P(l)ump It Up: 8 Lip Plumpers You Can Buy For Pouty, Fuller-Looking Lips

No points for guessing that it is a type of lip product that plumps your lips and gives them temporary fuller-looking appearance because of some mild irritants present in the formula. Since pouty voluptuous lips have become the trend, demand for lip plumpers has been going crazy since not everyone's fond of getting lip fillers. And, a few people just want to give it a shot for the sake of the trend and not for having bigger lips permanently.

If you read labels closely, you might have noticed lip plumpers being marketed with terms like 'hot', 'cooling', 'chilli', and 'minty'. Reason being that is that lip plumpers are formulated with mild irritants such as capsicum, chilli peppers, cinnamon, or menthol. When applied to your lips, the irritation causes blood to rush to the surface of the skin, which swells the lips and causes mild and temporary plumping of the lips.

Absolutely, no! While they are safe to use and are okay to use on special occasions or selective days, using them on daily isn't suitable. Just like your skin, the skin on your lips shouldn't be exposed to irritants so regularly as it could dry out the lips or even worse, cause sensitisation. Additionally post care is quite important when lip plumpers are being used. You want to slather your lips with a moisturising lip balm or mask at night to help them heal after applying a lip plumper.

LBB tip: Check out our recommendations for lip balms here.

At this point, Lip Injection is the most iconic Too Faced product (special mention to the Better Than Sex Mascara) to exist. One of the most popular lip plumper in the game, the Lip Injection now comes in different intensities (the original, extreme and maximum plump) and even different formulations (the classic transparent gloss formula, lip balm, liquid lipstick, lip gloss and even a lip liner now). Speaking about the OG, it gives a light tingling sensation and gives visibly plumper lips in mere five minutes, along with a glossy shine. But, truth be told, the plumping effect stays for hardly fifteen to twenty minutes on most people, up to an hour for the rest.

Nykaa Rating: 4.1/5

We love a good skincare-infused multipurpose beauty product and the COSRX Refresh AHA BHA Vitamin C Lip Plumper is just that! It plumps the lips ever so slightly and gives a smoother appearance with the help of mild AHA (Citric Acid) and BHA (Betaine Salicylate) which also exfoliate dead, flaky skin, while vitamin C helps keep the lips nourished. The lip plumper can be used during the day to slightly volumise the lips (as it is under other lip products) or overnight to treat dry, chapped lips. But as we all know, your lips don't need excessive exfoliation so you need not include it in your everyday routine.

Nykaa Rating: 3.5/5

One of the most viral lip products of 2023, the M.A.C Squirt Plumping Lip Gloss Stick greets your lips with an instant burst of menthol-like cooling sensation from ginger root extract and capsicum the moment it touches your lips. The plumping effect is nice but what's even better is how glossy it makes your lips look without being sticky. If you are going for that wet, juicy and plumped look for your lips with the slightest hint of colour then don't think twice and get your hands on this one. It comes in variety of fun shades if you wish to experiment — a neon green shade called 'Like Squirt' and a black shade named 'Jet' or you can stick to the safer choices — 'Clear' which is your transparent gloss stick and 'heat Sensor' which is a beautiful coral red.

Nykaa Rating: 4.4/5

A few years back, the Dior Lip Maximizer Plumping Gloss was every 'it girl's' (including Bella Hadid's) favourite lip product. Technically, it features a lip care formula composed of 90% natural-origin ingredients. This lip-caring formula also provides an all-out shine, slight volume effect and immediate hydration to the lips. It comes in a variety of shades with a few shimmery options as well. The only downside is the hefty price tag (priced at INR 3,900) so we would suggest investing in this one only if you are a fan of lip glosses that provide a tinge of a plumping effect.

Nykaa Rating: 4.4/5

A Tik-Tok favourite, this Essence lip plumper is quite potent and plumps the lips with a burning sensation because of chilli extract present in the formula. It does the job pretty well and gives you pouty-looking plumped lips minutes after. The effect stays for a good half an hour or so which is great for a lip plumper that costs only INR 410. It also gives your lips the slightest blush tint which we don't mind.

Nykaa Rating: 4.4/5

We are fans of everything Kay Beauty does because most of their products feature top-notch performance, just like this lip plumper. What we love about this lip plumper is that it gives you fuller-looking lips post application but does not dry out the lips and keeps them thoroughly hydrated. The tingling sensation of it is not at all over-powering which is a plus if you have sensitive skin. We just wish it came in tinted versions too so that we could get on with our day with just applying this one product.

Nykaa rating: 3.9/5

Huda Beauty's Silk Balm plumping Lip Balm has quite an interesting formula. It is an ultra-comfortable liquid balm formulated with powerful actives to provide long-lasting hydration for silky smooth, full-looking lips. The hydrating formula contains a blend of hyaluronic filling spheres, soybean extract, and licorice extract, which work by migrating into fine lines and swelling to provide a plumping effect minus the tingling sensation. It comes in three to four variants, but this blush nude is our pick for an everyday lippie.

Nykaa Rating: 4.5/5

This one gives you a slightly tingly, cooling sensation initially that calms down to reveal healthy-looking plump lips. It provides ample shine and lots of colour pay off. The formula is enriched with vitamin E and coconut oil to nourish and hydrate the lips for a soft, supple feel which is a win in our books. Overall, a great buy for those looking for a bit more opacity in terms of colour in their lip plumpers.

Nykaa rating: 4.3/5

Pro-tip: Check out our curation of the best lip glosses here.