In a world where beauty trends change faster than a girl changes her mind, it can be tough to keep up. Fuller looking lips are coveted by most and the beauty world goes to many lengths to achieve the same. There are some wacky lip trends that just don't make sense and are actually not worth your attention and time looking at you, sequined lips. A lip trend that’s making the rounds for quite some time is using lip plumper to make thin lips look luscious and fuller. Unlike other weird lip trends, this one doesn't include eye-blinding particles or over lining your lips. It simply enhances your lips and makes them look naturally fuller and plumper, and thus, the name!
Lip plumpers can give you a fuller-looking pout without any lip injections coming into the picture. It doesn't come with a hefty price tag either. They are just your regular lip products that are specifically made to give you an effect of bee-stung lips. But before you go all ‘shut-up-and-take-my-money, here is a quick brush up on these revolutionary lip enhancers. You need to know all about lip plumpers before trying your hands, or rather lips, on it.
How does lip plumper works? Do they really work or not? How do you use it to get an Angeline Jolie pout? Read on as we tell you everything there is to know about lip plumpers.
- What does a lip plumper do?
- Does it really work?
- How to use a lip plumper
- Types of lip plumper
- Lip plumping balms
- Lip plumping gloss
- DIY lip plumper
What does a lip plumper do?
Lip plumpers are formulated with ingredients that very mildly irritate the skin and thus help the lip plumping process such as menthol, wintergreen, ginger and capsaicin which gives a tingling sensation and swell your lips. The mild sensation causes blood to rush to the surface of lips forming a fuller structure. They also help to hold onto moisture in the skin’s surface which gives the lips a swelling effect but without any irritation or reaction. They are made like a lipstick or a lip gloss with similar ingredients like moisturising agents, pigmentation, oil and wax so you can wear them on a daily basis. However, you can get non-pigmented lip plumpers too which you can use before you apply lip colour.
Does it really work?
Surprisingly and gladly, there are no side effects of using lip plumper on your lips. The mild sensation wears off quickly and these products have hydrating ingredients too that keep your lips hydrated. Apart from this, the ingredients are natural, edible and safe and thus they don't do anything besides giving you a kiss worthy pout.
Although, if you happen to be allergic to any of the commonly used ingredients in lip plumpers, for example, peppermint or ginger, you might want to look for the ingredients label at the back to make sure your lip plumper doesn't have that particular ingredient. Also, test the product first on your arm before using it directly on the lips. However, we do recommend using lip plumper from a good and trusted brand to always be on the safer side.
How to use a lip plumper
Exfoliate
Start with smooth lips as dry and flaky lips appear smaller as they don’t reflect light and may be prone to more irritation after you apply the lip plumper. Also, exfoliating lips before applying any lip products ensure better application and a natural pink tint. Exfoliate your lips with a mild scrub and use a toothbrush to scrub.
Prime
Prep and prime your lips with a lip primer before you reach for your lip plumper. It moisturises your lips and keeps them from drying out. The primer also lightens the pigmentation on lips, blurs the lines on the lips and gives you a smooth canvas to work on. So after you have exfoliated your lips, retain the lost moisture and prep them with a lip primer.
Apply
Now comes the fun part, once you prime your lips, get a lip liner and line your lips. Next, grab your lip plumping products and apply onto the lips. Stay inside the lines and don’t over the line since you want only your lips to swell and not the area around. Once you’ve filled your lips, wait for it to dry and the tingling sensation to wear off. Remove any smears and smudges. And, it’s done. They don’t need touch-ups so you can go about your day flaunting fuller lips.
Types of lip plumper
Now that you know almost everything there is to know about lip plumpers, let’s get into what kind of lip plumpers you can get in the market. Like we said earlier, you can opt for a lip plumping balm or a lip gloss that can be both pigmented and non-pigmented. Also, you can make your own DIY lip plumper. Here are 3 types of lip plumpers you can use.
Lip plumping balms
These are just like your regular lip balms but with a cool update. They can be used before applying your favourite lip colour, if non-pigmented or you can wear a tinted lip plumping balm to flaunt naturally pink, luscious lips. Their texture is waxier and greasier than lip glosses and they keep your lips moisturised and nourished. A lip balm that also works as lip plumper can give you a full-on pucker while making your lips look softer and smoother than ever.
Lip plumping gloss
These lip glosses give you the plumpest, shiniest lips ever. While the spicy ingredients in it will turn your lips into a full pout in no time, the shiny finish of the gloss will make sure the reflection of light on your lips is making them look luscious. Lip plumpers in the form of gloss help give a little extra volume to the lips while giving your pout a glossy colour payoff, so no need of switching between different lip products. Also, since lip plumpers don’t need reapplication from time to time, you can just wear the gloss in the morning and forget about it.
DIY lip plumper
If you are a little unsure of how the swelling effect will look on your lips or you want to do it a more natural way, you can try a DIY lip plumping mask. Using the right ingredients from your kitchen, you can prepare lip plumper of your own and try it out. Here’s how. Take half a teaspoon of cinnamon and mix it with shea butter and few drops of peppermint essential oil. Use this as your lip balm before applying lipstick for fuller, plumper and smoother looking lips.
Written by Anjali Agarwal on Jun 03, 2019
Author at BeBeautiful.