1. Determine your skintone
The very first step in choosing the right lipstick color is determining what skin tone you have. There are 5 main types of skin complexion: fair, light, medium, tan, and deep. The lipstick shades that usually look great with fair or light skin are light pink, coral, peach, nude, and dusty red colors. Rose, berry, cherry red, and mauve lipstick colors look gorgeous on girls with a medium skin tone. Girls with a tan skin tone can totally rock coral, deep pink, bright red, and most other colors except for brown and purple shades.
2. Determine your skin undertone
Knowledge of you skin undertone will definitely help guide you. Basically, there are 3 types of undertones: cool, warm, and neutral.
- Cool undertones: fair or light skin — soft mocha or nude; medium skin — pink or cranberry shades; tan or deep skin — ruby or wine shades.
- Warm undertones: fair or light skin — pale pink or peachy nudes; medium, tan or deep skin — copper or bronze shades.
- Neutral: wide spectrum of colors, both cool and warm tones.
3. Shape of your lips
- Top heavy lips: bright lipstick on the bottom of the lips and a slightly darker shade of the same color on the upper lip.
- Bottom heavy lips: any color that suits your undertone + a little bit of light nude color right in the center of the upper lip.
- Asymmetrical lips: use a lip pencil in a shade similar to the lipstick color to outline the lips.
4. Size of the lips
- Thin lips: avoid dark and flashy lipstick colors, they will only make your lips look even thinner. Try applying glosses and creamy lipsticks.
- Plump lips: avoid lipstick shades that are too light and glossy, glittery textures.
5. Hair color
- Dark hair, fair and light skin: bright pink, scarlet, cherry, and plum colors.
- Blond hair, fair and light skin: dusty pink, purply pink, light pink, and scarlet colors.
- Dark hair, tan and deep skin: golden beige, ochre, terracotta, and bronze colors.
- Blond hair, tan and deep skin: caramel, ochre, warm pinks, and “salmon” pink.
- Brown hair, medium skin: beige, “salmon” pink, corals, and deep dusty pinks.
- Red hair, fair skin: “salmon” pink, corals, terracotta, and burnt sienna.
