Let’s be frank: the desire for fuller, plumper lips has never been more apparent. In fact, the pandemic era has somehow made a bolder pout (and the treatments that help achieve it) even more popular, despite continued mask wearing.
“We have had a 30 percent increase in requests for lip fillers,” Dr Tijion Esho, founder of The Esho Clinic told us last month. “In fact, they have never been more popular,” he added.
And one lip treatment that is increasingly gaining traction is the ‘lip flip,’ which differs from traditional lip fillers. “A lip flip involves botox rather than fillers,” explains Dr Wassim Taktouk, founder and owner of the TakTouk Clinic. “Sometimes when people smile, their upper lip curls in because the muscle around there contracts.”
“A lip flip involves going along this border [above the lips] with tiny micro droplets of botox, which prevents that muscle from contracting when the person smiles, and from turning the lip inwards.” Dr Wassim explains that this is often a chosen procedure for those who “have a decent amount of volume in their lips who wouldn’t want traditional filler.”
While the lip flip is an increasingly popular and usually effective route, there are potential downsides such as cost (we’re talking well into the hundreds). Some aestheticians such as Dr Martin Nimmo, founder of The Nimmo Clinic, are not the biggest advocates of the technique either, which Nimmo says can potentially be a little “unpredictable.”
“Putting botox around the lips (even in small doses) can limit the natural movement of the lips and decrease expression in that area,” he explains.
However, for those who can’t afford the treatment or would prefer to avoid the needles in their pursuit of a fuller pout, there are clever ways you can make it work through the power of makeup. A new super clever hack is doing the rounds on TikTok in fact – and it’s hailed from one of our generation’s coolest makeup artists.
Mario Dedivanovic – a top pick of Kim Kardashian’s and the name behind Makeup By Mario – recently shared his tips for recreating a lip flip with the use of lip liner. We’re all familiar with the notion of over-lining lips for a fuller look, but this hack boasts a more specific technique that will give you that flattering ‘flipped’ effect, making the space between your lips and nose look smaller and thus, the pout more exaggerated.
The trick basically requires you to only over-line at the Cupid’s Bow on the top lip, in the space between the nose and upper lip. Then, you need to take the pencil slightly ‘in’ at the sides of your lips (not over-lining here), before only over-lining the bottom lip in the centre, rather than at the sides too. This basically makes the lips look more pillowy and larger in the middle overall, as well as emphasising the top lip, which is what a lip flip can achieve.
If you can’t quite visualise what the technique looks like, check out these videos from TikTok users @carsynnlovee and @ameliaolivia09 who have totally nailed it and whose videos have been viewed tens of thousands of times now.
After applying your liner, you’ll need to obviously finish off the look with some lipstick in the same or a slightly lighter shade, which creates the most flattering effect.
We can’t wait to give this a go!