If you’ve been anywhere near TikTok this year, you’ve probably noticed something fascinating happening to lips. They’re getting contoured again. I know, the early 2020s flashbacks are hitting all of us at the same time. 

The original overlined, super-defined lip contour era was intense, dramatic, and a little bit exhausting. Eventually, we collectively decided to calm down, embrace blurred edges, and pretend the Sharpie-outline trend never happened.

But beauty trends are like exes with selective memory: they always come back with a slightly different personality. And in 2025, lip contouring has returned with a whole new vibe: supposedly softer, more flattering, more “your lips but editorial”. 

According to influencers, it will be much easier to pull off. So obviously, I had to test it, because TikTok makes everything look effortless, and real life usually disagrees.

Let’s talk about how this updated method works, how it wears, how chaotic it gets, and whether any of us actually need to add yet another step to our lip routine.

What Exactly Is the 2025 Version of Lip Contour?

This year’s version isn’t about drawing a brand-new mouth onto your face. Instead, creators are focusing on something they call “internal dimension shaping,” which is TikTok’s unnecessarily dramatic way of saying they contour the inside of the lip shape instead of the outside. 

The idea is that by darkening the inner curves of the lips and keeping the outline soft, the mouth looks fuller, plumper, and more lifted without the obvious “I overlined this within an inch of its life” look.

The updated method goes like this: use a slightly cool-toned brown pencil to deepen the inner edges of the top lip’s curve, and apply a softer neutral shade to outline the rest of the lips.

Then you will blur everything with a finger or lip brush, add a center highlight with a cream or gloss, and finish with a natural-toned balm. Apparently, this combination creates a lifted shadow, a smoothing effect, and a diffused fullness that looks modern.

It sounded believable in theory. Almost too believable. So I cleared my vanity, grabbed every pencil within reach, and gave myself over to the lip gods.

Attempt One: The “Soft Shadow” Technique Everyone is Obsessed With

My first attempt was the shadow method – the version where you don’t outline the entire lip, but instead focus on adding a bit of structure to the inner peaks of the top lip and the lower corners. TikTok creators made it look like a quick little sketch and done, but reality required more patience.

Applying the pencil lightly enough to create a believable shadow instead of a visible line took effort. Blending also wasn’t as instant as the videos suggested. But the result was genuinely pretty. 

My lips looked fuller without appearing overdone, and the effect was more natural than any overlining trick I’ve ever used. The shadow made my upper lip look lifted in a subtle but noticeable way. This was the moment I started believing this trend might be more than just viral hype.

Attempt Two: The “Blurry Border” Version That TikTok Says Is Foolproof

The next day I tried the blurred-border 2025 contour look, which is basically a hybrid between K-beauty gradient lips and the classic Western “your lips but structured” approach. 

This version involves outlining the lips with a soft neutral pencil, keeping the definition extremely gentle, and then blurring the edges with your fingers until the outline looks more like a natural transition than a line. You deepen only the inner parts of the lips with a slightly darker tone and finish with a glossy or satin balm.

This method made my lips look plush in a way I didn’t expect. They didn’t look drawn on or overly corrected. Instead, they looked like the slightly upgraded version of my natural lips. 

The result lasted surprisingly well too. Even after drinking water and talking for hours, the blurred definition didn’t disappear instantly like I thought it would. So far, the 2025 lip contour method was performing better than my skepticism.

Attempt Three: The “Minimalist Two-Pencil” Approach

For the minimalist version, you’re supposed to use two pencils: one slightly deeper than your natural lip color and one that matches it closely. 

You apply the deeper shade only in the areas where shadows naturally fall, then use the softer shade to shape the overall lip. A tiny dot of highlight goes in the center to create dimension, and that’s it.

This version felt the most wearable, especially for people who don’t want to carry five different lip products at once. The finish looked incredibly natural, but in a very polished way. 

It made my lips look like they had volume without looking like makeup was responsible. It’s the kind of trick you’d use for work, school, or casual days when you want to look put together without looking like you tried.

After testing all three versions, I started to see why TikTok revived the trend. It’s more refined than before, less theatrical, and frankly, much more flattering.

How It Wears Throughout the Day

One thing I really appreciated is that this new contour method doesn’t migrate the way traditional overlining sometimes does. Because the emphasis is on internal shading and blurred edges, there’s nothing too harsh that ends up melting into the fine lines around the mouth. 

Even after meals, the definition softened but didn’t disappear entirely. It created that “lived-in but still pretty” effect that a lot of modern makeup trends aim for.

Glossy versions do wear down faster, but the shape underneath remains intact enough that you only need a quick touch-up to look refreshed. Matte or satin finishes stayed even longer, though the blurred effect becomes more diffused as the day goes on.

The longevity alone made this technique feel more practical than the older versions.

What I Didn’t Love Because No Trend Is Perfect

Even though this method is definitely better than the early overlining era, there are things that still take practice. 

Getting the shading right requires a lighter hand than the average TikTok video demonstrates. If you’re heavy-handed, the inner contour can look like smudged lipstick rather than a natural shadow.

Finding the right shade combinations also takes a bit of trial and error. Cool-toned pencils create dimension, but not everyone likes how they look on warm skin. And if the blending isn’t done well, the lip can look slightly overworked.

It isn’t a difficult technique, but it’s not quite as effortless as influencers pretend it is.

Harper’s Real Verdict

The 2025 lip contour trend surprised me. I expected something chaotic, high-maintenance, and completely impractical. Instead, I found a technique that actually enhances the lips in a refined, believable way. 

Will I use it every day? Probably not. But on days when I want my lips to look more polished or slightly fuller without the “I spent 45 minutes on this” energy, this is exactly what I’ll reach for.