A few questions about lipstick!

Do you wear lipstick?

Yes! All the time!	18.8%	[ 6 ]
Yes. Sometimes.	78.1%	[ 25 ]
No. Not yet.	3.1%	[ 1 ]
No.	0.0%	[ 0 ]
Poll!!!	0.0%	[ 0 ]
Total Votes:			[ 32 ]

[Zultim]

I was at Target the other day and I looked at all the Revlon lipstick colors.
I was surprised.

Anyway, 1. How do you figure out the color that would look great on you? (The bottom of the tube has the color and the number, but I am not sure if it would look like that on lips.)
2. Is it something you are supposed to buy and figure out?
3. Are you supposed to already know the color you wanted?

I am new to lipstick and I would really want to buy some soon! I want to buy a color that looks like chocolate. (Dark brown.) There were a few brown ones, but I wasn't too sure if I wanted to buy it. (It might look brown to me, but it might be different when I put it on.)

Any ideas?
What lipstick colors do you like?

[Sylveon the Dragonslayer]

1. Things like your skin color and undertone, hair, lip shape, and the rest of your makeup (if you wear any) usually affect how lipstick will look on you. For example, a deep plum color might look good on a person with dark skin, warm undertones (yellow/gold/olive), and full lips, but would might look ridiculous on someone with super light skin, cool undertones (pink/red), and thin lips. Dark lipstick doesn't always look good when you have heavy eye makeup and is best paired with a "clean" face, and nude lipstick goes with almost any look. If you have a Sephora nearby, the employees there should be more than happy to help you find something you like if you just ask.

2. More or less, yes. However, there are tons of websites you can go to to look up swatches and reviews of different lipsticks to see how they look out of the tube. My favorite place to go is Karlasugar, as she photographs her swatches on her arm in natural lighting, and usually does an entire collection at once. She also does other makeup besides lipstick, so it's always worth snooping around.

3. You don't have to! A lot of people don't necessarily know what they want when they go buy makeup and just pick up whatever they like best. Like a few weeks ago when I bought some lipstick I just grabbed the tester for a color I thought looked nice, swatched it on my hand, and bought it. (I think it looks great on me, too.)

4. Dark brown lipstick is just as hard to come across as unusually-colored lipstick colors like blue or green. After a quick search I found MAC's Tabla and Double Shot. You can also try using a brown lip liner (which is surprisingly common) with a bit of lip gloss over it, or another dark lip color.

Honestly, there aren't many lip colors I like that actually look good on me, since I'm tan with very strong olive undertones, so a lot of stuff is too light or clashed with my skintone. My favorite ones so far are all by Nyx: Licorice, Hunk, Doll, Sweet Tart, and Pops. I really like colors similar to Doll and dark plums like Licorice.

[Wee Little]

A quick way to tell which colors look good on you is to simply think about which colors look best on you. I mean clothing. Some colors will wash you out, and some will look great on you even if you don't like the color.

One thing that annoys me about the makeup industry is that they define pink/red undertones as cool even though they're technically warm. Yellow/olive as warm even though they're neutral, and blue/purple/green undertones as neutral even though they're cool... fashion and art professions disagree with you makeup professionals! This isn't like concealer where you counter-balance your tones.

Anywho. If let's say pinks and peaches look nice on you, you have pink/red undertones to your skin therefore in the makeup world, would wear a cool tone I guess... If cool colors like purple, blue, and green look nice on you then you have purple/blue/green undertones which means you would go for neutral lip colors. And neutral colors would be warm lip tones.

Also, the fuller your lips the lighter a color you want to go with except in cases of red. Then just stick with the undertone guide.

Here's a look at some brown colors. See how some of them have more of a cool purple color, while others have a more yellow/gold tone? And then others have a warm rose-y color to them.

[Nikias Kicxette]

The only way you will know for sure which colors work for you is by trying them.

Being new to lipstick, I'd recommend you go to a Sephora store to start with. Their selection of lipsticks may be out of your price range, but you don't have to buy anything. Talk with an employee and let them suggest some colors for you, and let them apply them for you so you can see what you'll look like with it on your lips.

For some people the color in the tube is not always a good indicator of what it actually looks like on lips; for example, some people's lips are quite pigmented so some color families always look darker on them, or more red, etc. For me personally, all purples look darker on my lips and anything coral becomes an ugly orangey color.

Once you've found some lipsticks that you like at Sephora, get them to write down the names for you. That way you can Google "*lipstick name* dupe" and you'll find blogs that will suggest cheaper alternatives for those lipsticks that look like the exact same color. Some Sephora brands don't seem too popular amongst bloggers so it's hard to find that information, but if you go to a MAC store and pick some shades you like, it's very easy to find suggested dupes for MAC lipsticks.

Even if you can't find dupes, finding makeup bloggers who also look good in lipstick shades that look good on you is helpful because you can check out which other colors they like and you can try them yourself. Many bloggers who review brands sold in Sephora stores also review more affordable drugstore products, so don't think that just because you're starting out by looking up $20+ lipsticks that that's all you'll find them reviewing.

