A beauty boom has been in full flow for a while now thanks to the wave of influencers and beauty bloggers filling our feeds and phone screens. With the populism of beauty comes an abundance of new shades and increase in awareness, but with so many choices it’s easy to get overwhelmed when deciding which ones will best suit your complexion. Not to mention the fact that buying online can be a tricky task due to a lack of IRL swatching. And, when it eventually hits your doormat, what might look banging on your mate, you might not rate so highly. Beauty addict or not, everyone is partial to a flush of colour on their lips occasionally, so I along with these two babes put the hard work in for you and tested five different lipstick shades on three different skin tones (a pale, mid and dark tone). The results are in so let’s get to it…
1. Peachy
My skin colour has some slightly yellow and peachy undertones, so I usually avoid these sorts of pinks as they tend to highlight that. However, I was pleasantly surprised. It complements the tone and with a sweep of blusher on the cheeks looks fresh.
Laura’s natural lip colour is quite dark in comparison to her mid-toned skin, so she normally goes for a darker colour to create more of a contrast. However, the peachy hues are great on her olive complexion, giving an even warmer glow.
Estelle doesn’t usually opt for something so pale, as the depth of colour isn’t always there with these shades. However, the creaminess of this lipstick means it blends well so Estelle could manipulate the shade. And, it helps that her top matches too, obvs.
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2. Deep Purple
This dark violet is a colour that I tend to save for nights out or holidays when I’ve got more of a tan, as it’s usually too much of a contrast against my pale skin. But, this YSL beaut comes out quite sheer on me, which works in my favour as without it I can look a bit washed out (going for a redder shade of purple will help to combat this).
The reddiness of the hue in this lippy makes it a good match for Laura’s skin, but you could opt for one with even more (as this YSL is still quite cool) for less contrast. However, as her lips are naturally darker, it is a more natural colour match for her face. It works well with her heavy brows and dark hair, bringing a sultry vibe.
This is much, much more Estelle’s preferred vibe. As you can see, her complexion brings out the red tones in this purple lippy, so bare this in mind when buying a mauve shade.
3. Rose
Anything too pale and it tends to get lost and look too bleached out on me. It does make me feel a little ‘Barbie’ with the blonde ‘do, but I think keeping the rest of my make-up simple helps.
Laura confesses that, again, this is a much paler choice than she’d traditionally go for, but with some pink-coloured blush on her cheeks it’s balanced out and sits well. The complementary tones in her skin are great for making the pigment stand out, but it’s not so rich that it looks startling.
Estelle said this isn’t her favourite, and I think that was her being nice. She told me she usually doesn’t wear bright pink shades as anything too rosy can sometimes wash out black skin. This shade, however, has just the right amount of blue in it so it stops this from happening too drastically. To make it even better, go for something in this tone but darker.
4. Va-Va-Voom Red
I always go for a blue red as I find that orange-based lippy really emphasizes the yellow tone of my skin and can make me look quite sallow, so this is a total favourite of mine.
It’s a great middle-of-the-road red as it’s not too blue, which means I can wear it any place, anytime.
Although it has more blue hues in it, Laura would usually opt for an orange-toned red as it’s a really versatile shade that suits a multitude of skin colours. Against her olive skin, it looks more vibrant and brings out a natural-looking glow on her base.
This is a winner in Estelle’s books as this red has just the right amount of depth for her. The richness of the lip colour sets off her dark skin really nicely, and the whole look is striking and warm.
5. Neutral
This versatile neutral is one of my go-to's, mostly because it’s near enough the exact shade of my natural lip colour, so it feels almost nude on me. This means that it feels really natural against the rest of my colouring and creates a glossy, modest look.
Laura loved this nude for every day make-up, especially on more tanned days. It draws out the natural balminess in her complexion and adds some glossiness to her look. Also great with heavier eye make-up.
Although it’s a pinky shade, it’s much more muted than the other two we tried, and Estelle was into it. It adds some contrast to her everyday look and the subtlety of it and glossy sheen means it blends into her natural lip colour really nicely. Everyday wear, done right.
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This article originally appeared on The Debrief.