipstick or gloss to your liner. Don’t be afraid to add more liner, the aim is a smooth transition from light at the centre to dark at the edges.
If you want to go FULL nineties, dot a teeny bit of pale concealer in the centre of your lips to add real contrast from the brown liner.
Concealer lips but make ‘em not revolting
At this point, you are free to live your Faye fantasy, but I always amp it up with more liner and gloss. Not only will gloss hide any rushed blending, but it also adds an extra layer of volume to your plump lip lewk.
If they ever do a queer Love Island reboot, you best believe this is the lip I’ll be smudging all over a butch.
… they don’t call me lipgloss lezza for nothing. Maybe I should rebrand as lip gloss and lip liner lezza?
Got a question? Email us at hello@polyesterzine.com with subject line AGONY AL, or DM Polyester Zine or Lipgloss Lezza.
XOXO, Agony Al
