Your favourite Korean celebrities are contouring their lips to make them look fuller

Luscious, plump lips truly never go out of style. Thankfully, there’s a needle-less, fuss-free way to achieve the coveted look – and you can do so with makeup products that you probably already own.

Besides creating the illusion of a sharper jawline and chiselled cheekbones, contouring can also be used to fake a fuller pout. According to Sidney Kok, Benefit Cosmetics national brow and beauty authority, this viral TikTok beauty hack that originated from South Korea involves, “adding depth and dimension to your lips by strategically applying a darker shade of lipstick or lip stain or bronzer on the cupid’s bow and inner part of the upper lip.”

Not to be mistaken for overlining – a makeup trick that involves tracing the outline of your lips with liner to add definition and prevent your lipstick from feathering – lip contouring uses contrast (between light and dark shades and matte and glossy finishes) to create an optical illusion that mimics the pillowy, 3D “pouty” effect.

Before sculpting your lips, Sidney recommends prepping your lips to create a smooth canvas for application and to enhance longevity of your lip products. “Lip care is something that most people only think about when their lips get dry. If you exfoliate once or twice a week and follow up with a hydrating lip balm, you’re creating a smooth canvas for your lippies to go on.”

Once your lips are primed, she recommends creating a “M” shape following the natural contours of your upper lip with a matte lipstick or lip stain that is slightly darker than your skin tone. She uses Benefit’s Plush Tint (in a nude shade like Cloud Fine or French Toast). This will cast a shadow that alludes to a perkier pout. With the same lip product or a bronzer, “softly contour the outer corners of your lips to create fullness,” she explains.

Amp up the volume by creating contrast with a lighter shade of lipstick or lip tint. “Apply the colour on the rest of your lips and use your fingers to distribute the colour to the cupid’s bow,” she says. Finally, swipe on a glossy lip stain like Benefit’s Splashtint to draw light to your lips and create that juicy, watery glow.