Alternatively, if you're shopping at a place like Walmart that has a very lax return policy, just buy a bunch of lipsticks, try them on at home, and return whatever you don't like (Sephora's policy works like this too). It's wasteful, and you shouldn't do it often, but it's an option.

[Evil_Angel86]

i always find if you take the tester and just put a bit on the back of your hand and smudge it slightly, that's what it's going to look like on you.

[mangachan]

Get a few different shades and pick up a few lip liners as well. You can actually change the color of lipstick by drawing the liner on and then applying the lipstick on top of the liner. This is very handy when you don't care for a lipstick color or you just feel like trying a different color.

[andernd]

I'll generally will go to CVS and buy a few of the $1-2 tubes of colors I'm not sure about to test out for a day. It's a cheaper alternative to buying a better, more pricey version and then regretting it.

[CelticMaiden]

I've found that the colours on the tube stickers are never reliable, lol. You can get a good idea of the colour by using a tester sample on the back of your hand, but picking a lipstick that will look great, is usually trial and error. I would suggest picking up a couple inexpensive lipsticks in colours you just like, and see how they go.

Definitely have a look online for makeup bloggers who post images of themselves or show swatches - if you find a blogger that has a similar look and/or style to your own, that can be helpful in deciding if it would suit you too.

My personal favourite lipstick colours are pinky-n***s, I find bright colours are usually too harsh for my style. I also prefer them with a shimmer or glossy finish, I'm not jazzed on matte finish lipsticks.

[Kaielyn]

Just go to a sephora and test the colors there then go back to the drugstore and buy similar colors. And/or you can look up reviews and pics online of the brand/color you are interested in. There's usually a ton of photos of people testing lipsticks...look for someone in google images with your skin tone.

[hatful of hollow]

i usually pick up a tester and put some on the back of my hand and imagine how it will look on me.
ive not yet moved on to the brighter colours because im also not sure what will suit me or not, but ive started with neutral colours and im slowly getting brighter to get myself there because i think going to a bright colour straight away might look bad in your eyes but in reality you might just not be used to it on your lips.
i also keep in mind to watch out for colours that might clash with outfits

[miyumiyurin]

another idea is to buy a few of the crappy $1 sticks just to try out the colors and after you know what colors you like, buy some of the nicer ones..it took me a few tries and a bit of wasted money to find which colors i liked for myself

[Tekhi]

1. Keeping in mind your skin color and undertone is probably gonna be the biggest help besides maybe googling around for swatches. Because I'm dark-skinned, I've found that if I DON'T google around before buying, I usually end up with something that looks terrible on me on it's own.

2. Sooometimes. I think it's safer to take a chance on 1-2 dollar lipsticks rather than blow big bucks on a more pricey brand and then find that not only does the color look horrible but the consistency sucks. (Which has been my experience with a few Revlon lippies, unfortunately.)

3. I'm a sucker for lipstick so maybe? No? I mean, it's a good idea to know what you want but you don't have to be sure. I can come into the store wanting a soft pink and come out with yellows, greens, and teal. And I say that because I do it all the time.

Maybe my experience with lipstick is different since I live in a big ol' metropolitan city but brown lipsticks are everywhere- in Walmart, Walgreens, Rite-Aid. Every single beauty store. Just look at the lipsticks aimed at black women/WOC in general and you'll find 3-5 different shades of brown, I promise. (So Black Radiance, Black Opal, Queen Collection, Chanel Iman, Nicka K to a degree.)

[randosme45588]

Don't they have a sample of the shade that you can test out on your hand? emotion_donotwant

[Nurse Kipsie]

Zultim

I was at Target the other day and I looked at all the Revlon lipstick colors.
I was surprised.

Anyway, 1. How do you figure out the color that would look great on you? (The bottom of the tube has the color and the number, but I am not sure if it would look like that on lips.)
2. Is it something you are supposed to buy and figure out?
3. Are you supposed to already know the color you wanted?

I am new to lipstick and I would really want to buy some soon! I want to buy a color that looks like chocolate. (Dark brown.) There were a few brown ones, but I wasn't too sure if I wanted to buy it. (It might look brown to me, but it might be different when I put it on.)

Any ideas?
What lipstick colors do you like?

A few if the Wet N Wild lipsticks are a dollar each. smile
One buck is great for tester lipsticks, right?

Get a few to try. Brownish, pinkish, mauve, and red. If they don't work for your skin tone, trade them on a makeup website.

[thanaloon]

Zultim

I was at Target the other day and I looked at all the Revlon lipstick colors.
I was surprised.

Anyway, 1. How do you figure out the color that would look great on you? (The bottom of the tube has the color and the number, but I am not sure if it would look like that on lips.)
2. Is it something you are supposed to buy and figure out?
3. Are you supposed to already know the color you wanted?

I am new to lipstick and I would really want to buy some soon! I want to buy a color that looks like chocolate. (Dark brown.) There were a few brown ones, but I wasn't too sure if I wanted to buy it. (It might look brown to me, but it might be different when I put it on.)

Any ideas?
What lipstick colors do you like?

Generally, your best bet on knowing if a color will work or not is holding it up to your face and just seeing if it looks ok! Since there isn't always a mirror or someone to help you out, sometimes you just gotta wing it! Buy colors you like!