
There’s a new makeup trend in town for getting the pillowy pout of your dreams and the moniker gives away zero spoilers. Say hello to gym lips, the newest It-girl-approved way of making your lips plumper. The good news? You needn’t clock in an extra half hour on the treadmill to make it work for you.
Indeed, gym lips have nothing to do with gym equipment at all. Originally coined by makeup artist Kelli Anne Sewell, this viral makeup trend involves doing your lips in a way that can be worn anywhere—even the gym. Once the ‘aha’ moment clicks in, you’ll want to know: what is this secret hack being passed among beauty insiders for plump lips without any injectables or fillers? So, here’s all that you need to know.
What is the gym lips trend?
Sewell stumbled upon this trend when she overlined her lips with a pencil that matched their natural hue. The result was lips that looked naturally fuller, without looking visibly overdone—a look that you can wear everywhere.
The key to success here is ensuring that you find a lip colour and pencil duet that is a true match for the natural colour of your lips. When chosen with care, the right hue will eventually fade away and blend in to give a naturally fuller appearance, even after a gruelling sweat sesh.

Step-by-step guide to getting the look
The New York-based makeup artist believes that the perfect gym lips can be achieved with lightweight formulas that serve to be the right match for your lips.
Here’s how to ace the gym lips trend even on mornings you’d rather hit snooze—thrice:
1. The key to nailing this look is to ensure that the finish appears as natural as possible. So it comes as no surprise that exfoliation is necessary to get a smooth canvas to work on. A quick hand of a lip scrub can buff away any dryness or signs of chapped lips.
2. Next, moisturise with a hydrating lip balm to turn your pout into a pillowy surface for the lip colour to follow.
3. Then comes the star of the show: the lip liner. Your choice of colour is crucial here as the overlined effect needs to pass off as your natural lips. Opt for a lip liner with a matte finish and browse through the spectrum of nudes, pinks and browns until you find a colour that perfectly matches your lips.
4. Start by creating an ‘X’ shape on your cupid’s bow, colouring just a little outside the lines. Then, follow along the natural line of your lips—while it is important to go slightly outside the lines, you’ll want to steer clear from creating a new shape altogether.
5. As the final step, you’ll want to fill your lips with a natural-looking hue that can withstand a gym workout. Leave the heavy-duty mattes behind and, instead, reach for tinted lip balms or a transparent lip gloss for a my-lips-but-better finish.
Tira Recommends:
Ready to get started? Here’s where you can buy lip makeup products to recreate the gym lips trend on your own:
- ClayCo Japanese Peach & Squalane Brightening Lip Polisher
- mCaffeine Coffee Lip Scrub
- Laneige Berry Lip Glowy Balm
- Sebamed Lip Care Defense
- M.A.C Lip Pencil
- Lakme Perfect Definition Lip Liner
- Huda Beauty Silk Balm Hydra-Plumping Lip Balm
- Inde Wild Dewy Lip Treatment
- Too Faced Travel Size Lip Injection Maximum Plump Lip Plumper - Original
- Profusion Cosmetics Lip Envy Lip Gloss & + Lip Liner Duo - Crystal Nude
cover image: instagram/@aliaabhatt