Warm. Warmer. Cool. When it comes to finding the best lipstick colours to suit your skin tone, where do we even begin? We’ve devised a neat little quiz to help you find out by the end of this blog, you’ll be braced with cool new ways to find swatches that suit your skin tone.
We’ve done our homework
Before going hue-happy, you’ll want to identify your skin’s undertone first. While most people tend to fall into one of two categories, warm or cool, we’ve met many tone-neutral folk (a mix of both warm and cool). The easy way to check, is to observe what your veins look like under natural light.
How to recognise cool undertones
If your veins appear more blue than green under natural light, then it’s likely you’re rocking cooler undertones. If silver jewellery tends to be your thing and your skin holds a pink, red or bluish hue this one’s for you. Some cool-toned celebrities include: Alek Wek, Anne Hathaway, Billie Eilish, Cara Delevingne, Lupita Nyong'o, Mindy Kaling, Octavia Spencer, and Song Hye-kyo.
Lipstick colours for cool undertones
Lipsticks with blue or purple undertones are more likely to complement your complexion. Think of cool, cherry red versus burnt orange base-notes. If you’re going for a more neutral look, opt for rosy beiges and taupes.
- Woke Up Like This (pictured above)
- Sweet Nothings
- Do-Gooder
- Beauty Sleep
- Pep Talk
How to recognise warm undertones
If your veins appear more green under natural light then you might fall into the warm undertone category. You may have a peach, golden, yellow or olive hue to your skin and be drawn towards gold jewellery because it looks phenomenal on you. Some warm-toned celebrities include: Ariana Grande, Dua Lipa, Kim Kardashian, Nicole Kidman, Priyanka Chopra, and Scarlett Johansson.
Lipstick colours for warm undertones
Folks with warm undertones look exceptionally good in warm shades like brick red, zesty orange, and earthy terracotta. Richer nudes, taupes and browns look great on you, but so do fiery reds and coppers.
- Lip Service (pictured above)
- Your Lips But Better
- Never Nude
- First Date
- Daydream
- Glow Up
- Plump Up The Jam
How to know if you have neutral undertones
If your veins appear neither blue nor green under natural light you might be carrying some neutral undertones over there. This is pretty great news, you versatile thing, you. Folks with neutral undertones tend to have a mix of pink and yellow in the base of their skin, look great in both silver and gold, and get to enjoy a whole spectrum of colours to complement their tone.
Jessica Biel, Kerry Washington, Kristen Stewart and Miranda Kerr are some of the lucky neutral-toned celebrities on our radar. We have sneaking suspicions Lizzo might be a neutral natural. She looks amazing in every shade; lime green, burnt orange, cool red, toasty yellow. (Am I right?)
Lipstick colours for neutral undertones
From beiges to browns all the way through those berry tones - you can wear it all. Experiment confidently, and when you're ready to remove melt it all away with our Overachiever Balm Cleanser.
TL:DR
- Take the quiz
- Suss your undertones. (BYO: Window and sunlight)
- Warm: If your veins appear greenish under natural light, this might hint to warmer undertones. Your skin tends to carry yellow, peach or golden base tones.
- Cool: Bluish veins under natural light indicate cool undertones. Your skin tends to hold a red, pink or blue hue. Aim for colours with blue and purple undertones.
- Neutral: The world is your colour-filled oyster. Wear it all, and experiment with the depth of colour based on your complexion.
If you’re looking to build on the basics, check out our other write-ups on finding the best shade of red nail polish for your skin tone. We’ve even stepped out how to master the bold red lip for striking swatch lovers everywhere.
