The Hype Is Real: These 2 Products Gave Me Fuller-Looking Lips

For as long as I can remember, my lips have been a source of insecurity. My upper lip is visibly thinner than my lower, and while it’s probably not as noticeable to others as it is to me, my Cupid’s bow is slightly uneven.

My awareness of this lack of volume and symmetry dates back to childhood, when I would spend hours poring over the full and flawless lips of the ‘90s supermodels that graced my mother’s magazines — a fixation that led to a failed middle school attempt at wearing lip liner, where I would thickly line and reshape them to poor effect. (The chalky formulas of the early aughts certainly didn’t help my case.) I abandoned my efforts soon after when a friend kindly pointed out that I looked “insane.”

Now, in my 30s and so much more self-assured, my feelings toward my lips are less characterized by anxiety, and yet, they still lack a certain something. I wanted gloriously full lips that — and this was important — had to look natural. I had no idea how to achieve this elusive balance. 

As it turned out, there was a lot I could do, but none of it would deliver the look I so deeply desired without costing me an arm and a leg (or a full month’s rent).

I first considered a lip lift, a permanent surgical procedure that alters the shape and position of the upper lip to make it look fuller. But due to financial constraints (it can cost upward of $6,500!) and a very real fear of going under the knife, I ultimately ruled it out. I also couldn’t justify the $800+ price tag of expertly injected lip filler in NYC, especially given it would require once-to-twice yearly touch-ups. Plus, my Google search turned up enough filler migration photos to turn me off for good.

I didn’t completely shy away from the med spa, however. I worked up the courage to try the less expensive but much more temporary lip flip, which uses strategically placed neurotoxin injections to coax your upper lip to flip upward and create subtle fullness. It looked great, but I just couldn’t get behind the whole drooling-on-myself-in-public thing every time I took a sip of my drink. (If you know, you know.)

Frustrated, I then turned to a tried-and-true and needle-free method for enhancing your facial features: makeup. I knew that skillfully applied cosmetics could create magic, but I feared that I, a mere mortal who lacks steady hands (please don’t ever ask me to apply winged eyeliner), would struggle…and struggle I did. Despite consuming countless TikTok tutorials on how to masterfully overline your lips to attain that nepo baby-influencer pout, I just couldn’t get it right. I found myself right back where I was at 13: The final product always leaned too harsh or clown-like to wear out of the house, and I found that many lip liner formulas I tried were super drying, tugging on my lips and creating the opposite effect of fullness.

That’s when I discovered this genius hack — and the products needed to achieve it.

After hearing the sung praises from my beauty writer peers, I got my hands on Maybelline’s Lifter Liner, a deliciously creamy pencil that taught me lip liner doesn’t have to, well, kind of suck. Its hydrating, hyaluronic acid-infused formula glides on smooth as silk and wears incredibly comfortably — no dryness or chalkiness in sight. More importantly, its consistency makes it easy to blend and buff out, something I learned is crucial for creating a seamless, realistic look. All it takes to pull off my dream look is to: start from the center of my lips, slightly overline my natural contours, and then diffuse the color through the center of my lips with the tip of my finger. This creates gorgeous, natural-looking dimension and fullness, no expert skills or fancy tools required.

I found that the shade “Out Of Line” is the perfect rosy-taupe that’s slightly darker than my natural lip color, which helps create subtle definition for a “my lips but better” effect. This alone does the trick, but topping it off with the Lifter Gloss really amplifies the overall look. Just a few swipes of hydrating, high-shine formula in the shade “Stone” instantly smoothes my lips, camouflaging any lines or signs of dryness and imparting a fuller-looking, glass-like finish.

For a trick this simple, it’s done so much for me and my confidence, because it’s helped me learn to love my lips. It’s not that I ever needed to permanently (or semi-permanently) change them, but a little enhancement goes a long way. Now, it’s become a mainstay in my daily makeup routine, and I leave my house with the fullest, supplest, juiciest lips to date — and it didn’t require any painful procedures or draining my bank account to get there. In fact, I had not one but two friends ask if I had “done something” to my lips on their first public debut. Fortunately for them, I don’t gate-keep.