How to Choose the Right Lipstick From Start to Finish

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By igislandgirl
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These days there are so many lipsticks to choose from it is hard to choose the right lipstick. There is lip gloss, lip stain, lip stick, natural lipstick, and medicated lipstick so how do you choose? Then once you have decided in the type then there is the color and the finish glossy, or matte?? Not only do you have to choose the kind of lipstick and the type of lipstick you have to choose the brand of lipstick. Let’s see there is Max Factor, Rimmel, Cover Girl, Revlon, Estee Lauder, Clinique, Almay, and Avon to mention just a few. So how do you choose a lipstick, without spending a fortune trying all these lipsticks out. Read on to find out.

Difficulty: Moderate

Instructions

Step 1

So first let’s figure out the color. The color lipstick you choose really should depend on your skin tone. Choosing a lipstick to go with your skin tone instead of your out fit or your shoes will tend to me more flattering.
Fair Skin Tone Do’s

Deep plum reds like soft berry and wine reds with a blue undertone work wonderfully with fair skin.
Medium brown with pink undertones or beige lipsticks with a pink undertone brighten up fair skin.
Browns like Mocha browns, and darker brown/pink lipsticks for an evening lipstick.
Pinks such as light shiny pink lipsticks with blue undertones works well with fair skin.
Pink with a slight gold shimmer also enhances this skin tone very nicely.
Try to stay away from hot pink lipstick as it overpowers fair skins.
Extra pale browns with yellow undertones make fair skin look washed out.
Avoid reds with an orange undertone.

Medium Skin Tone
Deep reds and the Blue-reds brighten medium skin with a yellow undertone.
Brown and warm reds will soften and look warm on medium skin.
Rich caramel shades, medium brown with yellow or pink undertones, and creamy coffee color browns can also be flattering to medium skin tone.
Pinks like rich and deep pinks tend to look best on medium skin. Also pinks with brown undertones enhance and flatter medium skins very well.
Sheers, creams, and mattes can also be tried using these shades of pink.
Browns that are very pale can make medium skins look ashy and washed out.

Yellowish Skin Tone
Go for rich, deep brown reds and deep, dark berry shades.
Stay away from orange or reds and pink or red shades.
Browns with a red or auburn or mahogany undertone and rich browns that resemble coffee, toffee, and chocolate colors work well with yellowish skin tone.
Pinks like deep berries, rich rose, and soft to medium plums with strong yellow undertones are flattering to this skin tone.
Avoid pinks that are to cool and too light as these pinks can make complexion look draining.

Brownish Or Black Skin Tone
Go for red color with a blue undertone, which are deep and rich. Also, mahogany, and deep plums, and wine reds are worth trying.
Avoid orange and pink reds on this skin tone.
Almost any shade of brown color such as light browns to a rich, dark, coffee brown suits black skin tone.
Pinks like medium and soft sheer pinks, pink in glosses and sheers with a touch of beige can really enhance this skin tone.
Berries, deep roses, and plums also flatter this
Step 2

A lipstick finish is the way the color sits on your lips. Lipstick finishes range from matte to shiny. Matte finishes appear flat and dry. Shiny finishes on the other hand look glossy and moist. Choose a lipstick finish based on your lip size.
Step 3

Matte finishes go well on big lips because of their minimizing effect. Shiny finishes work best on thin lips because they make them appear fuller. For medium-sized lips, you have the lucky option of choosing either matte or shiny.

Comments

SarahElizabeth said

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on 10/13/2009 Thank you for the fantastic article! I wish I'd read this ten years ago... I went through no less than thirty tubes of lipstick/lip gloss/and-who-knows-what-else trying to find out what looked good on me. 5*

majesticdevotio said

on 10/1/2009 Good article. Choosing and applying makeup is an art. Sounds like you know your stuff. Good job.

grimsleygl said

on 9/20/2009 Good article, thanks! I heard once that for older ladies, we must shy away from frosted lip color. I tend to agree, but then I've seen some older women wearing frost on their lips and it is not too bad actually. I guess it's a trial and error kind of thing and also very individualized. No real pattern for anyone when it comes to age anyway. I like to stick with companies that allow for sampling of the many colors. This helps as well. Thank you so much for your color ideas! 5*'s