How to pick a nude lipstick for your skin tone
It’s time to get nude. With your lipstick shade, that is.
The natural, pared-back makeup look has dominated both on and off the runways for the past few years. It’s even become a mainstay on the red carpet, proving it works just as well for a night out as it does for every day.
The staple beauty product for the look? A nude lipstick. It’s a product that really does look great on everyone – providing you find the right shade. Go too dark and you risk looking washed out. Too light and your lips will disappear all together. The aim is a your-lips-but-better colour that enhances rather than drains your colouring.
Armed with these tricks, you’ll know how to pick a nude lipstick that is perfect for your skin tone in no time.
Overview:
How to pick a nude lipsticks in 3 easy steps
1. Find your undertone
Much like our skin and foundation shades, there are three undertones for lip stick – cool, warm and neutral. Each of these undertones, aka the colour underneath your skin, determines your overall hue.
An easy way to work this out is to look at the underside of your forearm and examine the colour of the veins peeking through. If you spy green, you’re warm toned (olive skin). If they’re blue, you’re probably cool toned (light skin). Can’t tell? You’re probably neutral which means you have pinky-gold undertones.
You're probably wondering how this helps knowing how to pick a nude lipstick. How do you translate this into finding the right nude lip shade? You’ll often see the lip stick names have the words ‘warm’ or ‘beige’ or ‘cool’ in them. An easy step in the right direction is matching that to your skin's undertone.
2. Test in the right spot
When swatching lipsticks, you’re likely to test a colour out on your hand, right? Well, you might be surprised to learn that you’ve been doing it wrong all this time. Swatching on your hand is not the most accurate way to work out what the colour will actually look like on your lips.
For a more accurate representation, try to pick shades that appear one shade lighter or darker than your natural lip color and swatch them on your fingertips (yes, really). Then hold them up to your lips to compare. When it comes to knowing how to pick a nude lipstick, this is a game-changer.
3. Go by your skin tone
Wanna know how to pick a nude lipstick based on your skin tone? Simply use this guide:
- Super fair? Try a dusty or rosy baby pink which will warm up the skin rather than a straight beige, like Napoleon Perdis Devine Goddess Lipstick in Electra.
- If you’re fair with slight olive undertones, go for a warmer nude shade like pink or beige. Warmer olive tones look great in a caramel-toned beige kind of shade.
- Medium skin tones should look for lip stick shades with a brown base, while those with bronzed or dark skin will suit deeper brown lipstick. The beige shades that are lighter than your skin tone will dull rather than brighten your complexion. Give Elf Day To Night Lipstick Duo in Need It Nudes a go.
What about lip liner?
When it comes to lip liner colour the same rules apply. However, if you are opting for a fuller look, then you can choose a lip liner that is one to two shades darker than your chosen lip shade. This helps to create definition and - if you’re game - you can even have a crack at lip contouring.
Shop all our lip sticks online today and find your perfect nude.
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Did you love this post? There's much more where that came from! Read about all things hair and beauty including the best purple shampoo for blondes, how to grow out your hair and how to take care of lips at home. Find all this and more on the Oz Hair & Beauty blog today!
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