Lip liner

Lip liner: Lip pencils for perfectly contoured lips

Use a lip liner to outline your lips. This gives them a more defined outline and makes it easier to apply the colour that follows. You can also use it to make your lips look fuller or smaller. It can also be used to smooth out small irregularities in the contours of your lips.

Why do you need a lip liner pencil?

If you like to use bright or matte lipsticks with a moisturising texture, a good lip liner pencil is one of the most important tools for applying colour neatly. Use it to trace the natural lip line to define the lips and give the lipstick a defined frame. This prevents the colour from running or smudging.

If you want to add volume to your lips, use a lip pencil similar to your natural lip colour to go over your lips. Then apply a lip balm and blend the contour with your fingers. This makes the lip area appear larger. Or, you could use your lipstick in combination with a lip liner pencil in a matching colour.

How do you find the right lip liner?

To create a clean lip line, you need a matching lip liner. It's best to use a shade similar to the colour of your lipstick. It should be no more than one or two shades darker or lighter. A good alternative is a transparent lip liner, which you can combine with any lipstick colour. It looks more natural because there are no hard edges when you apply the colour.

Lip liner pencils are available in various textures. To apply colour accurately, it is important that they are neither too soft nor too hard. Hard pencils can cause minor injuries to the lips. Very soft consistencies tend to smudge. There are several varieties to choose from:

• Lip pencils in a pencil form: This classic with a handy wooden casing contains essential ingredients such as cottonseed and jojoba oil as well as vitamin E, which moisturise the skin, leaving it supple. They glide gently over the lips and can be applied with precision.
• Automatic lip liner: These pencils have a solid twist-out refill and an integrated sharpener inside their plastic casing.
• Lip liner with blending applicator: The blending tool helps you to apply the colour over a large area of the lips or to blend it. Used as a primer, the contour pencils help lip make-up to stay in place.
• Waterproof lip liner: Waterproof versions are particularly long-lasting because they defy rain and sweat.

How to apply lip liner pencil correctly

To create a clean outline, start in the centre of the upper lip and gradually draw the curve on each side to the corner of the mouth. Blend the lip liner slightly so that the outline doesn’t look too harsh. Do the same for the lower lip. Place the lip liner pencil in the centre again and draw it outwards along the lip line. Smile as you do it to make the skin firmer as this helps to make applying the lipstick easier. Finally, open the mouth wide to apply the colour to the corners of the mouth. Then apply the matching lipstick inside the outline.

If you fill in the entire lip area with the lip liner, you'll get an intense, long-lasting colour that's very similar to lipstick. Alternatively, use a matte lip liner to prime the lips and then apply the colour. This prolongs the durability of your lip make-up. Lipliners with a soft, gliding tip and a blending applicator are ideal for this as you can then simply apply the colour and distribute it evenly.