Ask Belinda: Bold Lips by Skin Tone

The Question:

Dear Belinda,

I’ve been seeing a lot of bits in magazines about the hot lip colors for the season and would love to try the bold lip trend, but I’m not sure that I can. I’m olive skinned with dark hair and eyes and not sure that I’d look great in just any bright lipstick. Are there any particular colors I should stick to?

Thanks,

Marissa

Belinda Says…

Dear Marissa,

I’m so glad you asked this question! As a fellow olive-skinned brunette, I’ll be the first to admit that I’ve struggled with finding the perfect bold lip shade. But after some trial and error, I’ve narrowed it down to the best shades for your skin type, whether you’re warm or cool skin-toned:

Warm Skin Tones

Warm skin tones are determined by yellow undertones in the skin. In your case, Marissa, you most likely have a warm skin tone. You look best in warm, earthy colors and can rock gold jewelry better than anyone else! Look for lip colors with yellow or orange-bases, such as coral, terracotta and fruit colors like peach, melon and orange. You can wear pink shades, so long as they have a peachy base.

1) Estee Lauder Signature Hydra Lustre Lipstick – Copper Coral

2) Revlon Super Lustrous Lipstick – Coralberry

3) Yves Rocher Moisturizing Cream Lipstick – Orange Capucine

4) MAC Lipstick – Neon Orange

5) Susan Posnick COLORESSENTIAL – South Beach Coral

Cool Skin Tones

Cool skin tones are determined by blue and pink undertones in the skin. This is quite common for gals with fair and light complexions, in many cases, but not exclusive to, blondes. For the cool-skinned ladies, lip colors with pink and blue (or purple) bases are best. This includes various shades of pink, plums and fuchsias. If you have a cool complexion and want to try out a bold lip in the orange family, look for colors with a pinkish hue like pink coral.

1) Too Faced Lip of Luxury – Pink Flamingo

2) Revlon ColorBurst Lipstick – Fuschia

3) Yves Saint Laurent ‘Rouge Pur Couture’ Lip Color SPF 15 – Le Fuschia

4) MAC Lipstick – Tartan Tale

5) Maybelline Color Sensational Lipstick – 5th Ave. Fuschia

While these are mere suggestions for what will look best according to your skin tone, but there’s no reason why you can’t experiment with a hot pink or other bold shade! You might find that you like the way it looks on you and makes you feel! Until next time, happy stylin’!

All the best,

Belinda

Have a question for Belinda? Send an email to belinda [at] smarter.com with all of your fashion inquiries. I may not be able to answer everyone’s questions, but I will try to get to as many as possible. Be sure to stay tuned for next week’s Ask Belinda Column, the next one may be yours!