How to Choose the Right Lipstick Color for You

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This article was co-written by Katya Gudaeva. Katya Gudaeva is a professional makeup artist in Seattle, Washington. She has worked in the beauty industry for nearly 10 years and works with clients such as Microsoft, Amazon, Amy Schumer and Barneys New York.

There are 14 references cited in this article that you can view at the bottom of the page.

This article has been viewed 131,325 times.

With a wide selection of lipsticks, lip glosses, and lipsticks, the makeup stand can make you feel overwhelmed. This article will show you how to choose the right lipstick shade for your skin tone, outfit, and event.

Table of Contents

Determine skin tone

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Scan your skin under natural light to determine your skin tone: white, light, medium, tan, black. Focus on the skin around the jaw. ^{[1] X Research Source}

Fair skin: your skin is very pale or translucent and burns easily, freckles and redness may appear. ^{[2] X Research Source}
Light skin: Your skin is light in color. When exposed to the sun, your skin easily burns and can darken. ^{[3] X Research Sources}
Medium skin: you tan easily and generally don’t burn or be sensitive. ^{[4] X Research Sources}
Dark skin: the skin is tan or light yellow-brown. You rarely get sunburned and have a dark complexion even in winter. ^{[5] X Research Sources}
Black skin: the skin is dark in color and never gets sunburned. Your hair can be black or dark brown. ^{[6] X Research Sources}

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Observe the color of the veins on the wrist. Here’s how to quickly identify warm, neutral, or cool skin tones. ^{[7] X Research Sources}

Blue or purple veins mean you have a cool undertone.
Green veins correspond to warm skin tones.
If you can’t identify blue or green veins, your skin is neutral and can choose colors on both spectrums from cool to warm. People with light brown skin often have a neutral tone.

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Notice how your skin reacts to the sun: is your skin prone to tan or sunburn? ^{[8] X Research Sources}

Skin that is easily tanned has a lot of warm-toned melanin. Most African American and Indian women have this skin tone.
If you got a sunburn before tanning (and maybe not at all), your skin contains less melanin and has a blue tint. If your skin is as dark as ebony, you probably fall into this category.

Choose your daily lipstick color

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Choose a lip color that is one to two tones deeper than your natural lip color. ^{[10] X Research Source}

To test the shade closest to the lip color, apply lipstick only on the lower lip. Compare the color with the upper lip. If the two colors contrast a lot, you need to find another lipstick color. ^{[11] X Research Source}

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Determines to make lips thinner or fuller. Dark colors make the lips thinner, while light colors make them fuller. ^{[12] X Research Source}

Matte lipsticks also make lips appear thinner, while glosses and shimmers can make them appear fuller. ^{[13] X Research Source}

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Recognize skin tones and complexions.

Keep in mind that tone and skin tone will help guide you, but aren’t the most effective way to choose a lipstick shade. It’s important that you try out a variety of colors and ultimately choose the one that feels right to you .

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Experiment with expert-recommended colors for your complexion and skin tone.

If you have fair or light skin tone, you can choose bright pink, red-orange, peach, nude (skin color), or beige. ^{[14] X Research Source} If you have a cool skin tone, you can choose light brown and nude. For warm skin tones, choose light pink or light nude pink. ^{[15] X Research Source}
If your skin tone is medium, you should choose pink, light purple, or dark purple. ^{[16] X Research Source} Cool skin tone: choose pink or dark red. Warm skin tones: try bronze or light brown. ^{[17] X Research Source}
If you have dark skin, you should avoid brown and purple lipstick and choose orange shades. Most other colors are suitable. Try orange-red or deep pink. ^{[18] X Research Sources}
If you have dark skin, you should choose brown or purple colors such as dark brown, dark yellow, dark purple, or dark red. ^{[19] X Research Source} Cool skin tones should go with magenta and dark red. Warm skin tones: bronze or light brown. ^{[20] X Research Source}

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Should not be abused. Unless you want to make a big impression with a bold lip color (completely normal!), you should only apply bold lipstick on your lower lip. Pinch your lips, then use your fingers to blend the lipstick color. ^{[21] X Research Source}

Choose the right red

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Find colors that match your skin tone. As mentioned above, you can choose based on your skin tone and complexion. If you find your favorite lipstick color that doesn’t follow the “rule”, you can use this color!

