How to Apply Lipstick Like a Pro

A beauty consultant by profession, Jayne has been advising on correct skin and hair care, makeup, and other cosmetics for almost 20 years.

Learn how to apply lipstick like a professional makeup artist in five easy steps, plus all the tips and tricks you'd expect a pro to know: how to make lips look fuller, how to turn a wrong color into a right color, how to make lipstick stay on longer and more!

Five Steps to Perfect Lipstick

A pro applies lipstick in five basic steps, but putting on lipstick is the very least of it.

Step 1: Prepare Your Lips

Gently go over your lips with a soft toothbrush to remove any rough or loose skin.

When applying moisturizer to your face, massage a little into your lips too. Don't, however, use lip balm, since this would impair the indelibility of your lip makeup.

Step 2: Apply Foundation or Lip Primer

The best base for lipstick is foundation. It's full of moisturizing agents, it evens out lip color, helps lipstick stay on longer, and prevents color changes during hot weather—heat causes the pigment to separate from the base substances.

Products sold specifically as "lip primer" are only useful if you're not wearing foundation.

Step 3: Apply Lip Liner

Apart from defining the shape of your lips, lip liner also keeps your lipstick from feathering or "bleeding." If you look closely, you'll see that your lips have a natural white contour. Use this as a guide when you apply lip liner. It doesn’t matter in which direction you apply—whether from left to right, right to left, or corner to center—as long as you apply accurately.

Your lip liner should be the exact same color as your lipstick. You may find it difficult to find one that matches peach, apricot, or coral tones, but an eyebrow pencil in a light, warm brown also does the job.

For sanitary reasons, and to ensure that it draws a defined, long lasting outline, make sure your lip liner pencil is always sharpened.

Step 4: Powder Your Lip Liner

A light dusting of powder gives lip liner extra staying power.

Pick up a tiny amount of loose translucent powder with a cotton pad, curl it around your middle finger and press it against the back of your hand to remove excess, then carefully roll it over your lip liner. Don’t apply too much, otherwise your lip liner will appear blurred.

Step 5: Apply Lipstick

Your lipstick should cover your lip liner exactly. For accuracy, apply with a lip brush. This gives a more even and precise application than directly from the tube, and helps lipstick to stay on longer.

Once you've applied a first coat, blot with a cosmetic tissue, then add a second coat and blot again. Layering in this way makes it last longer.

Always be sure to blot your lips before adding lip gloss, too.

Tips and Tricks Only a Pro Knows

How to Make Your Lips Look Fuller

• Use light lip colors for fullness; dark colors make lips appear thinner.
• Instead of lip liner, use a concealer pencil two shades lighter than your complexion. But don't use a white pencil if you want natural-, professional-looking results.
• Apply lip liner in the usual way, then use the same lip liner to fill out your lips to a quarter of the way to the center from each corner. Fill in the remaining area with a satin or gloss lipstick one nuance lighter than your lip liner. This will make your lips look fuller. You may use a matte lipstick in place of lip liner.

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Alternatives to Lip Liner

• Because matte lipsticks are more densely pigmented than regular lipsticks, you can use them as lip liner. Apply using a pointed rather than rounded lip brush.
• If you don’t want to wear lipstick, but would like more definition, line your lips with a blonde eyebrow pencil.
• Although the effect is dramatic, lip liner darker than lipstick makes lips look thinner. To get around this, use an auburn eyebrow pencil instead.

Other Uses for Lip Liner

• If you need a matte lipstick but don't have one at hand, use lip liner instead. An added bonus is that it's longer lasting than most lipsticks.
• You can change the shape of your lips with lip liner, but cover your natural lip contour with concealer first. This is most beneficial as a corrective measure to improve symmetry. It can also be used to enlarge lips, but don't overdo it if you want natural-looking results.
• If your top lip is thinner, don't apply lip liner to your lower lip. This balances size.

How to Alter the Color and Texture of Your Lip Makeup

• If you'd like a shimmery lipstick but dislike the usual mother of pearl finish, look for one with a golden sheen.
• If a lipstick is too vibrant for the occasion or too severe against your complexion, press a cosmetic tissue over your lips and leave for 30 seconds. When you remove it, the color will have lost its intensity.
• If you'd like your lipstick to seem more natural or discreet, blot ten minutes after applying, then add a little translucent powder with a cotton pad.
• To give satin or gloss lipstick a matte finish, place a cosmetic tissue over your lips and dab with translucent powder using a blunt brush—the tissue acts as a sieve, allowing only the finest powder particles through to make your lips look matte rather than powdery.
• Use lip gloss only if your lips are in perfect condition—it highlights every flaw and wrinkle.

Tricks for Lipstick and Your Teeth

• Blot the inside of your lips to prevent lipstick catching on your teeth.
• Make white teeth seem whiter with a blue based lip color.
• If your teeth have a gray or yellow cast, make them seem whiter with a yellow based lip color.

This content is accurate and true to the best of the author’s knowledge and is not meant to substitute for formal and individualized advice from a qualified professional.

© 2014 Jayne Lancer

Comments

Jayne Lancer (author) from West London, UK on September 07, 2014:

She's probably also taking the stage lighting into account.

She's absolutely right when she says lips get thinner as we age. There are various ways of making them look plumper, but most are not suitable when we get older. I explain more about that here: https://bellatory.com/makeup/Makeup-for-Mature-Ski...

Of course, you need more definition on stage, so lip liner is a good idea. If you line your lips beyond your natural lip line, however, don't over-do it, and cover your natural lip contour with concealer before you begin.

Judy Filarecki from SW Arizona and Northern New York on September 06, 2014:

The woman in charge of makeup for the chorus always wants us to make our lips look fuller because she says "Our lips get thinner as we get older." That's why she wants the liner.

She also has us put on a march darker foundation and blush because of being on the stage and so far from the audience.

Jayne Lancer (author) from West London, UK on September 06, 2014:

Thank you for coming by, Judy. Lip liner is actually very easy to apply, but it's one of those things many women are too lazy to do. Having said that, I think lipstick also looks good enough applied straight from the tube without liner for a more casual look. So glad I could be of help.

Judy Filarecki from SW Arizona and Northern New York on September 06, 2014:

Thanks for the great tips. I sing in a chorus and we always have to wear quite a bit of makeup. This year they are insisting on a lip liner, too. I've never been one to wear makeup on a regular basis so everything you said really helps.