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 LIPS - the bane of our existence!
I can't tell you how many emails I get asking me for the ultimate solution for lips. There are a million fillers out there….from collagen to fat to Restalayne and on and on.
The problem with fillers is that they can get lumpy and bumpy and the fillers can shift! They don't really take care of the little vertical lines that form all around the lips with age. At least not in my humble opinion. I'm sure some folks would disagree with me on this.
The laser treatments can produce pigmentation problems. Have you ever seen people who look a little “clown” in the mouth? Well, that's a person that had laser treatments around the mouth that went terribly wrong. All I have to say about that is…..Ewwwwww!!!!
If only there was a way to know in advance how your skin will react to these treatments. But alas, there is no way to know in advance. It's pretty much a gamble.
As of now…no matter what people say…and again, this is just my opinion, there is really no perfect solution to the lip lines problem we're all encountering as we continue to age.
I've seen so many women who've gone over the edge with lip fillers and treatments of all kinds and they look unsightly to say the least. Don't you think?
About ten years ago I went to a tattoo artist who did permanent makeup and she tattooed a line in a gorgeous natural tone that suited my skin tone ALL AROUND JUST OUTSIDE my natural lip line and then tattooed from that line all the way down my lip coloring it in so that it gave the appearance that my lips were fuller.
I've enjoyed this for years….although it doesn't take away those dreaded vertical lines which are slowly but surely developing around my lips. However, it does minimize their appearance by making my lips look fuller and more plump. It's amazing how well the tattooing worked for this effect. I'm getting ready to have them done again. They've started to fade after several years.
What I really wanted to suggest to people with thinning lips if they don't want to do something relatively permanent like the tattooing but want to see what this looks like…is to simply go out and buy a really good lip liner and do it yourself. I love the Revlon Colorstay twist up lipliner in “Fleshtone/Chair” I also like one made by Clinique “Quickliner for lips” in the color called “Lipblush”.
Here's my suggestion. Go out and get one of these brands of lipliner. If you go to a department store or even better, a Sephora, you can try different colors to your heart's content until you find something that suits you.
Once you get the lip liner nailed down, get a lipstick that matches as closely as possible to the lip liner color.
Go home and take some time to practice drawing with the liner OUTSIDE YOUR NATURAL LIPLINE. Go all around your lips and taper off in the corners. It takes practice but once you get it…it's easy as pie. I can do it without a mirror! And yes, I'm doing this myself even with the tattooing because it's faded considerably over the last ten years (which is why I'm doing it again next month when I go to Costa Rica with my May, 2008 group).
Once you have the lip liner in place, take the lipstick and fill in the lips all the way up to the liner. You'll see what happens instantly. Your lips will appear fuller than before. Yes, it's an optical illusion, but it really works. Don't make the line too far above your natural lip line or else you'll look really silly. It's amazing how little it takes to go from gorgeous to silly-looking…so be very careful!! Make the line Just above your natural lip line. As you practice, you'll get better and better at it. You'll see.
Good luck with this. And one of these days if something comes to the market that really works well to minimize lines around the lips or to enhance the lips (other than a lip lift, which Dr. Lev does do…to shorten the space between the bottom of the nose and the top lip) I promise to post it on this site.
For now…this lip liner thing is easy, inexpensive and gives you something to do that will give you at least a slight improvement.
Take care….and email me at trlwd@aol.com if you want to let me know how it goes. I always love to hear from you.
Hugs and kisses….
Love, Didi |
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