I have a small lip liner collection somewhere in my ridiculous lipstick drawer but I hardly ever use them! I thought it was time to address this, give them another go and finally decide what the deal is with lip liners…
Pros //
You can use lip liners to achieve a slightly different lip shape so if, like me, you don't have much of a defined cupids bow, you can draw one in. Liners also help you when it comes to applying lipstick as it's much harder to get a precise line around the edge with a larger lipstick bullet. They can also make your lipstick last longer as it has something to grip onto a bit like a lip primer.
Cons //
It's another step and sometimes you just want to speed things up. If you don't get the exact shade to match your lipstick you can end up looking a bit old fashioned. It's easy to get carried away and end up with a completely different lip shape to what naturally suits you.
Application tips //
Relax and hold the lip liner like a pencil, lean your hand on your chin and look in the mirror. Follow your natural lip line at first and then adjust where you'd like more definition. Once you've drawn a line around the edge, fill in the lips a bit too so that when your lipstick wears off you're not left with a line around your lips. Make sure your pencil is really sharp for the first bit so you don't get a smudged line.
Verdict //
Why do I not use lip liner more regularly?! Even if it's an invisible liner, it makes all the difference and takes all the stress out of wearing a bold lip. I'm definitely going to be making an effort to use lip liner every time I wear a strong lipstick colour in the future.
My Favourites //
Urban Decay 24/7 lip pencils, MUA lip liners, NARS lipliner pencils, MAC lip liner pencils and Lipstick Queen lip liners.
Do you usually skip the lip liner step or do you swear by it?