Lip Blush or Lip Fillers in Australia: The One for You?
In the end, it comes down to colour or shape. For a softer “I have been sleeping well” appearance with some definition and improved tone but no overt volume, lip blush is the sensible way to go. Where you are after structural change, to put right an asymmetry or simply have fuller lips, then you will be better off with the more straightforward option of lip fillers. There are those who do both, yet they are not the same thing and that is where one can be misled.
I am Thomas Rourke and this is the sort of beauty conundrum that appears deceptively easy until you look at the finer points. You will find many pitting lip blushing Australia options against what the local filler clinics offer as if they were one and the same. They are not. One is cosmetic tattooing to put pigment in the skin, the other is typically an injection of hyaluronic acid gel for the purpose of volume or support.
Suppose you have a consult coming up and only a day to make your mind up. In brief: if pale or uneven lip tone and indistinct borders are your concern, go with the blush, which is a semi-permanent lip tint treatment. Filler is for when you want projection and plumpness. And if you are of a mind to have both, make sure you plan the sequence; do not put them back-to-back in some last minute fashion before lunch. That is a recipe for poor healing and double the outlay.
The Real Difference
There is much to be said for knowing your treatments so as not to apply the wrong fix. I would say it this way: you buy volume for volume and colour for colour. Yet I have seen plenty book in for filler over lip size when in fact it is the tone they object to.
Then there is the matter of expectations. A lip blush will give a fresher, more defined look and an impression of being a touch fuller. Fillers will put some softness and sharpness to the shape but they are no substitute for lipstick or lip pigment. On camera the two may seem to have something in common but they address different things.
What you get from a Lip Blush
Think of it as a means of correcting colour and putting in some definition, not for plumping. It has its appeal for the person who has had enough of reapplying tint or wants a neater border without the “done” effect, or perhaps has seen some colour ebb with the years.
You will hear it called permanent makeup or cosmetic tattooing at an Australian clinic but permanent is stretching it. What you are getting is a semi-permanent tint, pigment put into the lips for better tone and border.
The Procedure
After a practitioner has mapped the lips and talked through the desired colour, a numbing agent is put on topically. The pigment is worked into the lip tissue in passes. You should expect an initial visit and a touch-up down the track to see how the pigment has been retained.
Do not be under the impression that the colour on day one is what you are left with. Lips can be a little swollen and appear darker and brighter before they soften in the course of healing. It is all quite normal and nothing to worry about.
Duration
A question often put is how long does lip blush last. Allow 2 to 3 years for the improvement to be evident, give or take depending on the pigment you have chosen and your aftercare, sun exposure and so on. Some will have a faint result beyond that but it does not stay as crisp.
Five years on and the result will be warmer, lighter or patchier in most instances. At best it is a gentle fade. Not so tidy and you may be left with some residual colour calling for a refresh.
Fillers and Shape
For contour and structure, filler is what is made for the job. If you need to even out proportions or have more support at the edges.
Hyaluronic acid is the substance of choice for most of the lip fillers Australia has to offer, being something the body already has. There is a reason lips will appear to have put on some volume in short order post treatment, even with the swelling; hyaluronic acid has a way of drawing in water.
The Procedure
An injector of standing will first put the lips through their paces, at rest and in motion, before putting in filler by the drop to create shape. One might begin with 0.5 or 1 mL as the case may be, dictated by one’s anatomy and what is to be achieved. Be wary of any operator who would put you on to dramatic volume in one go without a word about facial balance.
You can expect results straight away but it is not over in a day. Some swelling and bruising is to be had for several days and will alter the appearance. So if there is a wedding or family photos in the offing, do not put it off till Thursday and make of it what you can by Saturday.
Longevity
As to how long do lip fillers last, 6 to 12 months is a good rule of thumb for most, although metabolism will see some process the filler quicker than others. How much was put in, the product, movement and so forth will all bear on longevity.
In the matter of lip tattoo versus lip filler that is a practical trade-off. Filler is more visible in its effect but demands more upkeep, hence more time at the clinic and expense. Lip blush does not require the same level of maintenance.
