Fall Beauty Trend: Lip Liner is Back!

Lipliner doesn’t mean ‘90s dark lines. (Photo: Jon Paterson)

I never thought I’d say this, but lip liner is back in a major way. (Thanks, Kylie Jenner!) If you wore makeup in the ‘90s, you may still be having scary flashbacks of bad lip liner. The good news: The modern take on lip liner is a sophisticated look that won’t serve as embarrassing fodder for future #TBTs. Cautious but curious, I reached out to Jamie Greenberg, makeup artist to celebs like Rashida Jones and Kaley Cuoco, for tips on using lip liner in way I’d love, not regret.

“I think the trend is now to look is a little more polished, whereas in recent years the beauty trend was to be a little less polished, and more organic with looks,” says Greenberg of the sudden lip liner crazy. “I’ve noticed people are now more into having on a full, polished face and accentuating the lips.” Aside from adding polish, applying a lip liner first can also add longevity to your look. “A lot of times, lip liners are more dry, so they adhere to your lip and lipstick longer. If you line your entire lip with the liner, it’s going to hold everything a tad bit longer.”

Greenberg says you can wear lip liner in two totally different ways. For a nude liner look that plumps up your lips a la Kylie Jenner, she suggests using a shade that’s a little bit lighter than your lipstick. “Once you’ve identified your flesh tone, you can do a flesh tone lip liner right where your natural lip color ends,” says Greenberg. “That will define the lips for a more naturally shaped look. In a way, it’s like a reverse liner.” For nude pencils, I’m loving Rimmel’s 1000 Kisses Lip Liner ($3) and the dual-ended Becca Nude Liner Plump & Define Lip Pencil ($23) to find just the right shade.

Lip liner can make an impact with colored lipstick, too. “If you want your lips to really pop, you can do a lipliner that’s a tiny bit darker than the actual lip color,” says Greenberg. “That’s going to give you the fullest, most bold lip possible.” For colored lip liner, my new go-tos are Lancome Le Crayon Lip Contour ($25), and MAC Pro Longwear Lip Pencil ($20). Full, sexy lips with no lip plumper needed? Yes, please.

Related:

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