How to determine your skin tone
Skin shades are typically broken down by fair, medium, olive, and deep; the key part is to determine whether your undertone is warm or cool. “This will make everything from finding a foundation to your lipstick so much easier,” says Alex LaMarsh, a celebrity makeup artist, who has painted the pout of Kim Kardashian and Cher. Finding your own skin undertone is fairly simple. Most people just use the tried-and-true vein trick. “Look at the underside of your wrist in daylight, or bright light. If your veins look blue or purple, you have cool undertones. If they look green, you have warm undertones.” When it comes to selecting a color, Nick Barose, a celebrity makeup artist, who has worked with Lupita Nyong’o and Gugu Mbatha-Raw, says it’s more accurate to pick lipstick in natural light, so you see the true shades. “As a general rule, the lighter the skin, the more color it shows. So the shade will look truer and bolder on your lips than in the tube, whereas darker skin adds more depth to the color.” No matter your skin tone, these are the lipstick shades every woman needs in her beauty arsenal.
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Best lipstick for olive skin with warm undertones
Warm, olive-skinned beauties, like Jennifer Lopez, Jessica Alba, and Eva Mendes, can really pull off a deep red, berry, or warm, orangey-nude. These shades enhance the golden honey tones of this skin color, making it look its most radiant. Try: Rimmel London Provocalips in Play With Fire, Tom Ford Lip Color Matte in Plum Lush, NARS Audacious Lipstick in Catherine, Wet ‘n’ Wild MegaLast Lip Color in Cherry Picking (pictured), or It Cosmetics Blurred Lines Lipstick in Believe (pictured). (Find out how find the best eyebrows for your face shape.)
Best lipstick for deep skin with warm undertones
Girls with the deep skin and warm undertones, like Gabrielle Union, Ciara, and Halle Berry, look absolutely stunning in Cabernet wine and warm Merlot. The colors bring out the gold in the skin, while giving cheeks a healthy flush. “I love seeing these luscious colors pop on darker skin,” says LaMarsh. Try: L’Oreal Infallible Le Rouge in Everlasting Plum, Lancôme L’Absolu Rouge in Merlot, tarte Rainforest of The Sea Color Splash Lipstick in High Dive, MegaLast Liquid Catsuit Matte Lipstick in Video Vixen (pictured), or It Cosmetics Blurred Lines Lipstick in Daring (pictured). Looking for more beauty advice? Don’t miss the most flattering makeup for every eye color.
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