I tried TikTok’s Oval Lip-Lining Hack: see photos +2023

Over the past year, thanks to TikTok, I’ve fallen in love with lip liner all over again. Admittedly, I haven’t really used it for years, but then I saw so many lip painting hacks on the video sharing app that I knew I had to pick up the pen again. I’ve tried almost everyone – from Lip Flip to Gym Lips and Siren Lips – but recently I stumbled across one new trick this caught my attention: “oval” lip lining.

“Oval” lip lining is a new, more subtle way to accentuate your lips. It helps make the end result look a little more natural but still full and plump. The trick is to draw two dots first – one in the middle of your cupid’s bow and the second in the middle of your lower lip. Then you connect the top and bottom points on each side and form an oval in the middle of your lips. It seemed easy enough, so I decided to try it myself.

I’ve grabbed my favorite everyday lip combo right now: the Make Up For Ever Artist Color Pencil in Anywhere Caffeine ($22) (which happens to be a staple in Hailey Bieber’s makeup routine) and the neutral-toned Merit Signature Lip Light Lipstick in Slip ($26).

I made the two marks on my top and bottom lip with the liner, then joined the sides to form the signature oval shape. It looked a little weird at first just having a big oval in the middle of my lips and I was briefly nervous about the end result, but I stuck with it. I finished outlining my lips like I usually do on either side of the oval and extended the line to the corners of my mouth.

Once my lips were fully lined, I grabbed my lipstick without smudging or buffing the harsh lines. I applied a thick layer of the Merit lipstick straight from the ball, which in turn blended everything together.

My lips ended up looking a lot fuller than usual – even with the traditional application of liner. My upper lip in particular looked plump and the hack took a full 15 seconds.