The Beauty Buff Reader Q & A-Luscious Lips

A reader recently asked me how to make her lips look fuller. It's a common beauty concern that many women have and one that can be achieved with the right products and lip shades. To me, makeup is always the answer over surgery and those weird non-surgery yet still scary procedures like Restylane or Juvaderm fillers and injections. Eww! I really can't imagine walking around with weirdly inflated liquid lips all day and can't think of a celebrity who has looked even remotely good with big blow fish lips. Jessica Simpson, Lisa Rinna, and Donatella Versace-I'm talking about you!


Makeup artist Carola Gonzales (who works with Kerry Washington and The Office's Mindy Kaling) gave me a few tips and tricks to help enhance your pout. You can either use a lip enhancing product or create the illusion of bigger luscious lips with makeup. 

Lip Enhancer

"A lip enhancer that works is Physicians Complex Lip Enhancer with Applicator" ($59.00) The silicone-based enhancer increases blood circulation through your lips which then plumps them.

Enhancement with Makeup






To add oomph to your pout with makeup Gonzales recommends lining the outside of your lips with a neutral lip liner (MAC makes great lip pencils like fan favorite, Spice, $13.00) that's as close to your natural lip color as possible. "By simply lining the lips, you will get the appearance of fuller lips," says the makeup maven.

Then apply your favorite lipstick on your smoocher and over the lip liner to blend both colors. Add a lighter lip gloss on the center or middle of your lips to add volume. 

Gonzales says the middle of your lips should be lighter than the outer edges, because it gives your lips a luscious, fuller appearance. Make sure the lip gloss is at least two shades lighter than the lipstick shade you use.

Check out Bella Sugar's picks for favorite nude lip liners.


Voila! Angelina Jolie, here you come!