Your mouth may do the talking, but don't let it tell your age. Here, great advice for minimizing those pesky lines, and more.
Back when no respectable woman wore makeup, all Scarlett O'Hara could do was bite her lips and hope for the best. But today, anyone who wants plumper, prettier lips has options that Scarlett couldn't dream of — no biting required. From makeup and skin care to medical treatments, you can avoid that thin-lipped aging thing by targeting three major problems: dry, chapped skin; distress lines and wrinkles; and loss of plumpness. Here, your guide to quick fixes and long-term solutions for great-looking lips.
Step 1: Deal with Dryness
Lips that are dry or flaky automatically look thinner and more wrinkled than they are, so get on the balm bandwagon. "Skin makes less oil as we age, and lips are at a unique disadvantage because they don't have an epidermal layer, which is where oil is produced to begin with," says Paul M. Friedman, M.D., a clinical assistant professor of dermatology at the University of Texas Medical School in Houston. Bringing back moisture is the key to keeping lips looking smooth, even, and full.
Step 2: Erase Fine Lines
Those annoying vertical wrinkles around the mouth are mechanically etched into our faces every day, whenever we talk, laugh, eat, or smoke. So fighting back is like fighting soil erosion — a pretty thankless job. While you can't stop the etching, you can slow it down by applying sunscreen regularly and using a collagen booster or a wrinkle-fighting treatment around your mouth daily, says Dr. Farris.
Step 3: Fake Fullness
You weren't born with big, full lips? Few of us were, but celebrity makeup artist Laura Mercier says it's easy to cheat. All you need are lipliner and lipstick. First, use the pencil to draw a line just outside your top lip, but only at the bow. Mercier's instructions: Following the natural contour of the bow, draw your line a bit above the actual upper lip. Then use your pencil to make the middle of the bottom lip a bit rounder by drawing a line just outside the fullest part. "Never redraw the lips completely from corner to corner — it looks too phony," she warns. Fill in the space between the new lines and your lips with the same pencil. Apply lipstick over the entire area for a mouth with much more impact.
Another way to create the illusion of volume is to define the lip area by lining the outer edges of your mouth with a concealer that's the same shade as your foundation, says Australia-based makeup artist Napoleon Perdis. "Blend it out into the fine lines around your lips to help fill them and to prevent lipstick from feathering," says Perdis. Then apply your favorite lipstick and add a dab of shimmery gloss one shade lighter in the center of your top and bottom lips. "The subtle reflection of light makes your lips appear more full," he says. And if you have ultrathin lips, apply the gloss over your entire lip for a bigger boost, he adds.