A Practical Comparison
One wishes they had read this before making an appointment. Thomas Rourke has dealt with his share of household projects and tourism plans to know that it is the practicalities and not the glossy pitch that leaves you content. The following is a side-by-side of the way things typically run in Australia, if not in every clinic.
| Factor | Lip Blush | Lip Fillers |
| Main goal | Colour, definition and an even tone | Volume and contour |
| Technique | Pigment via cosmetic tattoo | Hyaluronic acid gel injection |
| What you see | A soft tint | A reshaped, plumper look |
| How long it holds up | Two or three years before it fades | In the region of 6-12 months |
| Downtime | Tenderness and flaking as it heals | Days of swelling and bruising |
| Upkeep | Occasional refresh | More frequent filler sessions |
| Who it is for | Those with uneven or pale lips and a faded border | To put back volume or address asymmetry |
Which Face Fits
Trends are less of a consideration than where you are starting from. A practitioner worth his salt will dissuade you from a service that does not suit your anatomy.
Take lip blush as an example: it is well suited to one with adequate natural volume in search of better colour. Or for those who find themselves bare-faced without a tint and want something of longer duration than makeup. Not so if you have very dry lips with a skin barrier not in good nick, or are after a marked plumping.
Filler is for when you need support or a change in shape, or perhaps to give structure to a lip border prone to letting lipstick bleed. Do not go in expecting perfection out of a 1 mL syringe or no downtime at all; the skill of the injector and some restraint count for more than what is being sold.
Combining Them
It can be done but timing is everything. People are apt to rush this in the name of an event and forget how one procedure will affect the other and the healing involved.
The clinical approach is to let one thing settle before moving on to the next, so the practitioner has a stable shape to work with. If you are having lip blushing after filler, most clinicians will want to wait for the filler to do its settling so the outline is true to the lip. Tattoo first and then go in with filler to make substantial changes and the pigment map will not line up so well.
Then again, for a person with stable filler on whom better tone is the objective, it may be sensible to put in some blush at a later date. There are no hard and fast rules here, only what an individual assessment will show. When you are considering Cosmetic Tattoo Melbourne or one of the likes of Cosmetic Tattooing Brisbane, Lash and Brow Avenue, Skincare Laser Clinic, Alexia or Preah Love, put to them how they would go about sequencing a combined plan and the reasoning for it.
The cost of things
One has to look at the long game as well as the price tag for an initial visit. What seems like a bargain can turn into an expensive habit when you have factored in maintenance.
In Australia there is no set price; it will depend on the city, the practitioner, the product and if touch-ups come with the bill. The following is a guide to what the market is like today, without any embellishment.
| Treatment | Typical Australian Price | Notes |
| Lip blush (first time) | AUD 500–900 | Mapping is usually part of it; a separate or bundled touch-up may be required |
| Lip blush touch-up | AUD 150–300 | To be done once the initial healing is over |
| Lip filler 1 mL | AUD 450–900 | A function of the injector and product |
| Lip filler 0.5 mL | AUD 300–600 | Not all clinics have this |
In Australia you will see 1 ml of lip fillers run you some AUD 450–900, give or take according to the injector’s credentials and where you are. Lip blush is not dissimilar for the first round of work at around the same figure. But do not be fooled by the lip filler cost Australia; regular upkeep of your volume will have you spending more over the course of a year.
Risks to consider
Even the most routine cosmetic treatment carries risk. A more pertinent question than “is it safe?” is to know the risks, how they are mitigated and what the recourse is should anything go awry.
With fillers, complications can be of an urgent nature. The Therapeutic Goods Administration guidance on dermal fillers has made clear that a dermal filler injected into a blood vessel by accident can do tissue damage and even result in blindness. It is not something you will read in a brochure but it bears noting.
Side effects
You can expect some swelling, tenderness, flaking and colour that is uneven while a lip blush heals. Filler will cause its share of bruising and short term asymmetry as the product takes hold. Poor hygiene or neglect of aftercare opens the door to infection. An allergic reaction is not out of the question with numbing agents or pigments though it is uncommon.
