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When choosing a lip shade, no matter a lipstick, colored gloss, lip pencil or any other lip color, you want to pick something that flatters your skin tone. And, an important part of considering your skin is the undertone.
The undertone of your skin may be cool, warm or neutral, and identifying it will help you choose all of your makeup, including your lip color.
But how do you determine your undertone? Check out the information below, as well as the corresponding lip shades for each skin undertone.
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The Best Lip Color for Your Skin Tone
Warm Undertone
People with warm undertones to their skin typically have an olive or golden skin tone. If you tan easily and gold jewelry compliments your skin, you likely have a warm skin undertone. Another way to check is to look at the veins on the underside of your wrists. If they appear more green than blue, you likely have a warm tone.
The best lip shades for a warm skin tone are warm as well—peaches, oranges, corals and bronzes. Anything on the warm side of the color wheel will be most flattering.
Bargain: Maybelline New York Color Sensational Inti-Matte Nudes Lipstick in Honey Pink, $10
Mid Range: Kosas Weightless Lip Color Nourishing Satin Lipstick in High Cut, $26
Splurge: Gucci Velvet Matte Lipstick in Terra Cotta, $49
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Cool Undertone
If your skin looks rosy or pink when you wear white, you likely have a cool undertone to your skin. If you burn easily, you have a cool undertone. And if the veins under your skin look blue, that’s yet another indication of cool.
People with a cool undertone to their skin look great in cool colors. Purples, deep berry shades, mauves and colors with a blue undertone work well.
Bargain: L’Oreal Paris Glow Paradise Lip Balm-in-Gloss with Pomegranate Extract in Fete de Fleurs, $9
Mid-Range: Bobbi Brown Crushed Lip Color Moisturizing Lipstick, $33
Splurge: Tom Ford Lipstick in Deep Berry, $62
Neutral Undertone
If you burn and then tan in the sun, you may be a neutral undertone. The veins will have a greenish-blue or bluish-green color and you’ll notice both pinks and yellows in your skin.
There are a lot of lip color options for neutral undertones, since both cool and warm tones can look good on your skin. You may feel a bit overwhelmed if you have a neutral undertone, since there’s so many possibilities. To narrow it down, consider your overall skin tone. If you are fair, start with pink hues, if you have a medium skin tone, opt for mauve and deep berry shades for dark skin.
Bargain: e.l.f. Glow Reviver Lip Oil in It’s Giving Guava, $8
Mid-Range: Summer Fridays Dream Lip Oil in Bare Sand, $26
Splurge: Dior Addict Lip Maximizer Plumping Gloss in Berry, $40
Regardless of skin tone, experiment and have fun with lip color. The guidelines above are just a place to start, not hard and fast rules. If you know certain hues look great on you, go with them!
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