It's important to pick a shade of pencil that closely matches the shade of lipstick, Mercier says, or you end up with a cartoonish look. Follow the lip line from the inside with the pencil and then blend the color inward with your finger. This mutes the intensity of the border.

"You don't want harsh contour," Mercier explains.

An optional fourth step is to also use a tissue to spread a little bit of powder to set the color for many hours to come.

The result is a velvety, matte look that's particularly good for strong reds, Mercier says.

Using your finger also allows the lipstick to be used more as a stain, which will have the same color as the lipstick but not appear as thick. Dab on a very thin coat and then add a little lip balm in the center — it'll almost look like a "just-bitten lip," Mercier describes.

This technique works especially well with dark colors and is ideal for cocktail parties because the lip color isn't cakey and won't come off on a glass, says Mercier.

She adds: "You can kiss and it won't get all over everybody."

There's a lot of control in this method, says Mercier, because you're painting your lips on with an easy-to-use tool, and a brownish rose shade is the closest thing to a universal color she's found. "It's not too cool or too warm. It basically works on everyone."