How to Choose the Right Shade of Lipstick

Do you get bored with your lipstick colors all the time? Want to mix things up but have no idea where to start? Well, let’s get started together! I can help you with these simple tips to destroying your fears and helping you choose the right shade of lipstick, or even a new shade of lipstick, for a new season of you!

how to choose the right shade of lipstick

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In This Episode We Cover:

• The best ways you can find inspiration in color choice for your lipstick
• One of the easiest ways you can discover your skin’s undertone
• The surprising body part that may just give you clues to your ideal lipstick shade

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click here to read the transcript!

Episode 16: Show notes

Today, I’m diving into the world of lipstick shades and learning how to choose the right one for you.

Whether you’re clueless to lip colors or just looking to take a chance and be a bit bold, I’ve got you (and your lips) covered.
So, get ready for some shortcuts and hints to help you feel more confident in selecting the perfect lipstick shade.

         

1. Let Your Clothing Inspire You          

Take a peek into your closet and see what colors dominate your wardrobe.

By observing which colors work harmoniously with your clothing and the opposite colors, you can get an idea of what lipstick shades might suit you best. And if you find choosing colors challenging, a color wheel can be an invaluable tool to have on hand. Check out my favorite color wheel here.        

2. Be Friends with Your Skin’s Undertone  

       
Understanding your skin’s undertone is crucial in discovering flattering lipstick shades.

An easy way to determine your undertone is by examining the inside of your arm, specifically the area near your wrist where your veins are visible.

This can give you insight into whether you have a warm, cool, or neutral undertone. Delve into our podcast notes for more information on undertones.

The basics are:

• green veins – warm undertone
• purple/blue veins –  cool undertone
• if you can’t tell, or your veins appear blue/green, your skin may have neutral undertones.  

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3. Consider Your Natural Hair Shade          

Your natural hair color can provide further guidance in choosing lip colors.

If you have black hair, deep, dark tones may suit you well. On the other hand, warm reds and peaches could complement strawberry blondes with warm undertones. If you have deep red hair with cool undertones, explore cool to neutral red lipstick shades for a contrasting effect.          

4. Take a Peek Inside          

An unconventional trick to finding your ideal lipstick color is to take a look at the inside of your gums.

The shade you see can give you hints about whether warmer or cooler tones would work best for you. For those feeling adventurous, you can even compare the shade to that of your nipples or use the thumb and finger method to assess color variations.          

5. Embrace Reinforcement and Break Some Rules:          

These tips are meant to guide and reassure you in your lipstick choices.

However, don’t be afraid to break some of these “rules.”

Sometimes, experimenting with unconventional shades can lead to unexpected and exciting discoveries. Remember, lipstick is all about having fun and expressing yourself!          

With these quick tips and tricks, you’re equipped to go out and find your next favorite lipstick shade. Use your clothing, skin undertone, natural hair color, and unconventional techniques to support and inspire your choices.

Regardless of your undertone, or even if you’re not sure what on earth an undertone is, it’s okay to experiment with different shades.

And don’t forget, it’s okay to break the rules and take chances. There is nothing to gain from viewing your makeup as a daunting task.

If you’re getting older and aren’t so sure what works anymore, try something new. You may get it right, or you may not, but taking a chance and experimenting with a different shade is the best first step you can take to learning more about what works, and ultimately, what makes you feel great when you’re wearing it.

Lipstick is an opportunity to let loose and have fun! Now go out there, find your perfect match shade, and embrace the joy of expressing yourself through the power of your lippy!      

If you enjoyed this episode, I’d love to hear from you!

Share your thoughts with me on Instagram @themakeuprefinery. I’m always eager to know what you want to hear more about.
And if you’re loving the show, leaving a five-star review would mean so much to me!

Thank you for joining me, stay fab and see you next time on Five Minute Face Talk.

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Click here to listen to this episode!

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Episode Transcript

[00:00:00]:

Welcome back to Five Minute Face Talk.

In this episode, I want to talk about something that I am asked about so often, I see in forums online I read about all the time.
So without any further ado, let’s get into how to pick the right shade of lipstick.

Now, this can come up a lot when people are basically colorblind to knowing (metaphorically, of course) when it comes to knowing what shade of lipsticks to wear, not being confident with what lip colors suit them, or how to take chances when mixing things up. There are a few ways that you can make a few shortcuts, get a few hints as to what your ideal lip shades should be.

[00:01:19]:

So I wanted to just share those with you today and help you and help the people that you make up. Your clients, your actors, your friends, your family, whoever it is, help them just feel more confident with making a choice and maybe even taking a chance and being a bit bold, because lipstick is really one of those opportunities we have to have fun and to really change it up from time to time.
The first really big hint should be the clothing that you wear. Take a look. What color clothing do you wear most often?
And look at what colors work harmoniously with that color and also what the opposite colors are.
Again, I feel like I harp on about the color wheel all the time, but having a color wheel really can help you if this is a struggle because it doesn’t come naturally to all of us. So if you need help and if you need that reference point, just grab yourself a color wheel.

[00:02:22]:

I’ll link to one of the basic ones that’s on Amazon. You can even get the Terry Tomlinson makeup color wheel, which is fantastic to have. And honestly, I’m sure all of us as pro makeup artists have one in our arsenal already.
Now, aside from the clothing, this is probably the most important one to know and already understand, and that’s to become friends with your skin’s undertone.
So how do you do that? Well, the easiest and most instant way you can do it is to look at the inside of your arm. Look at your wrist where your veins are and work out your undertone. And I’ll link to more information about this as well. And I feel like I never stop going on about undertone.

[00:03:07]:

But these things will help you choose some lip colors or change up your lip color choice as well.
And now another thing that you can look at is your natural hair shade. Do you have black hair? You might suit super deep dark tones. Do you have strawberry blonde hair? And if so, if you have a warm undertone, maybe you want to look at more warm colors, like peaches and deep oranges or warm reds. If you have deep red hair that has a cooler undertone, maybe you want to look at more cool to neutral reds. There are different ways you can work out what contrasts or what complements your natural skin tone. Another really good hint that I don’t know goes back in time, I guess, is to look at the inside of your gums. So check out that shade.

[00:04:00]:

It might be more of a cooler sort of purpley pinky shade, or it might be more on that warm, rusty red shade that is supposedly your ideal lip shade. And if you want to get a bit saucy, you can also take a look at your nipples, because your nipples are probably quite a similar shade to that inner gum shade.

You can press your fingers, your finger, and thumb together and see the shade that that goes as well. But these are all different techniques you can use to help reassure you, to give you a bit of reinforcement in knowing what sort of color choices you can make, and then learn to break them as well. Break those rules, baby.
I hope this has given you some guidance and given you some quick tips to go out there and find your next favorite lipstick color. I’ll see you next time. Inside five minute face talk.

Kerrin [00:04:55]:

And yeah, if you’re loving the show, please DM me on Instagram @themakeuprefinery. I love hearing what you’re into, what you might want to hear about that we haven’t touched on yet, and we’ve only just begun, so there’s plenty of opportunity left there.
And thank you so much for all the love that’s coming. I love hearing from you, and if you haven’t already, please feel free to leave me just a five star review if you’re loving it. It’s been a great start to the podcast. I’m so grateful and just loving every minute of this journey so far. So thank you so much. All right, I’ll see you next time.

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