Lip Liner

When you hear the words "lip liner" it's easy to think of the high-contrasting colors of the '80s and '90s. But lip liner is far from an outdated beauty product. In fact, a few swipes of this handy little tool can help your lipstick last from morning until well into the night and it even prevents color from bleeding. Five tips for getting the most out of this cosmetics bag staple below:

1. The liner trifecta. There are three lip liner shades you should always have in your arsenal: a red, like MAC Cremestick Liner in Red Enriched ($15); a deep plum, like Bobbi Brown Lip Liner in Rum Raisin ($20); and a baby pink, like L'Oréal Colour Riche Lip Liner in Eternal Mauve ($9).
2. Outline the lips. Start by lining the natural line of your lips with your pencil. If you need to add definition or depth to your top or bottom lip, use a light touch to keep it looking natural.
3. Fill in the top. After the initial line, take your pencil and start sketching in the area of lip under your cupid's bow until it reaches about the middle of your upper lip.
4. Fill in the bottom. Next, start filling in the fullest part of your bottom lip with the liner until you reach halfway up your lip, using your finger or a lip brush to diffuse any harshness.
5. Finish with your lipstick. And for touch-ups, try using your lip liner instead of your lipstick. This will ensure your lips keep their color for hours on end.

For times when big, full lips are desired, it's makeup to the rescue. Using three products that you probably already own — lip liner, lipstick, and lip gloss — you can get full, beautiful lips that Angelina Jolie herself would envy. Want to learn the tricks? Just keep reading for more.

Perhaps you want to try the bright lip trend this Spring but steer clear of it to avoid ending up with smudged color all over your face. Dick Page, artistic director for Shiseido, assures a bold lip look can be done a lot easier than you think. In lieu of a primer, he recommends turning your lip pencil into a contouring tool to keep everything inside the lines. Not only does this makeup must have add staying power, but it also helps shape the lips and balance out unwanted tones. Just be sure to draw thick lines starting from the corner on each side (top and bottom), leaving the central area liner-free. Continue reading to get more lipstick application tips.

Lip pencils are a great way to keep your color around longer, but it's rare to find one that makes you go "Hey, I really don't need to put anything on top of this." MAC's new Pro Longwear Lip Pencils ($18 each), though, may just be that product. Without anything on top, the pencil lasted through a Diet Coke, a cup of green tea, and half a pack of Trident before it even budged, and it was almost all still there by day's end. All of the shades perform well, but two standouts — the gorgeous ruby red Kiss Me Quick and In Anticipation, a soft rose hue — are so pretty that they're wearable on their own. And that, my friends, is no throwaway line.

Vanessa Williams matched bold, smoky eyes with a beautiful but almost invisible lipstick look at the March of Dimes Beauty Ball. Her makeup artist for the night, Sam Fine, has some pointers on creating the perfect lipstick look to match your own complexion. So to see his pointers, just keep reading.

Beautifully defined lips are always fashionable, but right now graphic, retro lips are bigger than ever. Getting good definition can be a challenge, though. That's why we called in an expert. Celebrity makeup artist Angela Levin (who's worked with stars like Jennifer Aniston) has been creating looks for Mad Men's Christina Hendricks lately. And clearly, Angela knows her retro lipstick stuff. So to find out what you can do to get lips that look good and last, just keep reading.

Here's an excerpt from OnSugar blog Beauty & The Blog:

Lip liners: love 'em or hate 'em? I've never been a huge fan, as alongside eyebrows (help is here), lip liner can be another grand faux pas. But sometimes, a little liner is necessary. The important thing to remember with liner is to be aware of the need to touch up. A ring around your mouth looking like you just ate a fudgesicle is never a pretty sight.

• When applying your liner, anchor your pinkie to your chin and work the liner upwards as if tracing a slight smile.
• If you find the liner looks too harsh, soften edges with a Q-tip or apply liner after your lipstick.
• Applying liner after your lipstick will have your liner fade off with your lipstick.
• If you're not a fan, then why use lip liner? Liner defines a fading lip, adds drama to a femme fatale color, and can prevent lipstick from bleeding. Not convinced? You can never go wrong au naturel and a smoky eye.

Want to see more of this post? Discover which lip liners were used in the picture above, and while you're at it, why not start a blog of your own?

In yesterday's Link Time, you might recall that I featured an InStyle post about the most requested hairstyles throughout the country, but what about makeup? As luck would have it, research firm The NPD Group recently announced the best-selling makeup products throughout different regions of the country. What part of the nation is swooning for violet blushes, and which segment of the population is loving their Orgasm? While the list doesn't feature every region of the US, it does give a nice glimpse of what's happening throughout this fine country of ours. Get the complete list of the most popular eye, cheek, and lip products when you read more.

I don't know a woman around who isn't looking for inexpensive, multitasking beauty products. And that's exactly what cosmetic designer and developer Ben Bennett had in mind when he created Wanderlove's Lip Wand ($17). The three-in-one includes a lip liner, lipstick, and gloss, and the Eye Wand ($17) includes a black liner, creamy eye shadow, and highlighter stick. It's a clever idea, and these products could be perfect for travel, but do they deliver? Find out when you read more.