Swiping on a couple of coats of your favorite lip color before heading out the door is par for the course for a lot of us. But what if I told you there’s a step chances are you’ll be missing that might kick things up a notch?

You’ve likely seen celebs (like Cardi B and Victoria Monet) or influencers (similar to Afnan Dano and Shayla Mitchell) with gorgeous, multidimensional color on their lips. And when you’re wondering how they’re capable of achieve it, well, the reply is straightforward: brown lip liner.

“The history of an ideal brown lip liner goes back to a time when not all cosmetics were suited to all skin tones — but an important solid brown lip liner was at all times tried and true,” says Chanel makeup artist Tasha Reiko Brown. “On lighter tones, it creates definition across the mouth through the use of it as a blurred drop shadow. On deeper skin tones, the identical is true, but you too can use it to balance uneven lip color by filling in your entire lip.” Briefly, it’s a flexible product that works for everyone.

I began using brown lip liner well over a decade ago — almost by mistake. I used to be at a beauty supply outlet store in San Francisco, picking up a couple of random products. As I used to be testing, the cashier offered me a free sample of a deep brown liner. Once I got back to my friend’s place, I used to be desirous to give it a try.

While I initially thought I’d use it with neutral lipsticks, my signature lip color has at all times been red, so I paired the 2. The result, to my surprise, was a sultry, ombré finish — and from that moment on, I used to be hooked. Since then, I’ve worn brown lip liner with a rainbow of various lipstick shades and I’ve yet to search out a color that it doesn’t complement.

Ahead, makeup artists share find the precise shade of brown liner and one of the best method to apply it, plus seven of my favorite product combos to get the look.

Find the Right Brown Lip Liner

“A fantastic place to start is by finding a shade that matches your lip color, but is a couple of shades deeper,” says Donni Davy, Euphoria’s head makeup artist. “Depending in your complexion, these shades [of brown] might range from a medium pink-peach to mauve-taupe, or espresso-black.”