What color do you want? The only thing that matters is that it is flattering to you. It might help you decide if you know that most lipsticks have undertones that are either blue or yellow. Which is best for your skin tone and coloring? Which goes best with your wardrobe?
Another factor to take into consideration is whether you want to draw attention to your mouth. Do you have small lips that need accentuation? If so, choose a light glossy shade. If you want to de-emphasize your mouth, look for a medium dark lipstick with a matte finish. When shopping for lipstick, here’s the first rule: Never trust the way the color looks under artificial light. Some stores have pinkish lighting, others have yellow.
It’s very misleading. Also, artificial lighting will make colors look pale. That’s why it’s impossible to get a sense of the color in the store. It’s also impossible to get a sense of the color from the way it looks in the tube. With all the emphasis on new strains of viruses, many women, quite reasonably, don’t want to use the testers in stores to try lipstick on their lips. Here’s another way to see the shade without applying it to your mouth: Apply a streak of lipstick across the area on your hand between the thumb and index finger on the inside of your palm. Now hold it up near your mouth. Take a look at the color against your mouth in the store under artificial lights. Then go outside and take another look at the color against your face in the daylight. How is it?
Once you have decided that the color looks great against your face, you have to think about the rest of your makeup. Do you need to buy a new blusher to wear with it, or do you already have one that is in the same color family? If your blusher and lipstick are not coordinated, the effect may not be the one you would want. (This does not mean, by the way, that your blusher and lipstick have to be made by the same manufacturer.) How about your wardrobe? Is the lipstick going to look smashing with the clothes you own?
If it’s in the bluish-pink family and most of your clothes are orange and rust browns, it may not look terrific. What kind of a finish do you want? Finish is as important as color. Lipsticks come in cream, frost or sheer. This is something that mayor may not be listed on the label. If the label says nothing, the lipstick is probably cream. What kind of look do you want-matte or wet? These are two other qualities that some lipsticks have. Once again, it mayor may not be stated on the label, so be sure to query the salesperson. The lipstick you admire on other women may come from these qualities as much as from a particular shade. Cream will give you the best coverage and will last the longest. So if you opt for a sheer lipstick, remember that it will probably need more frequent application. Usually the sheerer and shinier color will also be less intense and offer less coverage.
When you are buying one of the popular lipsticks that come in sealed packages, and the color appears on a piece of cardboard, it is very hard to get a sense of color intensity, but many of them do say very clearly whether the product is a cream, a frost, or a sheer. Read the label carefully. I recently bought one and loved the color and shiny finish so much that I went back to get another. I was in a hurry and didn’t look carefully and ended up with a different finish. Some women complain that lipstick darkens after application. If this happens to you, try buying one shade lighter in the same color family.
I have also found that frosted lipsticks are less likely to change color. Another suggestion for women whose lipstick changes or whose lip color is naturally uneven is a foundation product. Buy one that is especially made for the lips. Facial foundation may have colors in it that should not-here’s that phrase again
-be “incidentally ingested” Most women can wear lipsticks in every color family, depending on the intensity of the shade. Lipsticks in the orange family may, however, make your teeth look yellow. Orange is also sometimes too harsh for women with more mature skin. If you spend time in the sun, you may want to check out lipsticks that include sunscreens.
