0 How to Apply a Natural Sexy Lip

Beautiful London/Milan Model Stacy Fenton
Photography by Matthew Pearly
Makeup by Vicki Millar

I have been asked by a few of you to explain how I achieve a natural sexy lip look. We’ve all seen it and love it. Every beauty and fashion magazine you open seems to have some gorgeous model or actress with perfectly shaped lips that go beyond luscious…..am I right or am I right?  Keep in mind that you can’t change your lip shape – not entirely anyhow but you can cheat a little and get very sexy full looking lips by following these 6 simple steps.  It's proven successful for myself and my clients for years!
*One important thing to mention here is that I'm not a great fan of lip plumpers.  I find they often irritate lips and other than give a tingling sensation, I'm not sure they do much else!  But if you like them, add it in as an additional step.

Step 1: Exfoliate your lips. There are products on the market that can aid in this but quite frankly….save your money and use a toothbooth. I do this myself every morning. I lightly brush the outside of my lips and like magic! Dead skin gone.

Step 2: I can’t stress enough how important lip balms are. Moisturize, moisturize and then moisturize again!

My favourite product is Carmex lip balm. It’s amazing and I love it! I use it every morning and every evening and more often when the cold weather comes upon us.  I can’t tell you the last time I had chapped lips.  Trust me, it's amazing!

…..now you may notice that my first 2 steps have nothing to do with adding makeup products to your lips…..this is because these 2 steps are fundamental in preparing your lips for product and for aiding in a juicy sexy pout! So, let’s continue….

Step 3: When you are applying your foundation, apply a little bit to your lips. Don’t smother them but rather add a light touch of coverage. After that, brush the lips lightly with a fine milled powder and let set for a minute or so. (I love Make Up For Ever HD powder but try your favourite!)

Step 4: Invest in a natural lip liner specifically for your skin tone. Pick a colour that has a very light pink/rosy colour to it. Be sure and match it to your skin tone. Call me crazy but I love Wet N Wild lip liners! They don’t pull or snag and are really very afforable. Can’t beat that! Outline the outside of your lip with your natural lip liner. I often dot my lip liner and then connect the dots at the end. This helps me to create the perfect shape I want on that day.  Now, take your ring finger, dab and blend the liner so that you do not see a harsh outline. Next, apply the lip liner all over your lips and blend again with your ring finger.  Again, using a fine milled powder brush the lips lightly.  Let set for a minute or two.

Step 5: Using a lip brush add a soft natural colour that is as close to the lip liner as you can possibly find. Here is where you need to spend some money! All lipsticks are not created equal, therefore find the right lipstick for your needs. This can take a bit of experimenting!  Some love a matte look while others love a dewy finish. I love, love, love Channel and Dior lipsticks but for the money, I also really like Rimmel. Now, add the colour using your brush. Take a tissue and blot. (I don’t know why but this always reminds me of my mother! But hey, she knew what she was doing!)  Re-apply the lipstick using the same colour, blot again.  Do this process 3 times in total.  This process will keep the colour and look for hours.
….about now you’re looking fabulous right?

One more step and you’ll have those sensational luscious lips you’ve been dreaming of….

Step 6: Add a gloss over the lipstick. Add more gloss in the middle of your lips top and bottom, lightly dab and blend again until you have the right amount of sheen. I love Make Up For Ever Glossy Full lip gloss in natural but the Make Up For Ever colour ones would work well if you want to skip Step 5. I also love MAC glosses and for that matter, Wet N Wild glosses are good too, just very sticky! You will need to re-apply gloss as the day or evening progresses but the lipstick colour you applied will remain there for hours.

There you go!  I hope you try these steps yourself and enjoy creating your perfect sexy lip!
Was this helpful?  If so....let me know!  vm@vickimillar.com