What is often overlooked
With lip blushing the problem is not just the week of healing but the long tail of it: the way the colour fades, pigment retention and so on. Should the tone end up too cool or warm for your complexion, you are stuck with it for some time.
Fillers are a matter of skill and upkeep. There is a tendency to top up before the old product has dissolved and a subtle job is overfilled. That “just a little more” attitude is the source of much trouble in aesthetic medicine.
Aftercare
It is easy to put off aftercare in the same way one might ignore the parking signs once the car is away, yet it is essential. Follow-through is what allows good work to heal properly.
Lip blush: clean the area, stick to the balm you have been given, do not pick at it and stay out of strong sun. Observe the clinic’s instructions on exercise and so forth in the early stages.
For filler: apply cold compresses as directed, put no pressure on the lips and forgo alcohol and strenuous activity for a while if the clinician says so. Any severe pain or discolouration warrants an immediate review.
And if cold sores are an issue, make sure to say so prior to the procedure. They can be brought on by such treatments and the practitioner may want you to put a plan in place with your GP.
Be judicious in your choice of practitioner
The true value is to be found here. A social feed with all the bells and whistles will not inform you on the matter of hygiene or how complications are handled, nor will it reveal if the before-and-afters were put together in anything resembling good light.
Then there is Thomas Rourke’s rule of thumb: find a person who can give a plain answer to an ordinary question, one who tells you what is off limits and has no trouble saying “you are not a good candidate for this today”. You would do well to put more stock in that than in a succession of glamour shots.
Some questions you should put to them
What is your training for this particular procedure?
Tell me how many lip cases of my type you see in a month.
In my instance, what side effects are most probable?
Should I end up with an uneven heal or am not happy with it, what then?
With filler I want to know your approach to vascular complications and whether emergency protocols are in place at the clinic.
For blush, which pigments are they and how do they tend to fade?
Allow for realistic timing as far as logistics go, in larger cities this is important. Once you factor in numbing and mapping a lip blush session will take longer than anticipated. Filler is quicker but make no plans for something public right afterwards. And if you are behind the wheel, have time to park; there is nothing to be said for being late and under stress for a cosmetic procedure. On public transport, leave some leeway to get a coffee or balm on the way back.
Make a fitting choice
Is lip blushing to be preferred over filler? Not in every case. Lip blush offers a low-maintenance freshness of colour and soft definition. Filler is the way to go for volume and a structural change that is plain to see.
“Without tint my lips are non-existent” is a complaint best addressed by lip blush. “They are thin or misshapen” calls for the efficacy of filler. The sensible view in the lip tattoo versus filler debate is to ask which one will put right your problem without making another in its stead.
A few FAQs
Is there any downside to lip blushing?
There is. Healing time, some flaking and swelling, the fact that colour does not always fade evenly and that you will require a touch-up. It is not going to put volume in your lips so is not suited to that objective.
Cost of 1 mL of fillers in Australia?
Anywhere from AUD 450 to 900 these days. It is a function of the product, where the clinic is, and the injector’s credentials.
And after five years?
More often than not you will see a much lighter result, perhaps a bit patchy or of a different tone according to the pigment. Some are content with the softer tint left behind, others have it corrected.
Is lip blushing better than filler?
If colour and definition are what you are after, yes. For plumpness or to alter structure, generally no. They are not interchangeable.
Do people have both?
Certainly. But the prudent thing is to let one settle before the other, your practitioner will advise on the timing.
Thomas Rourke’s parting word
To put it in a nutshell, lip blush makes your lips seem better, whereas filler reconfigures them. One is like painting a fence, the other moving it. Neither has an edge over the other unless the practitioner is at fault or expectations are rough as guts.
Go with the treatment that is appropriate and put aside money for upkeep. Do not be swayed by a discount. As with home repairs, the cheap option in beauty is frequently the one that costs you in the end.