The short answer: Line your lips with a darker pencil and fill in most of the lip with it — but deliberately leave a small circle unfilled in the center. Then place a lighter lipstick from the same color family into that circle and blend the join. Dark recedes, light comes forward, and the lip reads rounder and fuller.
Where this comes from
Nikol studied permanent makeup in Los Angeles in 2011, and this technique was already standard practice there. In her studio it was known as the Hollywood lip — the Marilyn Monroe attribution came later, which is probably how the name evolved.
Her reason for learning permanent makeup at all is worth knowing: she disliked the permanent makeup she saw walking into her studio on other people's clients. So she trained in it specifically to do it so it didn't look like permanent makeup. She stopped seeing clients in 2020, but the techniques came with her.
That matters here because this is a tattoo artist's method, built to create the appearance of a lip shape that isn't there. Applied with makeup it is temporary and washes off.
Why it works: dark recedes, light advances
This is straightforward color theory rather than any kind of trick.
Darker tones read as further away; lighter tones read as closer. Put depth around the outside of the lip and light in the middle and your eye interprets the middle as projecting toward you. That is what a full lip does naturally — it catches light at its highest point and falls into shadow at the edges. You are reproducing the light behavior rather than the volume.
The technique, step by step
- Exfoliate. A lip scrub, or a sugar scrub you make yourself. Dry lips catch the pencil and the whole effect depends on clean gradients. A Dream Melt Lip Mask the night before does the same job.
- Prime the lips. Nikol uses her Eye Primer on the lips — it is an eye and lip primer. It neutralizes your natural lip color so both shades read true rather than mixing with whatever is underneath.
- Line with the darker pencil — then fill most of the lip in. This is the step people get wrong. You are not just outlining. Fill the color across the lip from the edges inward, leaving a small circle in the center of both lips unfilled. Think of reserving an oval in the middle.
- Place the lighter shade in the reserved circle. A lipstick a few shades lighter, in the same color family as the liner. Dark red liner with light red center. Deep nude liner with light nude center. Mixing families gives you two colors rather than one dimensional lip.
- Blend the join. Soften where the two meet so there is no visible ring. On mature lips this matters most — a hard boundary reads as a mistake.
- Gloss the center only. A dab of gloss on that lighter circle and nowhere else. A golden gloss like Manifest & Glow adds the highlight that finishes the illusion. Gloss the whole lip and you flatten everything you just built.
Practice it before you need it
Nikol is direct about this and it's worth repeating: this is not a one-and-done technique. Your lip shape, proportions and bone structure are not hers, so the size and placement of that center circle will need adjusting. If your first attempt looks strange, that is the expected outcome — change the size of the circle, or the gap between the two shades, and try again.
When to wear it
It suits an occasion where photographs happen — a wedding, black tie, a graduation. The dimensional effect reads particularly well in a camera, which is exactly why it came out of Hollywood.
That said, there are no rules. If you like it, wear it on a Tuesday.
Choosing the two shades
| If you want | Liner | Center |
|---|---|---|
| Classic Hollywood | Deep red | Brighter, lighter red |
| Soft and wearable | Deep rose | Light pink |
| Invisible effort | Deep nude | Light nude |
| Evening | Plum or wine | Lighter berry |
Use the WaterProof Lip Liner Pencils for the base layer and pick the lighter shade from the lipstick range. If lipstick tends to travel on you, a clear liner underneath everything stops it — see how clear lip liner stops feathering.
This works on any lip
Nikol has naturally full lips and says so plainly — and makes the point that it doesn't matter. Someone recently told her that her lips were "too puffy." Her answer was that she has no interest in changing them.
The technique transfers regardless. Thin lips, uneven lips, lips that have lost volume — the mechanism is the same, because you are manipulating where light falls rather than adding size. Adjust the reserved circle to your own proportions and it works.
Frequently asked questions
What is the Marilyn Monroe lip technique?
Lining and filling most of the lip with a darker pencil while leaving a small circle unfilled in the center, then placing a lighter lipstick from the same color family into that circle. Dark recedes and light advances, so the center appears to project and the lip reads fuller.
Do you fill in the whole lip with liner?
Almost all of it. Fill from the edges inward but deliberately reserve a small circle in the middle of both lips for the lighter shade. Outlining alone does not create the dimension.
What two colors should you use?
A darker liner and a lighter lipstick from the same color family — deep red with light red, deep nude with light nude. Mixing families gives you two separate colors rather than one dimensional lip.
Does this work on thin lips?
Yes. The technique manipulates where light falls rather than adding volume, so it transfers to any lip shape. You adjust the size and placement of the center circle to your own proportions.
Where do you put the gloss?
Only on the lighter center circle. Glossing the whole lip flattens the contrast between the two shades and undoes the dimension.
Why prime your lips first?
Priming neutralizes your natural lip color so both shades read true instead of mixing with what is underneath. An eye and lip primer does the job, and exfoliating first stops the pencil catching on dry patches.
Is this an everyday look?
It suits occasions where photographs happen, because the dimensional effect reads well in a camera. But there are no rules against wearing it any day you like it.
Start here
Prep first — exfoliate and prime, or the gradients will not sit cleanly. Then pick a WaterProof Lip Liner and a lipstick a few shades lighter in the same family, and expect to adjust the center circle a couple of times before it looks right.
