22 Lip Liners to Shop Now — and How to Use ’Em!
November 22, 2022
Your makeup bag is no doubt stocked with lip glosses and lipsticks, but what about lip liner? It’s a product that’s easy to forget, but if you learn how to use it correctly, it will quickly become a staple in your routine — trust us. Lip liner can be used to shape your lips and make your lipstick or gloss last longer, which means a little more time spent in the AM can result in less time touching up later.
To unlock the powers of all that a lip pencil can do, we turned to makeup artist Emily Kate Warren. Keep scrolling to discover a crash course in all things lip liner.
What Does Lip Liner Do?
First things first, lip liner is used to help define and shape the lips before applying lipstick. Lip liners can also be used on their own in lieu of lipstick all together, or underneath a lip product to make the lips look plumper, more defined, and ensure a longer-lasting color payoff.
How to Apply Lip Liner
STEP 1: Outline Your Lips
Warren recommends starting with a lip liner held upright. “Use the side edge of the pencil tip to rub the line on,” she says. “It will pass over the natural roll of your lip edge and make your lips appear fuller.”
STEP 2: Shade Your Lips
Use the same lip liner to fill the rest of your lips in with color.
STEP 3: Add Gloss
Top with your favorite gloss. Our go-to is the Maybelline New York Lifter Gloss, which helps plump lips for an even fuller effect.
How to Use Lip Liner to Reshape Your Lips
STEP 1: Choose the Right Shade
Select a lip liner shade that’s as close as possible to your natural lip color. Use it to trace slightly outside the lip line in the area you want to reshape.
STEP 2: Fill in Your Lips
Color your entire mouth with the same lip liner.
STEP 3: Check Your Work
“Use your phone to take a selfie,” Warren says. “It will likely flip the image in a way that you’ll be able to see whether your lips are even.”
How to Use Lip Liner to Make Lipstick Last Longer
STEP 1: Choose Your Shade
For a dramatic look that emphasizes the color of your lipstick, choose a lip liner in a similar shade, or go for a clear, invisible liner, like the Urban Decay 24/7 Glide-On Lip Pencil in Ozone.
STEP 2: Apply the Liner
To amp up the color of your lipstick and provide grip for the formula, apply the liner all over the lips, keeping the edges sharp.
STEP 3: Swipe on Lipstick
Apply your lipstick as usual, and you’re good to go.
The 22 Best Lip Liners to Try Now
NYX Professional Makeup Line Loud Vegan Longwear Lip Liner
For a smooth, creamy texture, look to this jojoba oil and vitamin E-infused lip liner. It offers a soft matte finish in 18 waterproof color options.
L’Oréal Paris Colour Riche Matte Lip Liner
Add a matte touch to your lip routine with this lip liner option. It has a creamy, smooth payoff and comes in nudes, reds, pink, violet and deep brown.
Maybelline New York Color Sensational Shaping Lip Liner
Define and shape your lips with this drugstore favorite pencil that comes in over a dozen shades, from taupe-y nudes, to pinks, berries, reds and more. It has a creamy, long-lasting finish that can be worn alone or underneath your favorite lipstick.
Lancôme Le Lip Liner
This waterproof liner option is our favorite because it has an extremely comfortable wear. It’s smudge-resistant as well, making it a perfect option to help keep your lipstick hue intact throughout the day.
Urban Decay 24/7 Glide-On Lip Pencil
This pick comes in 25 shades, but our go-to is the clear one. It can be used to keep lipstick or gloss from smudging or bleeding throughout the day.
L’Oréal Paris Age Perfect Anti-Feathering Lip Liner
If you find that your lip products often seep into fine lines around your mouth, prep your lips with this liner. It’s designed to define lips while keeping lipstick in place.
YSL Beauty Dessin Des Levres Lip Liner Pencil
According to Warren, matte lip liners will help whatever you apply on top stick better. With a creamy matte finish, this liner provides grip without drying the lips out.
