Lip liners are used to define our lips allowing the lip color to look cleaner and prevent any feathering of the lip. They can also be used to balance out our natural lip shape. If you’re looking to match a lip liner to a lipstick you want to follow these simple rules.

1. (A) The color of the lip liner should fall into the same tonal range as the lipstick. It doesn’t have to be perfect but it should come close. So, if your lipstick is more of a rose or mauve you want to look for a liner with more warm pinks and red/brown undertones. Ideally you want your liner to be slightly deeper or lighter in pigment than your lipstick. No the purple lip liner and nude lip does not look good!

2. Sharpen your liner first, before putting it on. You will get more of a precise line and it will also be easier to apply.

3. Liners should also slightly fill in the lip. This is where your lip liner blends with your lipstick.

The application process is easy. First, you want to condition your lips. I use SkinCeuticals Antioxidant Lip Repair twice a day. It helps prevent aging lips and helps restore moisture by smoothing your lips’ surface. After sharpening your lip liner you want to start from the center of your lip and apply outwards. I like glo Skin Beauty Precision Lip Pencil. It’s very versatile and has the perfect balance of mauve and rose by enhancing your natural lip color. Apply the liner on the area where your lip and skin meet. (B) Tip: Apply a nude or peach lip liner above your cupids bow and around the outer lip to make the lip appear fuller. A ‘cupids bow’ is a facial feature where the double curve of a human upper lip is said to resemble the bow of Cupid, the Roman god of love.

Next, slightly fill in what you just outlined, allowing the center of your lips to be natural. (C) Finish by applying your glo Skin Beauty Lipstick like from the center outwards