How To Create Fuller-Looking Lips

Don’t get us wrong: we’re all for bold experimentation. But is there anything scarier than overly aggressive lip liner? Like the kind that’s going for “pillowy” but lands squarely at “duck-billed”? Not to mention, of course, that going the injectable route poses its own risks vis-a-vis subtlety. So are thin lips a chronic condition for those in pursuit of understated enhancement?

Actually not at all, says Matthew VanLeeuwen. The makeup artist is no stranger to creating full (not fake) looking lips. Exhibit A: Salma Hayek’s plump, plum-colored pout at last weekend’s Oscars ceremony. We asked VanLeeuwen to devise a three-step process for creating the illustion of plumper lips—but like, the kind that come from good genes and not from a syringe. With the help of Lara Worthington—the Australian model and entrepreneur is a recent LA-transplant—the makeup artist reveals how to create full-but-still-natural-looking lips at home. So go practice your pout.