How to choose a lipstick shade for your skin tone: Tips to make the right pick

This guide can help you find the right lipstick shade as per your skin tone to complement your overall look.

pWhen it comes to lipstick, you very well know that the “one shade fits all” theory won't work, neither would the mantra, “my bestie’s shade is mine”. After all, what looks good on your skin might not look the same on your friend. Reason? Each shade works differently on different skin tones. So, no matter how simple it looks, there is a way to determine the right shade as per your skin tone. Keep scrolling to determine your perfect lipstick shade as per your skin tone.

How to choose a lipstick as per your skin tone (Pexels)

By Shweta Pandey

Shweta Pandey is a Senior Content Writer at Hindustan Times, with over 12 years of experience in beauty and wellness journalism, specialising in makeup, skincare, and hair care.

She began her professional writing journey in 2011, entering the evolving world of digital lifestyle journalism as beauty and wellness content rapidly transformed in India. Over the years, she has worked with reputed digital media houses like India Today, the Times of India and Skymet Weather, steadily building credibility through well-researched features, product reviews, and trend analyses. Her career reflects consistent growth, moving from content contributor to senior writer. She now plays a key role in shaping editorial strategy, social media content, and ensuring high-quality, reader-focused content that aligns with evolving audience needs.

Shweta’s core expertise spans makeup, skincare, hair care, and holistic health and fitness. She specialises in in-depth beauty product reviews, ingredient analysis, skincare routines, and evidence-based wellness advice. Known for her analytical and data-driven approach, she relies on verified sources, dermatological insights, and expert consultations to ensure credibility. Her field experience includes interviewing Bollywood celebrities, beauty and makeup professionals, tracking consumer trends, and simplifying the top picks.

Shweta holds a Master’s degree in Mass Communication, Advertising, and Journalism and has done Bachelor’s in Commerce from Delhi University. She believes in delivering reader-first insights that empower informed decisions while maintaining transparency, credibility, and trust.

Beyond her writing desk, Shweta enjoys exploring new destinations, experimenting in the kitchen with delightful recipes, and staying in tune with the latest beauty and wellness trends.

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Lipstick shades for light skin tone: Soft petals and bold contrasts

People with light skin tone often have cool or neutral undertones. This means certain shades can either wash you out or illuminate your features like a spotlight.

Best Matches

1. Soft Pinks:

Pinks work wonders on fair-skinned people. Blush pink, baby rose, and petal tones add a youthful freshness to your look. These delicate hues gently awaken the face without overpowering it. In fact, if you're selecting a nude shade, try to pick a pink-toned nude to bring out the freshness to your face.

2. Bold reds and deep berries

Think of strawberries! Reds work just superb on light-toned skin. These reds cut through the paleness beautifully, making light skin glow. Deep berries, cherry reds, and wine tones also create an elegant look.

3. Corals:

From the office commute to all your daytime adventures, if there is one shade that would complement your skin tone, it is a coral lipstick shade.

Pro Tip: Skip beige nudes as they would wash you out.

Lipstick shades for medium skin tone: Warm honey and golden sunshine

Medium skin is blessed with versatility. With warm, neutral, or olive undertones, this complexion plays wonderfully with a wide palette.

Best Matches

1. Berry Shades:

These shades brighten medium skin and bring out the skin tone more naturally. These shades enhance warmth and add a cheerful pop to your overall appearance.

2. Terracotta and Brick Reds:

Brick reds do wonder on people with medium-toned skin. They bring out your complexion flawlessly and amplify your look. Try fuchsia, burnt orange, or metallic copper. These shades add an editorial edge while harmonising beautifully with medium tones.

3. Mauve

People with medium skin tone can never go wrong with mauves. The lip shade is bright and adds an instant charm to your overall look.

Pro Tip: Skip the pale nudes—they can dull the look. Instead, opt for nudes with pink or brown undertones to complement the skin’s natural warmth.

Lipstick shades for olive skin: Earthy elegance and rich contrast

Olive skin often has greenish or neutral undertones. It can handle colours that would overwhelm other skin types, making it an exceptional base for unique hues.

Best Matches

1. Warm Browns:

Chocolate, cinnamon, and caramel tones blend seamlessly with olive skin’s undertone, enhancing natural richness.

2. Plum and Berry:

Deep purples add depth and definition, making olive skin appear radiant and sculpted. Bold orange, oxblood, and even forest-green tinted glosses with striking confidence.

3. Brick and Rusty Reds:

These colours highlight olive undertones without clashing, creating a warm, sultry finish.

Lip shades for deep skin: Royal richness

Deep skin tones have a naturally radiant base that pairs well with bold pigments and deep saturation. With warm, cool, and neutral undertones possible, the spectrum is vast.

Best Matches

1. Bold Berries and Blackberry Shades:

These deep hues blend into the skin like velvet, creating a luxurious, regal look. Vibrant shades like electric purple, bright tangerine, and fiery fuchsia pop dramatically on deep skin.

2. Rich Reds:

Think cranberry, wine, and deep ruby. These are timeless on deep skin—powerful, elegant, always stunning.

3. Warm chocolates and espresso nudes:

Earthy browns with red or purple undertones enhance the skin’s natural warmth and create a seamless, polished effect.

Tips for finding your perfect shade (no matter the skin tone)

Check your undertone:

Cool undertones glow in blue-, berry-, or purple-based shades; warm undertones shine with coral, brick, and caramel; neutral undertones enjoy almost everything.

Try the wrist test

If your veins look blue, you’re cool-toned; green suggests warm; a mix means neutral.

Experiment in natural light

True colours reveal themselves in sunlight—not under store fluorescents.

Balance your makeup

Going bold on the lips? Keep eyes minimal. Subtle lips? Play up the eyes.

Wear what you love:

Rules guide you, but your confidence completes the look.

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