The 15 best lip liners for a fuller, more defined pout without feathering

The best lip liners will do two things well. Firstly, they'll prevent lipstick from bleeding, as well as defining the natural shape of your pout – either by matching your lipstick or working as a contrasting colour. Depending on how soft and blendable the formula is, lip liner can even work as a substitute for lipstick on days when you want some colour with a lip balm, oil or gloss. 

Add one to your makeup bag and your go-to long-lasting lipstick will become easier to apply and last even longer. Why? Because the best lip liners act as a base that bolsters the pigment and longevity, preventing your lip colour from bleeding, fading, and feathering. It can even create the illusion of a more voluminous pout, too.

“To create a fuller lip shape, choose a shade in the same family as your lipstick,” says Warren Dowdall, Bobbi Brown Senior Pro Artist. “Or, if you’re after something soft, find a lip pencil that’s close to your natural lip colour.” From iconic buys like Charlotte Tilbury's Lip Cheat to brilliant drugstore finds, we've tried, tested and reviewed the best lip liners on the market in this need-to-know guide. 

Hannah Holway

Hannah is the UK Shopping Writer for woman&home and has written about everything from period pants to wine subscriptions. She is especially interested in sustainable alternatives to well-known products, as well as books and homeware accessories. 

The best lip liners reviewed by our beauty team

Best lip liner overall

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Charlotte Tilbury's eponymous makeup line has achieved cult status – and so has the bestselling Lip Cheat Liner, a luxurious formula that we found easy to layer and manoeuvre with its narrow but creamy tip. This liner's texture is akin to plush silk, AKA dense yet breathable, which is ideal as we found it didn't dry out our lips. 

Its formula is also waterproof and on testing, stayed put for up to eight hours (much like Tilbury's best mascara). We didn't need to worry about smudging, product transfer or frequent reapplication with this liner. While it is a fairly matte pencil, meaning it would work best with matte lipsticks over silky or glossy products, it's still very buildable and subtle enough that we thought it looked great worn alone to accentuate the natural shade of our lips.

There are also an impressive 23 shades to choose from here. If you're looking to pair this pencil with one of the best pink lipsticks, we love the rosy nudes and suedes, but you wear deeper colours more often, there are plenty of warm reds and plums, too. Basically, Lip Cheat has it all, with buildable and long-lasting colour payoffs to suit every skin tone. We daresay it could even replace our favourite lipstick or stain for good...

Best budget lip liner

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NYX Professional Makeup's Slim Lip Pencil has a slender shape, along with a huge number of industry awards under its belt. It also comes in a wide spectrum of shades, with classic reds and fuchsias as well as less-often seen options like orange and auburn. All this for the same price as your daily coffee? We can't think of many better spends.

Economics aside, the pencil features a buttery-soft formula that glides on easily and stays put. We found that it resists bleeding well, the term for when lipstick creeps its way outside of the natural lip line. It also has a fine tip that's super easy to sharpen, making accentuating the appearance of your pout a breeze. 

We also appreciated the inclusion of hydrating coconut oil to condition lips, intensify colour and increase the lifespan of this liner; this definitely makes all the difference when applying this pencil, as the sharp tip still feels super-soft and is all the nicer to use. Tick, tick, tick!

Best multi-tasking lip liner

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NARS' Velvet Matte Lipstick Pencil has the silhouette of a retro crayon but, while this design is cute, its formula is the real champion. The lipstick-pencil hybrid is matte without looking matte – in other words, it's not at all patchy or flaky, even after long-term wear. We found the texture to be impressively creamy, something we think it largely down to the hardworking vitamin E and emollients in the formula. The liner acts as a hydrating, tinted base that sits nicely under stains or vinyl-shine lip products, if you prefer glossy lips.

What's more, it delivers the kind of impact and colour payoff you'd normally see in a rich lipstick, meaning you can easily use it to fill in your whole lip if you wish. The wide tip reinforces this, allowing us to sweep a layer of the product across our mouths. As for shades, there's a palette of versatile nudes and pinks, plus deeper berry tones and browns alongside bolder oranges, so almost all bases are covered. The liner also comes in two handy sizes: standard and mini, which is ideal for travel.

