The quest in more varied beauty styles is reflected in the fall in interest in injections that modify the natural shape of the lips or the rest of the face, and a much greater craze for makeup techniques that promptly help achieve prominent cheekbones, smoother skin or fuller lips.
At the same time, there’s also a renewed focus on more demanding beauty routines, in terms of skincare, waxing, eyelash extensions or hair treatments. This kind of time-consuming process is seen as an investment that helps streamline routines to save time in the bathroom every morning.
In short, beauty can swing either way right now, from "less is more" to "more is less," and that seems to suit most people just fine.
Looking for expert advice
In this quest to find the most ingenious tricks to replace less natural beauty procedures, such as injections, social network users are turning en masse to professional makeup artists. And it’s Mary Phillips, who does make-up for celebrities such as Sydney Sweeney, Hailey Bieber, Kendall Jenner and Dua Lipa, who attracted the most attention whe it comes to boost the volume of lips, making them look fuller than ever, without the need for fillers.
To achieve this goal a simple lip pencil is all you need. In a video viewed over three million times, Mary Phillips gives a complete tutorial on this makeup technique. All those interested need is a lip pencil slightly darker than their lip colour (but not too dark). Then, they just have to draw a line starting at the outer corners. The makeup artist recommends following the natural lip line, then continuing outside this line when approaching Cupid’s bow. For the lower lip, on the other hand, it is recommended to stick to the natural line, extending a little with a slightly more prominent line in the centre.
Once this step is completed, one’s just has to subtly blend everything with a brush, and apply a touch of concealer to camouflage any pencil that may have overrun, then to fill in the lips with gloss or lipstick, depending on the desired effect. As a result, lips look plumped, but without having lost their natural shape.
This trick is reminiscent of a technique shared in 2021 by Mario Dedivanovic, Kim Kardashian’s favorite makeup artist. Mario’s technique involves drawing quite a thick line on the upper lip, overlining the lip on the Cupid’s bow, before bringing the liner in along the lip line as you work down to the corners. Then, again, overline the bottom lip in the center only, then follow the natural line of the lip up to the corners. Finally, fill in with a lipstick of the same shade, or a lighter shade, for optimal effect. A subtly different method, but one that proves that a simple lip liner can be all you need to achieve full lips as ’naturally’ as possible.
A series of solutions in line with the growing rejection of invasive aesthetic procedures, such as hyaluronic acid injections or similar filling techniques.