NYX Professional Makeup Ultra Slim Lip Pencil
Beauty lovers everywhere rave about this ultra slim lip pencil because it’s long-wearing, has a precise tip and comes in a myriad of colors. We love using this before and after lipstick to ensure that our lips look plumped, defined and precise.
Urban Decay Ultimate Ozone Multipurpose Primer Pencil
For a versatile lip liner pick, look no further than this primer pencil that will keep feathering and cracking lipstick at bay. We love that it has a creamy consistency that helps prime the lips for color and keeps them looking smooth and chap-free.
Giorgio Armani Beauty Smooth Silk Lip Pencil
This cult favorite lip pencil offers a precise application and a satin, long-lasting finish. Not to mention, the color payoff is absolutely dreamy.
Makeup By Mario Ultra Suede Sculpting Lip Pencil
We love to use this super precise, dual-ended lip liner to define, sculpt and shape our lips. On one end is the creamy, suede-like lip liner, and on the other is a lip brush that helps create a soft, diffused finish that gives the illusion of a fuller pout.
Huda Beauty Lip Contour 2.0 Automatic Matte Lip Pencil
Achieving velvety matte lips is easy with this lip pencil option that looks great as a lip color all on its own. It comes in a variety of neutral shades to help enhance your natural lip color, and even has soybean and licorice extracts to help nourish the lips, too.
Milani Color Statement Lip Liner
This lip liner is extremely pigmented and user-friendly, thanks to its creamy consistency and precise pencil tip. It comes in a ton of colors, from a bold red to an orange-brown, light pink and a deep berry — all of which can satisfy any makeup mood.
Stila Stay All Day Matte Lip Liner
A crowd favorite amongst many artists and beauty lovers, this long-lasting lip pencil has stunning color payoff and can be worn alone or paired with your favorite lippie or gloss.
UOMA Beauty Badass MF Lip Liner
Define your lips with this silky smooth pencil that matches perfectly with complimentary lipstick hues, whether it’s a taupey-brown or a bright red. This formula is matte and long-lasting, too, so you won’t have to worry about it slipping or sliding throughout the day.
About Face Matte Fix Lip Pencil
Go bold with this lip pencil that comes in a bright coral, hot-red, burgundy and more. It has buildable color payoff and is infused with hyaluronic acid to help plump the lips and retain moisture.
Patrick Ta Monochrome Moment Precision Lip Crayon
If you prefer a crayon-like consistency over a pencil, you’ll love this pick. It has a smooth, creamy crayon applicator that glides effortlessly onto the lips without skipping or smudging, and comes in four neutral hues to compliment your natural lip color.
Charlotte Tilbury Lip Cheat Lip Liner
Your lips will look and feel as soft as pillows with this lip liner. It helps you reshape and define the lips for a fuller, more plumped-looking pout and has a velvety, rich texture.
Kosas Hotliner Hyaluronic Acid Contouring Lip Liner
If plumped lips are what you’re after, try this hyaluronic acid-infused lip liner that will define, plump and soften them. It also contains konjac root and jojoba oil to nourish, soothe and smooth out the lips so there’s no flakiness in sight.
Thrive Causemetics Lip Filler Long-Wearing + Plumping Lip Liner
Prime and add volume to the lip area with this lip liner that comes in eight versatile shades. It’s formulated with semi-permanent pigments that give you long-lasting coverage all day, so it won’t smudge, budge or feather.
Juvia’s Place Luxe Lip Liner
Seamlessly line your lips with this no-tug creamy pencil that comes in a variety of hues, from a universal red, to a soft rose, a dark plum and a golden-brown shade. Bonus: It has a luxurious feel that will wear comfortably for hours.
Essence Soft & Precise Lip Pencil
If the blurred, matte lip is a look you yearn for, this soft lip pencil will help you get there. It’s super creamy and gives off a powdery-smooth finish that will plump, define and mattify your lips, making them appear smooth and velvety.
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