There are three common lip shapes, and depending on which one you have, there are tricks to play them up and make them look their best.
Tip: using lip pencil to make your lips look bigger, or more even, is a common make-up trick. But note: it's only useful if wanting to alter the appearance of your lips slightly — colouring too far outside the lines can look fake.
- Full lips: Angelina Jolie style
Lucky you! You have lips that some women would kill for. No lip plumpers needed your way as they're already full looking. If you have really full lips and want to play them down, opt for darker colours, and when using lip liner, line just inside the lips.
- Thin lips: Courteney Cox Arquette style
Just as the name applies, these lips are thin on top and bottom. To avoid making your lips look too thin, stick with light to medium shades, and dot some gloss or iridescent powder on the middle of the bottom lip to make it look fuller.
- Thin on top, full on bottom: Heidi Klum style
You've got a little of both — think Angelina meets Courteney. If you want to make them appear more even, try lining just inside the bottom lip, and just outside the top lip. You can also try using a slightly darker lip shade on the bottom, and applying a little gloss to the top only. Highlighting your cupid's bow with a luminiser will also give the illusion of a fuller top lip.
In addition to these four lip shapes, lips can be wide, like Julia Roberts', or narrow (also called "small"), or bowed like Charlize Theron's (which naturally curve up at the ends and can make a person look like they're smiling — or just a little smug — even when they're not).
