Not all of us are lucky enough to have lips like Angelina Jolie, some of us have lips that are thinner and require a little more help to get that “bee stung” look.

There are different ways to increase the size of your lips, with or without cosmetic procedures.

Lip enhancers: There are different types of these available on the market; most of them work by causing a mild allergic reaction, causing the lips to swell. Others contain ingredients such as Alpha Hydroxy Acids (AHA’s) or retinal, these claim to increase collagen production and give you fuller lips over a longer period of time. The best ingredient to look for on the label is menthoxypropanediol; this will help to give you fuller lips. Beauty therapists do not recommend that you use these for a long period of time as they can damage the skin on your lips.

Collagen: This is a more permanent solution; collagen is injected directly into the lip area. Collagen attracts moisture and can absorb up to 30 times its weight in water. The effects are much more noticeable than standard plumpers, they are more expensive and the injections need to be administered again between three and 6 months later as the collagen gets absorbed into the body.

Plumping lipstick: Many different brands have plumping lipsticks in their range. Although their effect is not as noticeable as normal plumpers, you get the added bonus of being able to choose from a range of colours, they are also gentler on your lips.

Make up: To make your lips look bigger, cover your lips with foundation, and then blot them. This will help disguise any imperfections and erase your natural lip line; it helps the colour to adhere and last longer and makes a good even base for the colour. Line your lips, following the natural shape, but draw slightly outside of your lip line. Apply lipstick, making sure that you go up to, but not over the line you have drawn. Try to stick to lighter colours and glosses; these help to reflect the light making your lips appear larger.

Formula: Liquid niacin and clove oil are said to be the best plumping agents, add a little clove oil to your lip-gloss or balm. You will only need a small amount, any more than this and you’ll end up with sore lips. Don’t apply niacin directly to your lips as many people say that it is very itchy (although it didn’t itch when I did it) Mix a little of it with your gloss or balm.

There are also pumps available that can increase the size of your lips, these work by creating a vacuum around your lips. This draws moisture to the lips and traps it there, giving you fuller lips. This effect is temporary, but if you used over a period of time, can permanently increase the size of your lips.

However, there is a way to achieve the same or similar effects of the $60 pump, for virtually free. All you will need is a thick plastic or glass bottle with a fairly wide mouth (I used glass).

Make sure the mouth of the bottle is wide enough for you to be able to fit your lips into it.  Gently purse your lips and place them in the mouth of the clean bottle. Once your lips are in the bottle, gently begin a sucking motion; you will feel the bottle begin to tighten. Once you can feel the bottle is tight enough, (it should NOT be painful) hold in position for about five seconds, then open your lips and remove the bottle, do this twice a day for about 2-3 weeks and you can increase the length of time and tightness of the bottle to suit you, 30 seconds should really be the maximum.

Please be careful, I tried 30 seconds with too much pressure and ended up bruising my lips, but if you stick to the 5-second rule for a while, you should be fine.