Puff Your Pout: A Guide to Luscious Lips

It seems like you can "fake" almost anything in life, if you try hard enough. Almost. You definitely can't fake personality, integrity, or... well, lots of other very important things.But as far as aesthetics go, you can almost always find some sort of formula, trick, or voodoo spell that will give you a leg up on your self-image. Here are my no-fail tips on how to luscious-ify your pout:Option #1: DuWop's GeniusDuWop is a brand created by two Italian brothers, and honestly, who knows beauty better than the Italians? ...That's what I thought.A few years ago, they revolutionized the makeup world by releasing Lip Venom, a cinnamon-infused lip gloss that guaranteed to plump your pucker.

DuWop Mini Venom Trio from Beauty.com
$19

This little trip has everything you'll need to get the full DuWop Venom experience. It contains a clear gloss, a gold shimmer and a silver shimmer gloss. But does it work?, you might ask... I have to say YES. It definitely does. And don't be afraid of the tingling. It's actually kind of refreshing.Option 2: Attack Cupid's BowWow, she's weird..., you may be thinking. Let me clarify: The cupid's bow is the space between the two "points" of your upper lip, right below your nose. See? It's kind of shaped like a bow (& arrow, not top of present bow). This is an incredibly underestimated area of the mouth. With just a little stroke of a highlighting wand near the lip line, you can give the illusion of a fuller set of smackers.

Tarte "Rest Asured" Brightening Wand in Nude Pink from Beauty.com
$22

The bonus of this magic wand? You can use it anywhere else that is in need of a little highlighting. I like it quite a bit just beneath the brow, on the inner corners of sleepy eyes, or smudged along the top of your cheekbone.Option 3: Layer it!When I was about 11 years old, my mom was an Avon representative and she got oodles and oodles of free samples. HEAVEN! She gave me this little trio of sheer gloss sticks once, and the directions on the back of the package forever stuck in my mind because of their absolute effectiveness.One gloss was a berry-colored sheer that just barely tinted my lips a shade darker. The other two were sheer iridescent-like shades that were meant only to go in the center of your bottom lip and blended to catch the light and therefore make your lips look full and luscious.Included were a silver-tinted gloss, and a gold-tinted one to accompany warm or cool palettes. I'd recommend purchasing a gloss that was actually solid, because the liquid or gel glosses could slide around on your lips and catch light in the wrong place(s).

Burt's Bees Lip Shimmer in Champagne from Drugstore.com
$4.99

The bonus: It's good for your lips! And according to the reviews, it's great all by itself for a neutral shimmery lip.HOWEVER - if you're in a bind, or didn't toss that shimmer stick in your purse before you ran out the door, you can also just dab a little of your favorite pearly eyeshadow on your lower lip for almost the same effect. Sneaky, huh?The nice thing about buying products from Drugstore.com and Beauty.com? They're the same company, so you don't have to go to two separate places - you can even share a cart! It's the little things in life, you know?xoxo.