There are no trifles in makeup, and the perfect image depends on observing all the finest nuances. For example, it is impossible to achieve a perfect lip line using only one lipstick. At a minimum, you will need powder, gloss, concealer, highlighter, and most importantly, a lip liner.
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Why? Lip pencil in makeup plays the role of a kind of gray eminence (in our case, very colored) - it is completely unnoticeable, but it is the one that plays the leading role. Let's figure out how to use a lip pencil correctly, and also look at this season's trendy make-up of coloring lips with a pencil instead of lipstick.
How to choose a lip pencil to match your lipstick: rules and tips
Let's start with the basics - let's get acquainted with the basic rules of how to choose a lip pencil. Let’s make a reservation right away - we will not consider brands and variations of pencils, their texture and quality characteristics, we are only interested in the direct selection of a pencil for general lip makeup.
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So, when choosing pencils for lip contour, pay attention to the following points:
- If you choose a pencil for lipstick, then it should be colored and match its pigment as closely as possible, or be a tone darker to create a brighter look. It is unacceptable to use a pencil that is a shade lighter (this way you will “eat up” the volume of your lips), and even more so, forget about the fashion of the 90s that still lives in the provinces - a black or dark brown outline (this variation is no longer relevant for a long time, and it looks not only sloppy, but also vulgar).
- If you are a fan of glosses or lightly pigmented balms, then your choice is a nude pencil. But remember - its color should be as similar as possible to the natural color of your lips, but not your skin, as some young ladies believe. In the latter case, you again risk losing lip volume or achieving the effect of their complete absence.
- In addition to a colored lip pencil, you will also need a white pencil, it will help create the illusion of volume (you can, of course, use a highlighter or white shadows, but a pencil will allow you to achieve a more clear effect due to dotted application and smooth lines).
- When purchasing a lip pencil, take care of a sharpener for it if it is framed in a wooden case. In the case of a plastic case, pay attention to pencils that come with caps that sharpen the lead. For a beautiful outline, it is very important that the pencil is well sharpened.
On a note
The main thing in a lip contour pencil, in addition to its pigment, is the thin, pointed rod. Don't go for soft texture. As a rule, excessively soft pencils, when applied to the lips, very quickly lose their pigment, and quickly wear off, even after a single application, and lose the fineness of the line. On the contrary, a moderately hard pencil is more resistant to abrasion and loss of pigment. Well, to make the pencil easier to apply, just warm it up in your palms for 1 - 2 minutes.
That's all the recommendations for choosing a lip liner. As a result, your cosmetic bag should have a small set of contour pencils - colored, matching the tone of your lipsticks, nude - for creating everyday makeup, and white, necessary for adding sensual volume.
How to paint lips correctly with a pencil: highlight the contour
Now let's proceed to the most important step in performing lip makeup - how to apply lip pencil to highlight the contour.
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Let's start with the fact that many Internet portals dedicated to makeup offer two variations of lip coloring with a pencil - to increase the volume of the lips, and to reduce it. So, a contour pencil is used, first of all, to highlight the contour of the lips, and therefore their volume. In other words, using a pencil you should either emphasize the natural beauty of your lips or correct imperfections. But it is never used to reduce volume, because the latest fashion trends are aimed specifically at creating volume.
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So, the rules for lining your lips with a pencil:
- Using a white pencil or highlighter, draw a check mark above the upper lip (this is the so-called Cupid's bow). Moreover, we apply the line over the lip border and then carefully shade it.
- With the same white color we emphasize the area under the lower lip, but not its center, as can be found in a number of makeup tips, but closer to the corners of the lips, but do not touch the corners themselves. The central part under the lower lip should under no circumstances be highlighted; on the contrary, it should be emphasized with bronzer. You can only highlight the hollow between the lower lip and chin.
- Then, using a sharpened lip pencil, draw the outline of the mouth. Exactly the contour, in no case do we go beyond it or deep into the center towards the lips, as can again be found in a number of tips. First, we outline the central part of the lower and upper lips with a thin line, and then draw the corners of the lips, while the contour here should be thicker than in the central part. Then we connect the corners to the center. And here you can already protrude a little beyond the edges of the natural contour if you want to add volume to your lips (but no more than 1 mm. Otherwise you will look comical).
You can create an “artificial” lip contour only on flat areas (this is the middle zone between the central part of the lips and their corners). Under no circumstances go beyond the natural boundaries in areas of volume (corners and central part of the lips), in these areas the unnaturalness of the volume will be clearly evident.
- Blend the pencil thoroughly with a brush. If your option is a colored pencil, the pigment of which is darker than the lipstick, then you should apply a little pencil to the entire surface of your lips, and then apply lipstick of the desired shade to them. In the case of a lipstick or nude colored pencil, we only get by with shading.
So, we got acquainted with the rules of applying lip pencil, and now let's look at how to properly line your lips with a pencil, namely its technical side.
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At the beginning, we already mentioned the need for a sharpened pencil. This is necessary to create a straight line. But what if the line turns out to be shaky and asymmetrical? There is a little trick. Draw only the center and corners, apply thin strokes to the rest of the area. Moreover, the lines should not only be thin, but not too bright. It is better to add 1 - 2 more light contours on top of the initial strokes. This way you will achieve smooth lines.
More experienced “users” of the tool can draw lines in one movement, but the “route” of drawing will be the same - connecting the initially designated center and corners.
How to make up your lips with a pencil: create a current matte lip makeup
We looked at a variation of the “correct” lip coloring - with a pencil and lipstick. We won’t be surprised if many of our readers have a question: is it possible to paint your lips with a pencil without lipstick? Answering this question, we will say - it is possible, and even necessary, because this season the option of matte lips is relevant. A similar effect can be achieved using the now fashionable matte lipstick, or you can also use a pencil, or rather two pencils.
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Let's look at how to make up your lips beautifully with a pencil.
First, you need to choose two shades of pencils for the contour of your lips. It is advisable that they do not differ much in tone, a maximum of 2 tones. Now let's start the procedure.
Remember that you could paint your lips with a lip pencil if you used a darker contour and light lipstick? So the procedure for how to paint your lips with a pencil is almost the same: draw the outline with a darker shade and go a little to the central part of the lips. Then, instead of lipstick, take a light-colored pencil and apply it to the surface of the lips and carefully shade everything.
If you decide to create a fashionable matte lip makeup using pencils, then in this case turn your attention to soft pencils. They contain emollients. Hard pencils will not allow you to achieve high-quality shading and will dry out your lip skin.
Well, so that your lips don’t seem completely lifeless, apply a little gloss – glossy or pearlescent – to their central part. That's it - a fashionable version of makeup with matte lips is ready.
How to properly paint lips with pencil: video tutorial
To consolidate the theory, it is worth watching a video where the rules for coloring lips with a pencil will be presented in detail, and most importantly, clearly.
In conclusion, I would like to note that the rules and recommendations presented in the review are not dogma. We only talked about current trends, but you can decide how you will create your image, depending on your own views, preferences and... desire to shock others. Good luck with your experiments.
