Finding your perfect lipstick shade doesn’t have to be overwhelming. One of the biggest frustrations with buying lipstick is that the color in the tube often looks completely different once it’s on your lips. The reason? Every shade interacts differently depending on your skin tone and undertones.
Understanding your undertone is the key to choosing the most flattering lipstick. Just like paint colors are built on base tones, every lipstick has an undertone that determines how it looks when worn. Once you know whether you have warm, cool, or neutral undertones, it becomes much easier to pick lipstick shades that enhance your natural complexion instead of clashing with it.
Skin tone and undertone are two different aspects of a person's complexion, and understanding both is important when choosing makeup, clothing, or hair color that complements your natural features.
Skin Tone: Skin tone refers to the surface color of your skin:
- Fair
- Medium
- Deep
Your undertone is the subtle hue that is underneath the surface of your skin:
- Cool undertones: hints of pink, blue, or purple.
- Warm undertones: hints of yellow, peach, or golden.
- Neutral undertones: Don't lean strongly in either the cool or warm direction and may have a mix of both.
An easy way to determine your skin's undertone is by looking at the veins on your wrist.
- Look at the veins on the underside of your wrist or the back of your hand in natural light.
- If your veins appear bluish or purple, you likely have cool undertones.
- If your veins appear greenish, you likely have warm undertones.
- If it's difficult to tell whether they are more blue or green, you may have neutral undertones.
Once you’ve figured out your undertone, the fun begins — exploring shades that truly flatter your complexion. From bold, blue-based reds to warm peachy nudes, there’s a perfect match for every undertone. Browse our lipstick collection here to find your new go-to shade and see how transformative the right lipstick can be!