Do clear retainers really work to hide lip piercings?

Clear retainers do not hide lip piercing as well as I thought it would. I put one in , and you could still see the piercing. It was hard to speak because I kept focusing on swallowing it. Since I was at work I didnt have the ball on it. So there was nothing keeping it together from the front of my mouth. Then i tried putting the small ball on it, and putting make up on it.