6+ clever ways to get bigger lips without injections

Plumped, full and painted to perfection: Achieving the desirable modern lips can feel like a costly and painful process to go through. If you've ever dreamt about wanting bigger lips, the chances are you've probably searched online and seen videos of filler injections being plunged into trembling lips. For some of us, this process simply isn't a viable option. If you want an Instagramable pout, without the drama of a Kylie Jenner transformation, you came to the right place.

Here, we will show you how you can get luscious lips through simple, easy hacks anyone can try at home. All you need is a small budget and a few minutes to test out these tricks to finally have fuller, smoother and gorgeous looking lips. Once you're finished, you'll be thankful you never made that cosmetic appointment after all.

Contour your lips
Contouring isn't just for creating sharp cheekbones anymore, as it's now used to draw on dynamic, fuller-looking lips. For this trick, we recommend using a lip liner which is a shade or so darker than your natural nude lip. Take the lip liner and outline the entirety of your lips. Feel free to go slightly over your natural line for a plumped-up effect. After this, darken the corners of your lips to create shadows, and therefore depth, in your lips. You can complete the look by applying lipstick to stop the contour appearing too obvious.

Fill and illuminate with highlighter
Highlighting is a great technique to use when you're trying to accentuate certain areas during your makeup routine. In this case, you'll want to emphasize your cupid's bow and bottom lip to create larger-looking lips. To do so, you can use your fingers to gently brush some powdered or liquid highlighter onto your lips, especially in the center. Be sure to brush off any excess to avoid your lips appearing too metallic. If you want a more accurate application, use a small lipstick brush for your cupid's bow.

Create a shadow under your lower lip
Although a lot of us focus on the top lip when it comes to creating a perfect pout, this is actually a beauty mishap. Instead, you should be looking mostly at the bottom of your lip. The plumpest lips tend to have a shadow beneath them, which can be easily replicated through makeup. To do so, use a flat brush and a darker concealer or lip liner to apply a depth-emphasizing shadow beneath your lips.

Cover your lips with concealer to blend it into your skin
There was once a time in beauty history when putting concealer on your lips was a dire move. But now, it could be a must-have trick to learn. Simply paint the same concealer that you use on your skin onto your lips. Blend the concealer with a small concealer brush into your lips and slightly around the edges of your mouth. Once your lips are blended into your skin, you will have a clean slate to begin creating a new lip look. This will help you contour and overline your lips without appearing too obvious.

Make sure your lips aren't dry by exfoliating them
Shrivelled, dry and cracked lips are never going to look full and plump. Especially when you're thinking of applying dry products such as matte lipstick, you'll need your lips to be a moisturised base. You can use a homemade concoction of sugar and honey mixed together and rubbed onto your lips to scrub away any dead skin, or you can buy a lip exfoliating product. By the end, your lips should appear slightly pinker or redder than usual as a small layer of skin has been stripped away.

Make sure your liner isn't obvious and blends into your lips
The first look below should definitely be a beauty mistake we leave firmly in the '90s. Lining your lips with a lip liner which is not the right match for your lipstick is an easy mistake that will leave your lips looking smaller than usual, as shown below. To avoid this, make sure you have the right lip liner shade for your lipstick or gloss. As you can see in the second photo, lips instantly appear plumper and more natural. You can make sure you have the right shade by purchasing these two items at the same time, usually from the same brand also.

Line lips by creating an "X" at the top
Who has the best lips in the beauty game? It has to be singer Rihanna. And it's no secret how she manages to keep this beauty royalty title. Her cupid's bow is sharp and pointing to the gods, which you can replicate too with this handy trick. Drawing an "X" on your cupid's bow will accentuate this crucial point on your lips while giving you a guide to where you should line your lips going forward. When you've completed this trick, you should notice the big difference drawing a simple "X" can make.