FIND YOUR PERFECT LIP MATE
There are reds, pinks, mauves, browns, bluish reds, yellowish reds, cool pinks, warm pinks and so on. But which one is the one for you?
You might love a shade your friend usually wears or which a celeb has just rocked but when you try it on yourself it doesn’t seem all that good anymore. Sounds like a familiar tale? So, really which colour should you choose? There are several tips that people offer to help make the correct choice, however, our learning is – choose a shade that flatters your skin tone. Now how does one do that? Read on to know more.
– First things first, learn which shade suits your complexion and undertone. Complexion is basically the skin’s surface tone as per which you describe yourself as fair, dark or medium toned. However, the undertones are colours underneath your skin. Two people may have same complexion but different undertones and would thus need different shades to get the perfect look.
– Cool, warm and neutral are the different categories of undertones. And that’s the tricky part. How you can determine which category you fall in? Look at the inside of your wrist, while holding it over a piece of white paper. Compare the shade of your skin with the paper. You have cool skin tone if your skin appears pinkish, bluish or grey. And if it looks yellowish or brown against the paper, then you have warm skin tone and warm shades would work best for you.
Still not sure? Aesthetician and makeup expert Ruby Biswas suggests another test using silver and gold jewellery. Simply wear gold or silver jewellery and notice which suits you better, if silver then you have cool undertone and if gold then you have a warm undertone. And if both look good on you then you have neutral undertone and can enjoy both warm and cool shades.
– Now we come to the shades that suit different complexions and undertones.
1) Fair and cool undertones: light mocha, light mauve and nude.
We recommend: Tom Ford Lip Color in Sweet Mystery, Chanel Rouge Coco Shine in Reveuse and Lancome L’Absolu Rouge Lipstick in 351 Mauve Majeste.
2) Fair and warm undertones: shell, sand and nude peach.
We recommend: M.A.C Lipstick in Fast Play, NYX Full Throttle Lipstick in Kiss The Dust and Revlon Super Lustrous Lipstick in Smoked Peach.
3) Medium and cool undertones: rosy pink, pomegranate and cranberry.
We recommend: NYX Extra Creamy Round Lipstick in Strawberry Milk, Revlon ColorStay Overtime Lipcolor in Sheer Pomegranate and Maybelline Super Stay14HR Lipstick in Continous Cranberry.
4) Medium and warm undertones: bronze, copper and cinnamon.
We recommend: M.A.C Lipstick in Persistance, Chanel Rouge Double Intensite Ultra Wear Lip Colour in Dazzling Bronze and Maybelline Color Sensational The Buffs in Sin-a-mon.
5) Dark and cool undertones: ruby red, wine and raisin.
We recommend: Revlon Colorstay Overtime Lipcolor in Relentless Raisin, Bobbi Brown Lip Color in Raisin and Inglot Freedom System Lipstick Matte in 512.
6) Dark and warm undertones: coppery bronze, honey and ginger.
We recommend: Estee Lauder Pure Color Vivid Shine Lipstick in Copper Flash, Nars Satin Lipstick in Honolulu Honey and L’Oreal Paris Color Riche Lipcolor in Ginger Spice.
These guidelines are only to help you make a better choice. However, despite all rules and myths and tricks a colour that is technically not supposed to flatter you might actually look fabulous on you. That’s where the personal style steps in. Whether you follow these guidelines or your personal style at the end of the day you are your best judge. So play with colours, keep experimenting, and continue to reinvent yourself. Cheers!
Expert consulted: Ruby Biswas
