I inherited many physical attributes for which I’m thankful, but my lips are not one of them. I have naturally thin lips that were far from ideal during the mid-2010s, peak-King Kylie era I grew up in. So, I did what many people—including Kylie Jenner herself—did during that time: I sat in a board-certified plastic surgeon’s chair as they plumped my lips with hyaluronic acid-based fillers.
From the first prick, I became a woman obsessed with aesthetic injectables, vainly studying my swollen pout in the mirror every day until I noticed them deflate ever so slightly two months later—a sign that it was time to head back to the body shop doctor’s office.
But in terms of time and finances, bi-monthly visits became unsustainable. That, and the fact that the veil of filler blindness lifted one random morning and I realized I’d gone overboard, was a signal for a lifestyle change, and I’ve gone cold turkey from my beloved Restylane Kysse fillers ever since.
It’s been eight months since my last filler injection, which isn’t a long time since my preferred filler is known to last up to one year, depending on how fast your body metabolizes it. Usually, my body breaks down filler quite quickly (hence the former bi-monthly treatments), so my lips usually would look skinny and deflated at this point, but I finally cracked the code to a fuller look sans injections. Toodles, needles.
Step 1: Ourself Lip Filler
The baseline of my lip-care routine is this stellar lip plumper from Ourself. At face value, it may seem like just another hyaluronic acid-based lip serum, but its Subtopical Delivery Technology makes its formula stand out against the crowd and, in my opinion, well worth its price tag. “The tiered vesicles encapsulate different molecular-weight fractions of hyaluronic acid, which helps these large, water-soluble materials penetrate the skin on the lips more deeply,” explains Cincinnati, Ohio-based cosmetic chemist Kelly Dobos.
Translation: This technology delivers the humectant to different layers of the skin, creating a more hydrated feel and overall fuller look. It also contains benzyl nicotinate, which provides its immediate plumping effect while temporarily enhancing the tint of your lips. “It’s a vasodilator, meaning it causes a temporary increase in blood flow that will also increase the pink and red colors of the lips and bring a warming sensation,” she says, warning that there’s potential for irritation with this ingredient as well.