The Nude Lip look is something I never thought required much effort, but after all of the craze with Kylie Jenner’s lip looks I have recently decided otherwise. As someone who struggles to make her lips look even on a fairly regular basis, I have found great success and even a little bit of joy through nude lips.

Now, one thing that needs to be understood about this look is that it’s so much more than just bare lips. The nude lip is meant to enhance and perfect your lips, making them look fuller and sometimes even plumper than they would be on their own or with plain old chapstick. When I’m looking to enhance the shape of my lips, I always reach for a lip liner in a shade that matches the natural color of my lips or is just a hint darker. Then I really go to town, focusing on perfecting my lip line and smoothing out the edges of my lips just enough to give the illusion that my lips are totally symmetrical. I find that it’s really important to pay careful attention and use a very light hand when lining the lips because it’s always easier to add on than it is to take off. By building up the color, the end result is usually more natural and soft.

How To: The Nude Lip

Start with totally bare lips

Outline your lips using NYX’s Vanilla Sky lip liner

Evenly fill in the rest of your lips

Finish off the look with a gloss

After all of that, I like to swipe a light golden and shimmery gloss (this one is number 10 by Barry M.) over the top and call it a day! The nude lip looks so effortless and is definitely a staple for day-time makeup looks. A nude lip is also much easier to wear than a dark one, so it’s perfect if you hate fussing with lipstick throughout the day! It may seem a little ridiculous to spend so much time pressed with your face two inches from a mirror, lining your lips with a shade that is barely even visible, but I really do think that the end result is totally sublime and 100% worth it.