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We all know too well the transformative prowess of makeup; from carving high-cut cheekbones to abridging noses, makeup, when articulated deftly, is incredible. Insistent I will never succumb to any kind of dermal filler, I have to fake it. Kind of. I like my natural lip shape and size, but sometimes, when I’m feeling particularly extra (translation: always), I like to enhance it a little. Slightly obsessed with subtle lip lining, I often just use a lip liner – no lipstick – and fill in the entire lip with it. It looks pouty and sexy and beddable – but not too beddable. After a recent meeting with Patrick Ta however, my lip lining life changed, forever.
One would think that when tracing the outline of your lips, you would go all the way around. It’s common kindergarten practise, a method instilled in us since childhood. Trace the lines, fill in the lines. Simple. Wrong. “This drags down your mouth, creating a sort of sad, down-mouth look,” says Ta. “You never want to over-line your entire lip and go all the way to the crease. You just do it at the very top where the Cupid’s Bow is, and down a little from there. This will give you that sexy, pouty mouth.” Makeup. Mind. Blown.
In retrospect, and upon examining old photos of myself, my previous tendency to over-line from Cupid’s bow to cut-crease indeed looked clown-like. My lips looked huge – in a bad way. I was channeling Ronald McDonald not Emily Ratajkowski, and since heeding Ta’s advice, I can honestly say my sad clown days are over. My lip service has never been better; pouty at the peak and a little fuller around the edges; it’s game-changing. Kylie, take note.
