5 Unflattering Lipstick Shades Older Women Should Never Wear—They Wash You Out!

Lipstick is like a little bit of magic. The right lip color can add instant brightness to your face, and you may even find that you can get away with not a stitch of additional makeup as long as you’re wearing your favorite lip shade — it can make that powerful a transformation.

But something natural happens to many of us as we age. Our lips may appear smaller and the lip line less defined. You may find it more difficult to apply just lipstick without a primer or lip liner. Or you may be applying the same lip shade that looked amazing on you in previous years, and it’s just not hitting the same way.

Makeup is meant to evolve with our changing style and needs. This doesn’t just mean swapping one foundation formulation for another, like a formula that is better for dry skin. It also means taking note when your lips aren’t “singing” in that lip color and adjusting it to one that is lighter, more muted, or less matte (matte lipsticks are notorious for drying out the lips). Although there are no hard and fast rules when it comes to lip shades and you should wear whatever makes you feel your best, generally speaking, these five lipstick shades tend to be unflattering on many women over 50.