While the colour is definitely long-lasting, staying put through hours spent sipping on drinks and eating food, we also found that the creamy consistency of this liner (especially when applied all over the lips) does lend itself to a little fading, so we therefore recommending dabbing at or rubbing the product a little after you first apply for a more natural look.

Best lip liner for pale skin

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MAC’s top-rated lip pencil is loaded with pigment to deliver impressive color in one swipe. There’s a huge range of shades to choose from, ranging from nudes, browns, and soft pinks to bolder and brighter hues. A fan-favorite option Oak, a soft beige and one of our personal go-to picks that's especially flattering for paler skin. This colour is a muted brown that’s perfect for everyday wear as well as party makeup looks. 

Shades aside, we also found that this lip liner does not budge. The impressive staying power and the pigment-packed formula stay put for hours on end (trust us). We love wearing it alone, scribbled all over lips, as well as under lip gloss for a going out glam look. It can also be teamed with deep nude lipstick for a sophisticated finish. A great all-rounder, this is without a doubt one of the best lip liners we’ve tried. 

Best lip liner for olive-medium skin

If you’re looking for a creamy and easy-to-blend formula, look no further. This liner from Kylie Cosmetics glides on effortlessly for a more defined and plumper-looking pout. For the best results, we recommend working from the outer corners inward using short strokes. This pick works well as a lipstick, blended all over, or underneath Kylie’s Matte Liquid Lipstick, which delivers a stamped-on, velvety soft lip. 

Out of all the lip liners we tested for this guide, we found that this was the most comfortable liner for all-day and night wear. It’s lightweight yet it stays put – and by midday, we almost forgot we were wearing lip liner. Of course, one look in the mirror and you’ll be reminded just how good this product is, defining lips without smudging, feathering, or flaking. FYI: we've found that Souffle is the perfect warm neutral for tan and olive skin tones. 

Best lip liner for dark skin

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Love a bold lip look and known for wearing the boldest, best red lipstick? Say hello to Pat McGrath Labs' Permagel Ultra Lip Pencil. The water-resistant formula stays put in all weather conditions and will not budge. Seriously. It boasts a smooth, satin-like texture that makes application a total doddle and its main selling point is the Permagel technology, which is exclusive to the brand. Essentially, this tech prevents the lip liner from feathering, transferring, or becoming dry (and after testing this, we can confirm the validity of all three claims).

Out of the many versatile shades to choose from, we highly recommend Ground Control for darker complexions. This rich chocolate brown is super flattering and can be dialled up for evening wear as part of a smoky eyeshadow look. It's so plumping and natural-looking that, with clever shading, you could easily fool onlookers into thinking you've had lip tweakments with this creamy, blendable pick. 

Best luxury lip liner

Available in 20 shades, Dior's luxury lip liner imparts saturated colour and longer-lasting coverage than many of its competitors. While most brands promise six hours of staying power, Dior Contour boasts up to eight hours of wear. We tested the claims and can confirm you'll enjoy even, rich pigment all day long that won't feather or settle into fine lines. Impressive, right?

Thanks to the inclusion of shea butter, peony and pomegranate flower extracts, this lip liner has a velvety and supple texture. Shea butter helps to condition and protect lips from the elements, while peony and pomegranate flower extracts moisturise and hydrate. In addition to its ideal fine tip, this liner features an angled bristle brush that cleans up any colour outside of the lip lines and guarantees precise application. This brush is a great feature that helps you create that professional quality finish. 

Best waterproof lip liner

Urban Decay's 24/7 Glide-On Lip Pencil is stubborn – a quality that's not so great in relationships, but appreciated in makeup, especially lip liner. When applied, its waterproof formula will not move. As a result, you'll enjoy fewer smears, better definition and cleaner lines. 

Obviously, the budge-proof formula isn't its only redeeming attribute. We love that this lip pencil has a silky texture and lots of vivid colors to choose from, spanning deep reds and beige nudes. Based on our tests, it won't dry out or look cakey over time, which is largely due to a moisturizing trio of vitamin E, jojoba oil and cottonseed oil. This combination quickly soaks into lips, making them soft and supple.

