Seven ways to plump your pout

The vogue for filler seems to be waning. “I was seeing so many disasters coming through the doors,” says aesthetic doctor Dr Sophie Shotter. “The days of wanting balloon-ish lips have definitely passed.” But breaking up with filler does not mean an end to full lips. Rather, it means a refreshed range of rejuvenating approaches, make-up with benefits and application tricks focused on creating a more natural-looking lip line.

As a first step, hydrate with balm, advises Shotter. “At this time of year in particular, dehydration can bring out lines around the lips and make them look deflated.” The best new formulations include peptides – short chains of amino acids that stimulate supportive collagen and elastin fibres. For a sustainable hit, try Farmacy’s Lip Smoothie Vitamin C and Peptide Lip Balm (£20). The Inkey List’s Volumising Tripeptide Lip Plumper claims to boost lips up to 40 per cent in four weeks (£10.99). Shotter also recommends Revision Skincare Youthfull Lip Replenisher with peptides and moisturising hyaluronic acid (£63); she wraps it with a polish, mask, scrub and SPF in her Lip Rehab At-Home Package (£150). 

The Inkey List Volumising Tripeptide Lip Plumper, £10.99

Dior Beauty Addict Lip Maximiser, £28

Revision Skincare Youthfull Lip Replenisher, £63

Plumping glosses have also come a long way from the stinging varieties of the 2000s. “Gloss will add volume and dimension” simply by its shine and texture, says make-up artist Lisa Eldridge, whose Gloss Embrace Lip Gloss contains nourishing açai berry oil (£20). Dior Beauty’s recently reformulated Addict Lip Maximizer is also worth a try (£28). 

The days of wanting balloon-ish lips have definitely passed

Remember ’90s lip pencils, where you’d apply a line several shades darker than the rest of the lip to create more volume? Without going full J-Lo, Eldridge suggests a milder version, where you might “define your lip shape with a liner a touch darker than your lipstick”. If a darker shade still sounds scary, pair a hydrating lipstick – such as Chanel Rouge Coco Bloom (£37) – with a clear or matching pencil (Chanel Le Crayon Lèvres 34, £24) for understated definition. “You can expand your liner over your natural lips to make them look plumper but not exaggerated,” adds make-up artist Mary Greenwell. 

Lisa Eldridge Gloss Embrace Lip Gloss, £20

Chanel Rouge Coco Bloom lipstick, £37

Chanel Le Crayon Lèvres 34, £24

A liner will help with feathering, but if the “bar code” wrinkles around your lips still bother you, a holistic approach might be Ayurvedic massage and micro-cupping – part of the Plumping and Smoothing Lip Facial by Ayurvedic skincare brand Samaya (£75) – to alleviate tension lines, at least for a while. Or try Dr Surbhi’s Lip Service (£350), in which the lower face and lips are micro-needled and then sprayed with ice-cold exosomes (messengers that encourage cell renewal). At-home LED devices are also much improved, such as the Boost LED Collar from the Light Salon (£195), or CurrentBody Skin LED Lip Perfector (£189), which use targeted light to stimulate fibroblasts that promote collagen and elastin. Pucker up.