Me and my big mouth

Let’s just say that in the luscious lip lottery, my numbers didn’t exactly come up. Stubbornly slim despite the best from my make-up bag, I’ve always filed plump, pillowy lips right next to longer legs on my beauty wishlist – in the impossible column.

The thing is that I’m freaked out by needles (and trout pouts), so injections are out, and I’ve never really fallen in love with a plumping gloss or lipstick either. I’m just not into the tingle. But just as I’d resigned myself to a life with thin lips, I discovered some clever new ways to fatten up…

Stubbornly slim despite the best from my make-up bag, I’ve always filed plump, pillowy lips right next to longer legs on my beauty wishlist – in the impossible column.

The thing is that I’m freaked out by needles (and trout pouts), so injections are out, and I’ve never really fallen in love with a plumping gloss or lipstick either. I’m just not into the tingle. But just as I’d resigned myself to a life with thin lips, I discovered some clever new ways to fatten up…

Meet my new best friend: Benefit’s Cupid’s Bow lip shaping kit. For $53 she’ll hit you right in the kisser. Taking the old make-up artist’s trick of adding a touch of highlighter or shimmer to your cupid’s bow and adding another dimension, the two-piece set works like this…

Apply the pearly pink highlighter pencil (be gentle, it’s soft) to the ‘V’ of your upper lip, lightly grazing each peak before adding a little extra to the centre of the ‘V’. Then use the angled end of the shading brush to soften the lines.

Next, switch to the soft mocha shade and line the very outer rim of the centre of your lower lip, concentrating a smidge more shade dead in the centre (opposite the ‘V’ above). Now use the sponge tip of the dual-ended brush to blend the shade into your lips.

The big idea is that while the highlighter pulls the eye upward, the shading draws it down, creating the illusion of more mouth in between. A slick of light and gleamy gloss and I swear my lips have never looked so glamorous. I love it!

I’m also developing an addiction to the Too Faced Lip Injection Mask ($50) from Kit Cosmetics. It’s like a line lifting facial for your mouth. Slap it on, let the glycolic humectants and conditioning ingredients exfoliate and infuse your lips with moisture for ten minutes and ta-dah! One pout-worthy set of lips. It does tingle a little, but not as much as most, and you don’t have to apply it three times a day for 30 days to see any action. I love a little instant gratification…

Lifelong lip dream achieved? Looks like it. Now what am I going to do about these legs?