We would flag that the downside to this staying power is that it can be tricky to wipe off. However, this is a small price to pay for such longevity and, thankfully, there are quick solutions that will get the job done, such as Vaseline, the best micellar waters or oil-based removers and baby oil.

Best cult classic lip liner

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Not exactly new but unquestionably one of the best buys, Bobbi Brown’s iconic Lip Pencil has been a mainstay of our makeup bags for years. A cult classic, this no-nonsense product gets the job done and does it well. It’s a classic pencil liner that comes with a professional sharpener, so you can ensure that the tip is always refined. We find that the sharper the point, the more precise the line, but if you’re after a softly diffused finish you can wear it down to a blunt edge. 

There are nine shades to choose from in total, spanning deep browns through to pale pink. All can be worn alone, under lipstick or, as the brand recommends, over lipstick. For the latter, blot on your chosen lipstick before defining your lip line with your pencil. This is a great way to experiment with liner if you're new to it and still mastering how to factor it in when applying lipstick. Our only gripe is that it’s not as creamy as some other (newer) lip liners, but it certainly stays put all day.

Best long-wearing lip liner

We can safely say that this lip liner from KVD lives up to its title (almost). The formula is water-resistant and lightweight, delivering a budge-proof finish in seconds. Though the brand promises 24 hours of coverage without reapplication, based on our tests we'd argue this claim is overinflated, as we found that the formula stayed put for up to nine hours. That aside, this duration is still considerably longer than most others on the market and will certainly get you through the throes of your day-to-day routine. (Who needs lip liner on for 24 hours straight most of the time, anyway?)

We adore the ultra-thin tip that outlines beautifully and allows you to reshape your natural lip contour, if so desired. Yes, it's matte, and we know many matte-based products are annoyingly dense and dehydrating, but luckily, this one is anything but and yields a velvety soft finish. That said, if you prefer a more nourished base, we'd recommend applying your best lip balm first and letting it absorb fully before applying this lip liner. Hydrated lips will also reduce the chances of cracking and drying over the course of the day. 

Best matte lip liner

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A true multi-tasking wonder, this chubby lip pencil can be used as lip liner, lipstick and blusher. For the latter, simply scribble your favorite color (there are 12 neutral, pink and red shades to choose from) onto the apples of your cheeks before blending with your fingertips to instantly perk up your complexion. It rivals some of the best cream blushers around. 

For the lips, we recommend using the pointed tip to outline your lip line first and then, if you want to fill in lips, use the slanted edge to saturate your pout. Pigment-rich with impressive staying power, this is a handbag essential for when you want to dial up your look on the go. As for shades, we like Entice, a muted pink, for the daytime and Raven, a deep burgundy, for the night. The velvety matte finish looks ultra-chic.

Best demi-matte lip liner

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This dreamy, creamy lip liner is a total joy to apply. The formula contains sodium hyaluronate (a derivative of hyaluronic acid), which makes it super moisturising and comfortable enough for all-day wear. What’s more, we found that this hydrating formula creates the perfect base, extending the wear of lipstick without feathering or bleeding. 

Of course, the real hero here is the integrated lip brush. With a pointed bristled tip, it’s designed to be used with your go-to lipstick or lip gloss to complete your look. Expect a perfectly defined, natural pout with a demi-matte finish that will stay put for hours – we found it really easy to blend out our liner so that it seamlessly mixed with our favourite shade of lipstick. We also think it works well as a stand-alone lip product, which is made all the more subtle by using the soft, feathery brush.

Best lip liner shade range

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It's no surprise that Barry M leads the way when it comes to producing a diverse array of pigmented colours> After all, the brand rose to popularity with its glittering array of dazzle dusts, available in every shade you could dream of. While the brand has expanded significantly, now stocking an impressive, cruelty-free range of affordable cosmetics, in our opinion, its strengths still lie in its vast colour selection and sheer useability. This lip liner is a perfect example – it's creamy, easy-to-apply and impressively pigmented. Even if it retailed at double the price point, we'd be happy with its performance. We applied it at the start of the day and our lipstick hadn't bled by lunchtime, with our lips still looking super defined. 

