Find the Perfect Red Lipstick
Finding a red lipstick to suit you can be a hard task; red is a strong colour and you need to be careful to choose a shade that works with your natural colouring and doesn't overpower it. This is a guide to finding the perfect red lipstick no matter what.
Steps
- Take off any makeup, wash your face and take a good look at your skin tone. Determine whether you are pale, olive skinned, tan, dark-skinned, yellow, or a combination of any of these. This should be fairly obvious.
- Now you need to determine what the "undertones" of your skin are. Are you pale with yellow undertones? Or blue? This can be difficult to work out; generally speaking you can look to your hair colour for a clue (most red heads tend towards blue or pink undertones), or you can go to a make up counter and have someone assess your skin tone for you (HIGHLY RECOMMENDED)
- Once you know your skin tone, you can start finding your perfect red lipstick. Again enlisting the help of a make up professional will work wonders here but if you can't do that here are some tips:
- If you are very pale - bold red lipstick is NOT what you want. Find shades that are more a mixture of coral-red or orange-red or peach-red. Don't overdo it.
- If you have darker skin you can get away with more obvious red lipstick. Dark shades are best reserved for people with dark hair as the shades will complement each other.
- Olive skinned people should go for brighter reds - maybe even a fluoro shade! Dull or "matte" red, or purplish-reds, will not suit.
- Asian complexions will work best with red lipsticks that have a blue or purplish undertone. Ask at the counter if you're not sure which colours are correct.
Tips
- If you can it is always helpful to seek the advice of a make up artist or even just the person working with the makeup in your local department store. Some places will display charts to help you find your skin tone. If not, ask! It can be really hard working it out on your own if you've never done it and you won't know you were wrong until you try on your new lipstick and see that it looks bad. If in doubt, always ask someone.
- Take the colour of your lips into account; the lipstick will not look exactly the same colour in the tube as it does on your face! To combat this you can always put a little foundation on your lips before application; this will ensure the colour stays the same.
- Try to test the lipstick before you buy it.
