This article has been updated since its initial publish date to include more expert insight.
Finding the right lipstick color to match your skin tone and undertones can be challenging at first, but it doesn’t have to be! We reached out to professional makeup artists and experts for suggestions and advice regarding lipstick colors, and go-to tips to keep in mind when testing out products and shopping for new lipsticks, colored glosses, etc. Read on for insight on how to avoid an unflattering lip color from Mandie Brice, professional makeup artist and Katya Bychkova, beauty expert.
Tip #1— Find Your Main Undertone — W, C, or N
In order to prevent an unflattering lipstick look, Brice advises you to first determine your main skin undertone. "I think the best choice for lip color is sticking with your undertone." If you're a "warm," she says to choose a warm-toned lip color. If you're "cool" or "neutral," her advice is to pick one of those respectively.
"You can find your undertone easily by looking at the veins on the inside of your forearm," she explains. If they are blueish, Brice notes that you have a cooler undertone, and if they are greenish, you can go for a warmer color.
Bychkova agrees, and says that your skin's undertone is an "underlying hue that defines your complexion." The shade you can distinguish from "underneath the surface" of your skin could make or break your makeup look. "The undertone could be cold, warm, or neutral," she reiterates. Traditionally, skin undertones are used to help you find the right complexion tones, she adds, "but knowing your undertone could also help you pick the entire makeup look, from a bronzer to lipstick." General advice, she says, would be to "avoid lipstick hues that do not work for your skin's undertone, i.e., don't wear cool shades if you have warm undertones, and don't go for warm hues if your undertone is cool."
Additionally, a pro tip to keep in mind, Brice says, is that "if silver jewelry looks better on you, you’re more suited to cooler tones, but if gold is better, you have a warm undertone." There’s also the possibility that you’re neutral, which is if gold and silver are equally flattering. "Sometimes, lip colors will have a "W," "C," or "N" in their color name, but usually not," she points out, and "identifying undertones is something that gets better with practice."
The Best Colors For Each Tone
To avoid the most *unflattering* lip colors, it helps to know which work best for your tone, Bychkova advises, and sticking to them. She offers the following quick guide to refer back to if you're ever lost, trying swatches for the umpteenth time and/or need assistance when picking out the right product for your undertone:
Fair or light skin with warm undertones: Bychkova says to try lipstick shades in "warm pinks, coral, peach, or nude beiges with a warm, orange-y undertone."
Fair or light skin with cool undertones: Pinky nudes, soft mauve, and roses with a bluish undertone would "work perfectly for you," she notes.
Medium skin with warm undertones: "Deeper peach and coral shades would work perfectly for you!"
Medium skin with cool undertones: Deeper shades of rose and mauve "look best," and she says to "try experimenting with cool undertone berry hues."
Tan skin with warm undertones: Bychkova suggests "considering nude shades with touches of peach, warm brown, or caramel." As for the brights, try cardinal and candy apple red.
Tan skin with cool undertones: Pinkish and berry with blue undertones "work best for people with that skin tone." Claret is a perfect shade of red to consider.
Dark skin with warm undertones: She says to "Go for deep, dark, warm browns."
Dark skin with cool undertones: "Think ruby red and deep, cool plums," Bychkova concludes.
The more you know!
