A multitasking staple in every beauty enthusiast’s makeup kit, nude lipsticks can quickly take you from drab to fab on days you don’t wish to go all out. These products also come in handy when you do not have eyeshadow, blush, or contour with you.
But when it comes down to curating a collection of subdued hues for your beauty bag, choosing a suitable nude shade as per your complexion becomes imperative; what’s nude for one isn’t necessarily nude for the other. So as you embark on the daunting task of selection and elimination, ensure that you’re in the know of your undertone.
Identifying Your Undertone
To buy nude lipstick, you should have a better understanding of your undertone, carefully examine the veins on your wrists to decipher your shade. If your veins are blue or purple, you possess a cool undertone, and if they are green, you have a warm undertone. Greenish-blue veins, on the other hand, indicate that you have a neutral undertone.
Nude Lipsticks For Fair Complexions
Light complexions with cool undertones should pick pink-ish, rosy, or peachy nudes that don’t make you look pale when worn. Such hues will accentuate and blend with your natural lip colour, giving a ‘my lips but better’ effect. Steer clear of nudes with brown, as they may darken the natural colour of your pucker. Alternatively, if you have a warm undertone, pick nude shades with orange and beige undertones for a flawlessly flushed appearance.
Nude Lipsticks For Medium and Olive Complexions
Medium and caramel skin tones can opt for peach and pink-nude shades, as well as beige or taupe shades and darker nude-brown hues. Make note of warmer undertones such as caramel, beige, and orange that will complement your naturally yellow undertone. To leverage the warmth of your complexion, pick a nude lipstick darker than your skin tone. Alternatively, if you possess a cooler undertone, pick blush pink nudes that’ll enhance the inherent radiance of your skin. Dab on lip gloss to instantly add depth and dimension to your pout.
Nude Lipsticks For Dark Complexions
Those of you with a cool undertone, embrace lipstick shades with a red undertone including rich, chocolate-hued lipsticks. Meanwhile, if you possess a warm undertone, go for nude lipsticks that feature a terracotta or orange undertone. Play with lipsticks a shade darker than your natural lip colour to ensure that a strikingly similar hue doesn’t make you look washed out.
How To Choose The Perfect Lip Liner
When it comes to purchasing a suitable lip liner, pick one that is a shade or two darker than the lipstick but in the same colour family. Since a lip liner’s job is to define your pucker and make your lips appear fuller, opting for a shade lighter than your lipstick won’t give you the desired result.
How To Take Care Of Your Lips
Before swiping a pigmented formulation across your lips, give your pucker some TLC. Turn to a lip scrub and gently exfoliate your pout to get rid of dead skin cells. Then, hydrate your lips with a balm or a primer to avoid dryness or flaking. For an ultimate boost of moisture, slather on an overnight lip mask to make your pucker supple. Indulging in lip care is essential to ensure the smooth and effortless application of the product. Besides following a lip care routine, ensure you adopt healthy lifestyle habits to feel beautiful, inside out. Drink plenty of water since one of the first signs of dehydration shows up on your lips, making them appear parched. Also, steer clear of lip products that contain fragrances and dyes that may irritate the skin on your lips.
The Right Way To Apply Your Lipstick
After giving your lips some much-needed TLC, apply a lightweight concealer to your pucker to fill in cracks and avoid bleeding. Doing so creates a clean canvas for the lipstick, and is suggested for those who suffer from hyperpigmentation on the lips. Next, trace the outer structure of your pucker with a lip liner to define its structure. Follow the ‘x’ symbol method by drawing the letter on your cupid’s bow and marking the outline of your lips. Following this, apply your nude lipstick to the centre of your upper lip and lower lip, drawing along the two corners to fill in the rest of the lip. To remove any extra product and make sure your lipstick stays put, blot your lips using a tissue.
When applying lipstick, keep the following pointers in mind:
- Don’t wear lipstick on dry, chapped lips as doing so may accentuate the cracks on your skin.
- Don’t rub your upper and lower lips together after applying the product, as it can make your lipstick patchy and lumpy.
- Don’t over-apply multiple layers of lipstick as your lips may end up textured and uneven, and may crack or bleed.
- Don’t overline your lips way beyond your natural lip line. It may give way to an unnatural-looking pucker.
Conclusion
Discovering your skin undertone and accordingly purchasing lip liners and lipsticks is not a cakewalk. Bear in mind, that nude lipsticks are meant to accentuate the natural colour of your lips and not transform them. Hence, making the correct choice goes a long way in achieving your desired look. Since it’s difficult to tell the difference between similar-looking nude shades, it is recommended that you visit a store and try out the wide range of offerings to gauge the subtle nuances. To identify the closest match, it would be best if you swatched the lipstick directly on your lips. However, due to hygiene concerns, consider swatching the formula on your hands or wrists. Some experts also suggest swatching the lipstick on the pink area of your fingertips, as they mimic the texture of your lips and may provide the most accurate results. Once you find the perfect nude lipstick, remember to purchase a lip liner a shade or two darker for added dimension.