How to Choose a Lipstick Color

Lipstick can be subtle, glamorous or flirty, adding the final touch to your day or evening makeup.

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Mirrors
• Facial Tissues
• Lip Brush
• Lip Gloss
• Lip Liners
• Lipstick
• Lipstick

1. Choose a color that complements the natural shade of your lips and skin. Plums, wines and deep reds flatter a dark skin tone, while light-brown beiges with pink or orange undertones complement a lighter skin tone. Olive skin looks good with brownish reds, light browns and raisin shades of lipstick.

2. Keep colors lighter for daytime and darker for night. Matte and cream finishes offer a subtler daytime look, while a high-gloss finish adds glamour for evening. A sheer, natural-looking color with a little shine also works well for day.

3. Experiment. Head to your local department store and ask a makeup artist to test different shades on your lips. Whenever possible, check in natural light to see how the color really looks with your complexion.

4. Create your own shade by combining colors. If the shades you find don't completely satisfy you, mix your own color. The easiest way to do this is by applying each color to your lips with a lip brush, then blending with the brush on your lips.

5. Opt for a lip liner that is a shade darker than your lipstick and in the same color family.

6. Line lips after applying lipstick, not before. That way you won't end up with a dark circle of lip liner after your lipstick has worn off.

Tips & Warnings

• Try a colored gloss or lip tint for a sheer hint of lip color.
• Buy the colors that look good on you'not the ones that look good in the tube.
• Deep or bold lip color complements light eye makeup, while light or nude lipstick flatters heavy eye makeup.

[chelpickering]

on 6/12/2009 To know if you have the right shade of lip stick or lip gloss, apply it to your bottom lip and if its two shades darker that your shade! =]

[missy26]

on 3/1/2009 I'm half Asian and half Caucasian and I like pinks, reds, and plums. Olive skin looks great with color. Beige's and browns tend to wash me out. But go to your local make-up counter and just go crazy and have fun trying on different colors until you figure it out.

[pkitty]

on 2/15/2008 I have very pale skin with dishwater blonde hair and I can not wear the light brown-beige with pink or orange undertones as it makes my face look washed out. I have to stay with the dark pink or clear pink reds with blue undertones...even in nail polish. Everyone with light skin does not necessarily look gook in light colors.

on 8/8/2006 ALWAYS buy lipstick that looks good on you and not what looks good in the tube.

on 6/30/2006 Never use purple, or any other extreme color, because it looks horrible. If you go too extreme, then it takes away away from all the other good makeup that you have. Also, try not to overload your makeup, it may not look that good, or when people do see you without makeup they may think you look completely different.