Over the past decade lip gloss has dominated over lipstick, and therefore the lip liner has been somewhat forgotten. As we start a new year and new season lipstick’s making a major comeback. Precisely applied lipstick requires well executed lip liner. The benefits of using a liner are that it creates definition for lips, helps lipstick stay on longer, and prevents lipstick from feathering or bleeding. Here are our tips for lining lips:

1. Apply a lip conditioner or primer to lips before applying lip liner for smooth application.

2. Dab a small amount of concealer along the lip line with your finger to create a blank canvas for lip lining.

3. Choose a lip pencil colour that matches or is slightly darker than your lipstick.

4. When lining follow the shape of your lips as a guide, making adjustments to balance.

5. Hold the pencil at an angle when applying rather than straight on with the tip. This will give a softer line that blends in easily with the lipstick instead of leaving a hard edge.

6. Rest your pinky on your chin when drawing your liner to stabilize your hand.

7. Fill in your entire lip with liner and apply lipstick over the top for increased wearability of the lipstick.

8. For fuller looking lips extend the lip liner just past the natural lip line. Use a light to medium shade lip pencil.

9. To decrease the size of lips line within the natural lip line using a medium to dark shade of lip pencil.

Image from trendland.com

Red lips are everywhere! It seems like every beauty ad, tv show and award show are featuring women wearing red lipstick. With all of the 80′s trends that are so hot right now, the red lips make total sense. I don’t know if it’s because red is on my radar, but Blake Lively’s gorgeous red gown and Philip’s Lim’s Spring Summer 2010 collection — just to mention a few — make it seem like we’re going to be seeing a lot more red in the upcoming seasons. My 2 favourite red lipsticks this season so far are: Nars lipstick in Red Lizzard and MAC’s lipstick in Lady Danger. For a longer lasting red lip make sure you line your lips with a long wearing or waterproof liner like Givenchy’s lip liner in #07 Blackberry or MAC Cremestick liner in Red Enriched.

Images from style.com and justjared.com