Dua Lipa’s Makeup Artist on the Micro-Lining Technique That Instantly Gives You Bigger Lips

Makeup artist Katie Jane Hughes knows lips. Over the years, she’s been pouting for celebrities like Hailey Bieber, Lily Allen, and Dua Lipa (the latter of whom she made up for on the Radical Upbeat Tour). She then creates super-detailed instructional videos on social media so the rest of us can learn her celebrity-favorite techniques. Latest video? A super easy way to line your lips for that viral blurry lip look. “This technique is a less-is-more technique that still gives you the illusion of an upper lip line but doesn’t make it look completely fake,” says Hughes. All it takes is four small markers with lip liner and a fluffy makeup brush.

“This technique can make your lips look full, like you’ve lined them, but without going overboard,” Hughes told me. First, you’ll want to choose the right lip liner color to create a blurry lip effect that will give you an instant glow. In her instructional video, she uses the darkest shade of KJH.Brand’s Prism Lite Lip Crayon for what she calls “maximum effect.” But, she later said when we discussed the technology, it’s not a look people typically want to wear every day. Instead, try her simple tips for choosing the perfect shade: “It should be one shade darker than your skin tone,” says Hughes. For me, she recommended Lip Crayon in the shade Enigma.

From there, it’s time to draw four precise lines, Hughes says, focusing on the parts of your mouth you want to be concave (the corners of your mouth) and the parts you want to appear fuller (midway between the Cupid’s bow and the base of your lip). Make a small overline mark in each spot and blend it out with a fluffy makeup brush. “This creates a soft, blurry effect without removing product,” she says. “The amount you blend really comes down to preference. Sometimes I want more definition, which means I blend less. But if you want something softer, blending more is the way to go.” Top it off with lip gloss, and you’re done—achieving the illusion of bigger lips.

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