Lip Shades For Every Look and Skin Tone

Ever feel like the lip colors that look amazing on your friends are absolutely atrocious on your own pout? There’s a reason why. We’re about to let you in on the little secret your friends know: it’s all about your undertone. 

Your skin tone and undertone are different, and understanding what they are and how to shop for lip color based on these little genetic details will help you purchase the perfect shade every time. We’ll show you how to determine your skin tone and undertone, and also how to pick the best lipstick shade for all the looks you love.

What’s My Skin Tone?

Your skin tone is the color of your skin as a whole. Think of it like painting a self-portrait; your skin tone is the color you’d pick for your skin. According to researchers, there are 110 different, identifiable skin tones.

Your skin’s undertone is slightly different. The undertone of your skin helps make up your skin tone, but it’s a secondary color. Your skin’s undertone is usually described as either cool, neutral, or warm. Think of it like the different variations that make up your hair color. 

It’s a simple task to determine your skin tone. Take a peek at the veins on your wrists. The color of your veins can help you determine your skin tone. 

• Cool. People with cool undertones usually have bluish veins visible in areas of thin skin, look best in silver jewelry, and may have skin that burns easily in the sun.

• Neutral. If it’s hard for you to determine if you have visible veins (by looking at the inside of your wrist) you may have neutral undertones. Skin that looks monotonal (i.e. there’s little variation in your skin color) has a neutral undertone, which is very close to the actual shade of the person’s skin.

• Warm. Warm undertones look smashing in gold jewelry, tan easily in the sun, and have golden, peachy, and even greenish colors in their skin. 

Not all fair-skinned people have cool undertones just like not all dark-skinned people have warm undertones. It’s entirely possible to have olive skin and cool undertones, and fair skin with warm, golden undertones. 

Using your undertones as your guide, you can wear any shade of lipcolor. For instance, if you are a fair-skinned cool undertone and want to wear red lipstick, you’ll look for reds with cool, blue undertones. If you’re a fair-skinned warm undertone, you’d pick a shade of red that has more orange or brick in the base. 

Let’s talk about some of the latest lip trends and how each undertone can wear them perfectly.

The Perfect Shade

You’ve seen them on Facebook, Instagram, and your best friends. Here are three of the most popular lip color trends happening now, and how to wear them based on your skin tone and undertone. 

The Bold Lip

The bold lip has been around for several seasons and shows no signs of stopping. In fact, the biggest change is that you don’t need to save it for a special occasion. A bold lip works best when the rest of your makeup is toned down. 

And while we definitely love a classic red, bold lips don’t have to be a red shade. Plums, burgundy, and bright pinks all create bold, beautiful lips. 

Pro Tip: Liquid lipstick is often used when creating a bold lip. These formulas, however, usually hide a stockpile of unsafe ingredients and can also cause your lips to become incredibly dry. Instead, choose a hydrating, semi-matte lip color made from safe, living ingredients, like cocoa seed butter.

• For cool undertones: Look for shades with blue in the base. RMS Beauty’s Wild With Desire in Jezebel is a gorgeous shade of red with blackberry undertones that perfectly compliments cool skin tones. 

• For neutral undertones: Neutral undertones can wear practically any bold shade. Jump on the burgundy lip craze with RMS Beauty’s Wild With Desire in Nightfall, a richly pigmented cranberry with a tawny undertone.

• For warm undertones: Go bold with RMS Beauty’s Wild With Desire in RMS Red. Our signature orange-red creates the perfect bold red lip with ease. Warm undertones help it match your skin beautifully. 

Bold lips look amazing on perfectly prepped skin. Learn how to get flawless skin easily here.

The Glossy Lip

Glossy lips can go one of two ways: comfortably shiny with a hint of beautiful color, or artificially wet with goopy, sticky product. To pull off the perfect, not-too-glossy lip, start with the right formula and ingredients. 

It probably goes without saying, you’re going to avoid matte lipsticks for a glossy lip look. Although matte liquid lipstick formulas can be covered with a gloss, you’ll likely end up having to reapply the gloss throughout the day. 

RMS Beauty’s Lip Shine is made with hydrating, lip-loving buriti oil and vitamin E to keep lips healthy and hydrated with the perfect amount of shine. 

• For cool undertones: The glossy lip look is a safe zone for a little shimmer. We love Bloom, a cool pink with a hint of shimmer that favors cool undertones and virtually any skin tone. 

• For neutral undertones: Lip Shine in Honest, a nude pink that will flatter neutral skin undertones and give lips a fresh flush of color. 

• For warm undertones: Sacred, a beautiful, sheer red looks amazing on warm skin undertones and has just the right amount of bold color. 

Glossy lips look great with bolder eyes, statement cheek color, and bare faced, natural looks. 

The Soft Glam Lip 

A downplay on the highly contoured, bold-lipped, false-eyelash look of old Hollywood, the soft glam look is paired down with softer edges and a “less is more” take on your favorite products. 

What lip looks best with your freshly luminized skin? Think neutrals, nudes, and rose. Less intensity is key to mastering this look.

• For cool undertones: We love a classic, and RMS Beauty’s Lip2Cheek in Demure has a classic, rosy-pink color with mauve undertones that make it perfect for cool undertones. 

• For neutral undertones: RMS Beauty’s Lip2Cheek in Modest is a beautiful, consistent shade of salmon pink that looks great on neutral undertones and olive skin. 

• For warm undertones: We love a good throwback color, and RMS Beauty’s Lip2Cheek in Smile has a retro, 50’s feel with its blend of coral and pink. A light peachy undertone helps it fit warm skin tones flawlessly. 

Soft glam works for day and night, and is the perfect look for transitioning from office to a night out. 

RMS Beauty: The Perfect Products for the Perfect Lip

Finding the right lip colors can be difficult if you don’t know your skin’s tone and undertone. Everyone can wear a shade of pink, but one shade won’t look the same on two different people. Using your undertones as your guide, it’s easy to create looks that are fashion-forward and trend-worthy.

If you want to make sure the lip color you love is also made from lip-nourishing ingredients that are safe and the cleanest in the industry, RMS Beauty is your solution. Our lip colors are made from living ingredients that are as close to their natural state as possible. Using these ingredients preserves the vitamins, minerals, and compounds in them that make them most beneficial to your lips. 

This year, be daring. Try a bold lip, go with a lip gloss, or switch to a laid-back glam for daily wear. 

RMS Beauty has the best lipstick shades to help you create the looks you love with ease. 

For more beauty tips, check out the RMS Beauty How-To page where you’ll learn how to create amazing looks in zero time. 

Sources:

PANTONE SkinTone Guide (STG201) 

Lead In Lipstick - Safe Cosmetics 

Does vitamin E soothe your lips? | HowStuffWorks