Turns out the Kardashians cannot take all the credit for the contouring epidemic that has hit the beauty industry. It’s been an insider know-how all along, and Hollywood diva Marilyn Monroe used this technique to accentuate her sultry lips. No scary lip injections needed, just a clever play with colours to give the illusion of fuller, sexier, more defined lips.

I decided to try out lipstick contouring for myself. Here is how I did it:

Marilyn Monroe’s Lipstick Contouring Trick Put to the Test:

1. Line the lips with a dark lip pencil: I used Makeup Forever’s Aqua Lip in 8C.
2. Fill lips with a red lipstick: I used Makeup Forever’s Rouge Artist Intense in MAT 8.
3. Top with a bright red: I used Lime Crime Velvetines in Pink Velvet (despite its name, this really is a bright red on my lips).
4. Dab highlighter on the bottom lip: I used a dab of the Marylou Manizer highlighter.
5. Top with a gloss for hydration: I used the clear gloss from my Makeup Forever Aquarouge duo (that lovely plumy shade on the left is number 14 incase you are wondering, but I only used the gloss here).

 

Lipstick Contouring Results

Here’s me with red lipstick by itself, and after trying out red lipstick contouring:

Marilyn Monroe’s lipstick contouring trick really does add a touch of vavavoom to the lips. In both cases, the predominating lipstick worn is the Lime Crime Velvetine in Pink Velvet, yet wearing it like Marilyn makes my lips look far more fuller and well defined (no filters used!):

Sure it takes 4 extra steps, but the results are Marilyn worthy!

Have you tried lipstick contouring? Do give it a go, you probably already have all the lipstick goodies needed to make this work. Would love to hear your feedback!