When overlined lips resurfaced as a popular beauty trend in 2015, the look involved a heavily matte finish that was spotted on celebrities like Kylie Jenner and Hailey Beiber. Today, the trend takes its cue from the ’90s, with darker liner and a hyper-glossy effect gaining traction among beauty enthusiasts.
One thing remains a constant: The overall shape of the overlined lip – voluminous and pillowy all around the outline – hasn’t changed. Beauty experts, however, caution that one should practice restraint when creating this look. “Personally, overlining lips usually makes one look better and more youthful,” says Clarence Lee. “But if you do it wrongly, it can backfire.”
The makeup artist shares that finding the right balance between overlining your lips and the rest of your face is key, and excessive overlining can make your lips look unnaturally swollen, as if you’ve been overindulging in spicy food.
“Be sure to over-line both your upper and lower lips unless one is much thinner than the other,” recommends Clarence. The trick, he says, is to draw your lip line right on the edge, and then “spilling” the liner about 1mm over the shape of your lips.
You’d also want to avoid overapplying lip liner on your Cupid’s bow and middle lower lips, adds makeup artist Airin Lee. “It’ll look more elongated but the proportion may be off. Whereas if you apply on the side of your lips, the entire lip area looks fuller.”
When it comes to colour, Clarence suggests trying a shade darker than your natural lip colour to fill your lips with so as to achieve a better definition. Airin agrees: “Cover the lines of your lips using two tones darker than your usual lip tone for a more natural look.”
Made a mistake during the lip overlining process? Don’t panic. Instead, Airin advises using a clean cotton bud to correct the problem. Once you’re satisfied, “spray a layer of setting spray [on your lips] and allow it to dry for 30 seconds”, to help the look hold throughout the night.