Fair or light skin tone should go with rose red or orange red. Cool skin tone: rose red. Warm skin tones: try red with shades of blue or red-orange. ^{[22] X Research Source}
Dark or medium skin tones should choose bright red, dark red, or bright red with no other colors (if the skin tone is neutral). Warm tones: orange red or bright orange. Cool tones: dark red. ^{[23] X Research Sources}
Black skin with warm tones should choose red and blue. Cool tones: pinkish red or deep red. ^{[24] X Research Sources}

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Use red lipstick. This is a classic color that suits any woman, regardless of age, skin tone, hair, eyes or lip color. You should apply lipstick confidently!

How to choose to buy lipstick

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Try lipstick before you buy. Use alcohol to clean the test tip (stores have it in the form of a spray bottle) and use a test brush or cotton swab to apply lipstick to your lips. ^{[25] X Research Sources}

If you don’t want to test lipstick on your lips, you can apply it on your fingertips. Fingertips are more closely matched to lip color than wrists or outer arms. ^{[26] X Research Source}

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Wipe off old lipstick color before trying new color. Otherwise the two colors will mix together. Ask the vendor to provide water or makeup remover.

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Buy lipstick in a well-lit place.

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Wear little or no makeup when trying on lipstick. Choose a lipstick color that brightens your face without makeup and makes other makeup steps unnecessary.

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Offer to help at the makeup booth. Sometimes it’s hard to objectively judge which color suits you best. The expert at the makeup booth can choose the right lipstick shade for you.

Coordinating the lipstick color with the rest of the makeup

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Do not use lipstick colors that match the color of your clothes. For example, if you wear a bright red dress, applying the same lipstick color as your outfit will be too prominent.

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Have fun and experiment, but if you’re unsure, here are some guidelines:

Nude lipstick goes well with any outfit. This is a gorgeous color that is casual and can bring out dramatic eye colors.
Red can make a big impression in simple outfits. Should not be abused by using red lipstick in combination with bright red costumes with sophisticated motifs.
Pink is a versatile color because it comes in a variety of shades. The pink color is a few tones lighter than the natural lip color, suitable for delicate everyday makeup.
Deep purple can make a dark outfit look somber and make a light summer look feel heavy. You should combine deep purple with mixed neutral tones.

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Apply lipstick or dramatic eyeshadow instead of both.

Only apply mascara to the eyes, or apply dark brown eyeliner between the lashes.

Advice

These guidelines may help you, but they are not guidelines . Remember that everyone is different. The best lipstick shade may not depend on your skin tone, so it’s a good idea to try different colors.
When buying lipstick, don’t forget to buy lip liner, especially when buying red lipstick.
Red and blue can make teeth look whiter.
Do not try lipstick on your lips at the store, as lipstick can contain harmful bacteria. You should try it on the back of your hand instead.
Check the chemical composition before buying lipstick. First apply lipstick on your wrist and then use a ring, gold chain or any gold jewelry to rub it on. If the lipstick turns black, you should not buy that lipstick because it contains some harmful chemicals.
To make the lipstick last longer, use a lip liner to fill the entire lip (the same color as the lipstick) before applying lipstick. This way the lips still retain the color after the lipstick wears off.
Dramatic eye and lip makeup can look overwhelming and unattractive. You should only focus on the eyes or lips.
For those who like eye and lip makeup with highlights, I recommend bold black and red makeup. This makeup looks great, you will stand out from the crowd, even though conservatives think it’s weird, it really looks good.

Steps