The US Sun

I’m a make-up artist – how to pick your perfect shade of lippie in seconds, just by looking at your wrist

By Lynsey Hope,

16 days ago

SALES of lippy are on the up – thanks to the cost-of-living crisis.

When times are tight, women still like to treat themselves. And while designer handbags might be out of reach, smaller luxuries get a boost.

A third (32 per cent) of UK make-up buyers have bought a product as a “treat” in the past year, according to global market intelligence agency Mintel.

Spending on lipsticks is projected to have risen 12.3 per cent last year.

Purchases of colour cosmetics — make-up designed for skin, cheeks, eyes and lips — also climbed in 2023, with market spend projected to have grown by almost 8 per cent to £1.84bn.

But if you’re keen to bag a new lippy, you’ll want a colour that looks good on you — and that can be a lottery.

While a nude or beige shade might look great on some, it turns others into a corpse.

Make-up artist Bethan Owens says: “Just as certain clothes will look better on you than others, there are also lipsticks that you will pull off — while others won’t.

“It all depends on the undertones in your skin. A good rule of thumb is to look at the veins on the inside of your wrist. If they appear blue, you likely have cool undertones.

Dramatically different

“If your veins appear green, the chances are that you have warm undertones.

“If they are a mixture of blue and green, you are neutral and can wear a broader range of shades.”

Once you’ve worked out what your skin tone is, you’ll be better placed to pick a lippie that flatters.

Bethan (@makeupbeth) continues: “If you have cool skin, seek out a lipstick with cool bluish undertones.

“Purplish pinks, cool reds and dusty rose shades all work well, as do shades like violet and even blue. Olive skins, which have a yellow undertone, work well with vibrant reds, oranges and plums.”

It’s not just skin tone that dictates whether a lip colour suits you.

“Features like your hair colour and your eyes also play a part,” says Bethan.

“And for ageing lips, I’d recommend lighter shades, unless you have a darker complexion, as some of the darker browns and purples can make you look older.”

To show how the same lipstick can look dramatically different on various people, we asked five women to try out the same five lipsticks.

They are: Chloe Haywood, 49, a sustainable fashion designer from Cheddar, Somerset; Paulomi Debnath, 44, a jewellery designer from Romford, Essex; Joyce Connor, 60, a make-up artist from Reading; Niki Woods, 47, a wellness coach and menopause educator from Leeds; and Jo Francis, 50, from Maidstone, Kent, who runs a digital marketing agency.

Here, Bethan shares her verdicts.