The expansive shade range and affordable price point (less than £4) mean that Barry M is the brand we turn to if we're looking to match a lipstick that we don't wear all that often but want to have a matching lip liner; we tested the dark pink shade with a bold fuchsia lipstick that we love, but simply don't wear regularly. Buying some of the more premium options on this list would feel a bit frivolous if it only got a few wears a year, but a Barry M one does the job well and we can justify the small expense.

Best versatile lip liner

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Buzzy beauty brand REFY is probably best known for its popular brow products for those wondering how to shape brows like a pro, but we found that Lip Sculpt is an equally impressive bit of kit. If you're someone who wants to add definition to their pout but who also loves a glossy finish, rather than a matte one, this is for you. The liner contains a "setter" that acts as a clear, gloss-like formula that keeps your liner in place for hours. We found that depending on the shade you opt for, it's possible to wear the liner on its own with the setter applied on top, but we preferred to add a nude shade of creamy lipstick as well.

The only downside we found with applying this liner was that the tip of the applicator is fairly thick, so we didn't find Lip Sculpt to be particularly buildable, despite its claims to the contrary. This is a very different liner to, say, Bobbi Brown's subtle, crayon-feel option as it's definitely on the more intense, creamier side. However, this definitely works in the liner's favour if you are planning to use it as a standalone product as REFY recommends.

Best subtle lip liner

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Upon opening the Rare Beauty liner, the first thing we noted was its addictive scent; the vanilla-like smell compliments the claim that this liner is more like a balm than anything else. It's soft, easy-to-use and produces a creamy, matte finish, which we found looked great against our natural lip colour (we used the shade Lively).

As it's such a subtle finish, we found that this liner could be worn anywhere and we were happy to find that it lasted for hours. The buildable formula gave our lips definition when used alone, but was also easy enough to blend with another shade if desired. There was one downside, though: despite claiming to be waterproof, the liner was very easy to remove and didn't have much resistance against water – a benefit if you want to be able to quickly remove your makeup, but disappointing if you want your pencil to stay put, come rain or shine.

How we tested the best lip liners

We tested dozens of products for consideration for this best lip liner guide, choosing options from various price points to include both budget buys and more luxurious offerings. We also tested a mix of applicators from classic pencil liners to more modern twist-up options. To judge each product fairly, we assessed them on ease of application, paying close attention to how well the formulas glide onto lips. We also wore each one on our lips for at least a day to see how well each one lasted and if the liner prevented our lipstick from feathering. 

How to choose the best lip liner for you

• Formula: Opt for creamy, velvety textures that glide on easily, stay put, and don’t feel overly drying. Consider ingredients too. Today’s top players are super hydrating with ingredients like glycerin and coconut oil.
• Shade range: You don't have to match your lip liner exactly to your lipstick, as a nude shade will work under any number of lippies in your collection. Seek out brands with large colour ranges to suit every skin tone to find your perfect match, as the right one will help your lips to look fuller.
• Versatility: The best lip liners can do it all. Our favourites can be worn alone like a full-cover lipstick, as an outline or layered underneath lipstick or gloss to boost the pigment.
• Applicator: Precision is key, so choose an ultra-fine tip that’s easy to maneuver and won’t drag on the delicate skin around your lips. This also means you won’t smudge outside the lines. Both twist-up and sharpenable options are available, with twist-ups offering speed and convenience but slightly less precision than traditional pencils.
• Built-in extras: Several lip liners also include practical features, like built-in sharpeners and brushes for blending your chosen colour. 

FAQs

Are lip liners necessary?

It's definitely possible to achieve a full, gorgeous pout without it, but the best lip liners can enhance the natural shape of your lips as well as provide a solid base for adding lip colour, too. "I would definitely consider lip liner an essential in your makeup bag," says Dowdall. "They are a great way to not only give definition and structure to the lips, also to prevent feathering and give a longer wear to your lipstick."

Should I get a darker or lighter lip liner?

When it comes to whether you should go darker or lighter with your liner, Dowdall says: “As we are aiming to create definition on the vermillion of the lip, it’s best to go darker with your liner. For a softer look, try a liner one to two shades darker than your natural lip colour or go even richer and deeper with your liner for more drama or to create an ombré look.”