Fashion

Alternatives To Taking The #KylieJennerChallenge

by Katie Patton

Taking over social media and the Internet this week is a certain buzz over the latest reality television-fueled beauty experiment: The Kylie Jenner Challenge. Big lip lovers everywhere have been busy suctioning their mouths into shot glasses with the hope of creating a plumper, more Jenner-esque pout. Even the lovely ladies of Bustle put the challenge to the test.

However, the results have left something to be desired and there have even been major #KylieJennerChallenge lip fails that could, in fact, have serious and possibly permanent side effects. As the owner of a thin-lipped pout myself, I fully understand the desire for a fuller pucker, but can we all agree we have taken it too far? We must stop the madness that is entrapping our lips in shot glasses. After all, there are plenty of beauty products on the market that can safely give you luscious lips without the pain.

In what was a very mature move and an overall win for girl power, Kylie Jenner spoke out against the #KylieJennerChallenge on Twitter last week with a "you do you" type statement that basically encouraged women to experiment with their own look rather than focus on recreating hers. Preach it, sister. Nobody needs to look exactly like Kylie Jenner, or any member of her family for that matter, especially when the path to copycatting is paved with facial bruising.

Now, none of this is to say we shouldn't be inspired by the pout that Jenner has clearly perfected — considering Kylie J. is to the lip what Cara D. is to the eyebrow — but there is something to be said for finding an easier, safer way to plump up. Lucky for all large lip seekers out there, a plethora of serums, lip glosses and balms exist in the market that will have you puckered up in no time. Here's the new challenge: Test out any of the below lip volumizers rather than running to the bar to grab that shot glass!

1. Duwop Lip Venom

DuWop was the first to market lip plumping glosses, their innovative formula using essential oils to give lips a fuller effect. The brand's blend of cinnamon, winter green, and ginger causes a rush of blood to the surface of the lips, which makes them flush and swell — a pinker, plumper pout with one swipe of oil infused gloss is a lip trick I can get down with on the daily.

Lip Venom, $16, Duwop

2. Too Faced Lip Injection

Too Faced was also quick to market in the early days of lip plumping with a patented formula that claims to be a thin-lipped celebrity's best friend. The clear gloss promises lips that look like they just left the plastic surgeon's office thanks to a blood vessel dilating technology. No needle, and probably, like, 1/100th of the price? I'll take it.

Too Faced Lip Injection, $22, Sephora

3. Too Faced Lip Injection Color Bomb

Sure, Too Faced offered one of the first lip plumping glosses in the industry, but there is always room for improvement and expansion, right? The brand upgraded its original gloss with its Lip Injection Color Bomb!, a plumper with an "explosion of satin color." I mean, what good are big lips without bold color? I am currently deciding between this bright Bigger Berry shade and the pretty in pink Candy Burst. Decisions, decisions.

Lip Injection Color Bomb, $21, Too Faced

4. Bite Beauty Cinnamon Plumping Lip Oil

Like our industry leading friends over at DuWop, Bite Beauty offers to plump up your pucker with cinnamon bark oils, which stimulate circulation and naturally enhance lips. Your pumped up pucker will be hot and spicy in more ways than one!

Cinnamon Plumping Lip Oil, $22, Sephora

5. Murad Rapid Collagen Infusion For Lips

For a change that is more medically focused, Murad offers a revitalizing serum that aims to reduce lip lines and give your pout a more youthful appearance. Infused with collagen amino acids, the colorless formula promotes natural collagen and microcirculation, leaving you with smoother, fuller, younger looking lips.

Rapid Collagen Infusion for Lips, $24, Sephora

6. Smashbox O-Plump Intuitive Lip Plumper

Touting an exclusive Goji Berry-C Complex that combines gingermint, gingko biloba, pomegranate seed antioxidants, and revitalizing marine botanicals — all things I had zero idea could make my lips larger — Smashbox O-Plump Intuitive Lip Plumper will truly leave you with an all around more luscious lip. Not only does the formula leave you with the perfect plump, it also has intuitive properties (hence the name, duh) that react with each individual's chemistry, turning lips a personal shade of pink. Double score!

O-Plump Intuitive Lip Plumper, $26, Sephora

7. Bliss Fabulips Instant Lip Plumper

While I am not exactly sure what cork-tree is, Bliss uses its extract in a peptide-packed complex that promises to leave you with (appropriately) inflated lips. Like the little magic wand of lip plumpers, Fabulips offers both instant and long-lasting results, plus all day hydration. Abracadabra!

Bliss Fabulips Instant Lip Plumper, $22, Blue Mercury

8. Dior Creme De Rose Smoothing Plumping Lip Balm

For a smooth, moisture rich product that will both nourish and plump your lips, look no further than Dior's Creme de Rose Smoothing Plumping Lip Balm. The proven, multi-vitamin formula with essential oils and Shea butter works to protect, re-store, and re-plump your lips for a pout that will be full for the long term.

Creme de Rose Smoothing Plumping Lip Balm, $30, Sephora

9. Fresh Sugar Cherry Lip Treatment

While certainly a cult favorite lip balm, Fresh's line of Sugar products wouldn't be first to mind when thinking lip plumping. However, one of the main ingredients — black currant oil — is chock full of plumping essential fatty acids. Not to mention, Fresh blends oil with real sugar — which is a natural humectant — and you can't have a smooth, full pout that isn't moisture rich.

Fresh Sugar Cherry Lip Treatment, $24, Sephora

Pucker up ladies! We are officially ready for fuller pouts and there isn't a shot glass in sight!

Images: Getty; KylieJenner/Instagram; Courtesy Brands