TikTok has enlightened us with life hacks we never knew we needed—think slugging and soap brows—but the latest trend admittedly has us a bit skeptical.
Trending now is the brow pencil lip-liner fad, where people are using their eyebrow pencil as a vehicle to find their “perfect lip shade.” The trending sound, made popular by user @yokenzieb, says, “Your perfect lip shade will be your eyebrow liner—your eyebrow pencil—lining your lip and then whatever you use for blush in the middle of your lip and then a gloss.”
By the looks of it, this trend offers the perfect your-lips-but-better finish, and celebrity brow expert, makeup artist and founder of makeup brand KIMIKO, Dani Kimiko Vincent, says that this can sometimes be the case. “This hack can work for people who have natural brown tones in their lips, as an eyebrow shade can coordinate better with their lips.”
However, Vincent says that this trend is not something she personally gets behind. “From a formulation standpoint, a product that works well for brows should be lower in oil and slip, while a lip liner is creamier and deposits more pigment to build and define the lip line. A good eyebrow pencil can be applied in short, feathered strokes to mimic individual brow hairs. Meanwhile, lip liners need to have more slip and blendability so they apply smoothly and feel comfortable. With so many great lip pencils available, you can easily find a balanced brown-toned pencil that has the correct formula and reads more true to actual lip colors.”
But, how do you find that perfect liner? Vincent says that your ideal liner and lipstick color depend on the look you’re going for. “For a ’90s inspired look, find a neutral lip liner two-to-three shades darker than your lip tone. You needn’t go as dark as your brow color. Then, simply fill with lipstick in a lighter shade than the liner,” she says. The artist also adds that using your blush as a lip color, like the trend suggests, does indeed work. “To find your most naturally enhancing lip color, pinch your cheeks and choose a lipstick, gloss, or even a cream blush that matches that shade. You can also reference the color that you naturally flush after a good workout.”
