How to Find the Right Lip Color
It's been said that if you give a woman the right lipstick, she can conquer the world. At Mirabella Beauty, we wholeheartedly believe this statement to be true! Establishing an arsenal of go-to lip colors is a crucial beauty requirement for any woman who wants to feel confident in her makeup. Mirabella has long embraced the philosophy that 'beauty is a lifestyle' and the brand's dedication to developing lip products that allow women to find a shade and coverage that best suits their skin tone, personality, and desired look is par none.
While finding the best lipstick shades for a particular person may seem hard to find at first and often require trial and error, once established, the determined lip shades can help a makeup wearer not only feel confident, but also aid in evaluating and choosing additional makeup shades for the eye, face, and cheeks.
While finding lip shades that exude confidence and reflect the wearer's personality are key, before one can find the best lipstick color, makeup enthusiasts must always make sure lips are prepped and conditioned before applying any lip shade. To rid lips of any dry, flaky skin and properly prime them for flawless lip color application, Mirabella's National Education Manager, Sara Kelly, recommends gently exfoliating lips with Mirabella's Prime for Lips Sugar Lip Exfoliator. Once lips are smooth and clean, it is always a good idea to follow with a waxy lip balm, like Pure Lano's Lip Balm Stick, to create an ultra-smooth base for lip color.
Figure out your skin tone and under tones
Finding the perfect lip shades can seem like a daunting task with the array of beautiful colors on the market. But, this task can be minimized by understanding how individuals' skin tones affect the way a lip color appears on the skin. Cool skin tones often look best in shades that have soft purple/blue undertones while warm skin tones tend to be flattered by rich oranges/reds.
Determining the proper lip color for a skin tone can be difficult since many shades tend to change color depending on the skin tone to which it is applied. Thus, when choosing a lip shade, it is important to understand the various skin tone types and have knowledge of which one specifically applies to you. The following questionnaire can be a quick and easy way to analyze and find one's true skin tone. Simply answer the following questions.
1. What color are the veins inside of your wrist? Blue/Purple = Cool skin tone, Green = Warm skin tone, Both = Neutral skin tone
2. Do you look best in silver or gold jewelry? Silver = Cool skin tone, Gold = Warm skin tone, Both look great = Neutral skin tone
3. In natural lighting, hold a piece of white or pure plain white cloth under the chin area and choose which of the following best describes your skin tone in comparison: I'm a bit pink/rosy = Cool skin tone, I'm a bit yellow/beige = Warm skin tone, I don't see pink and/or yellow in my skin = Neutral skin tone
4. In which shade of white clothing do you look best? True, bright white = Cool skin tone, Off white/cream = Warm skin tone, I can rock both = Neutral skin tone
These four simple questions are very telling in determining and understanding skin tones. Additionally, it is important to analyze one more factor of an individual's skin in an effort to truly pick the perfect shade of lipstick. With this in mind, it is much easier to understand the best suited lip colors for an individual when one can breakdown a skin tone AND undertone, i.e. Medium/Warm.
Light - Skin is pale. Skin sunburns easily and freckles may be prominent.
Medium - Tan easily and typically do not burn.
Dark - Skin rarely burns/never burns in the sun. Skin is more tan/dark all year round.
Once the skin tone and undertone have been determined, these Mirabella Beauty lip color recommendations from Mirabella's National Education Manager, Sara Kelly, should be a perfect place to start in finding the best shade of lipstick.
Light/Cool Lip Color Recommendations
Light/Warm Lip Color Recommendations
Medium/Cool Lip Color Recommendations
Medium/Warm Recommendations
Dark/Warm Recommendations
Neutral Recommendations
Experiment with different shades
While it is important to understand which shades compliment an individual's skin tone, never be afraid to experiment with a variety of lip products in an array of colors and finishes. Having a collection of best lipstick shades is a great way to express one's personal style and mood. A bold lip shade can brighten the complexion when an individual is feeling tired, while a subtle nude lip shade is the perfect counterpart to a bold smokey eye on an evening out.
Furthermore, everyone's lipstick arsenal should include a poppy red. While often an individual fears the overwhelming nature of red-hued lip shades, a red is complimentary to anyone's skin tone so long as the wearer understands which shade of red is best: blue-based reds, like Bombshell Luxe Advanced Formula Matte Gloss, for cool skin tones or orange-based reds, like Red Velvet Stay All Day Velvet Lip Pencil, for warm skin tones.
Don't be afraid to mix lipstick colors!
Sometimes lip products may give a perfect coverage or finish, but the shades can be manipulated to achieve a more bold look or even a more neutralized shade. Mirabella Beauty's National Education Manager, Sara Kelly, advises wearers never to be afraid to mix lip shades in order to achieve a desired look.
Having several lipsticks on hand that can be mixed and matched is a great way to expand your collection without spending the money on a shade you’d only wear every once in a blue moon. Mixing also allows you to create a custom color if you your ideal shade doesn’t exist, or the shade range is limited. Buying two colors and mixing might cost more up front but will last twice as long! Makeup artists have been doing this for ages. Given the wide range of skin tones and desired looks from clients, it’s next to impossible to stock colors for each one. This is where mixing comes into play! With a few basics like pinks, reds, nudes, and berries, colors can be mixed and matched to create the perfect custom shade for each client. This technique is a fool-proof to achieve the best lipstick shades for any skin tone.
Deciding between matte lipstick or glossy lipstick
Trends over the years often fluctuate between the popularity of matte lip shades over gloss ones and vice versa, however both lip color finishes boast positive wearing capabilities. While much of choosing between the two finishes is personal preference and what look a wearer is hoping to achieve, matte lip shades tend to be much more long-wearing than traditional lip shades with a gloss finish.
Matte lip shades are much drier and thus do not transfer or smudge as often after application. Gloss formulas tend to be much creamier resulting in the ability to more easily transfer during eating/drinking and normal daily activities. Trying both types of lip color finishes can be an important way to discover personal preference, as well as determining which type of finish is more suited to certain situations.
Wear what makes you feel good
Mirabella Beauty believes that today the modern woman plays many roles. For women who wake up feeling girly one day to glam the next, Mirabella is proud to offer lip products, and makeup, with personality! Because, beauty is a lifestyle after all!