There are few things as empowering when it comes to beauty than finding your signature shade of lipstick. When a colour suits you and feels like you, you may have found The One.
But it’s not just about reaching for hues you like. It’s just as important that they complement your features and skin tone. This is probably why colour theory has been trending on social media recently because it can help you identify your perfect shade match.
How does it work?
Colour theory might be taking over TikTok now, but make-up artists have relied on its principles for a long time to create flawless looks. Not just something that is popular in the beauty world, it’s also used to help people decorate their houses or pick their ideal clothing shades.
It works by taking your skin’s undertone – a unique blend of yellow, red and blue shades – into consideration. Just like the colour wheel used by painters, it helps you choose a shade that accentuates your complexion. This is why the same lipstick can look good on some people and meh on others.
How is undertone determined?
Flip your wrist over to get a good look at your veins. You can have a cool, warm or neutral undertone. If your veins appear blue, you have cool undertones. If they look green, this speaks to warm undertones and a mix of both indicates neutral undertones.
Once you’ve identified yours, you can start the hunt for your new signature shade.
If you have a cool undertone…
If your veins are definitely blue, your skin tone leans cool. This means that you need to look for shades that have a similar cool hue.
Popular colours for people with this undertone include mauves, taupes, cherry and berry reds and dusty and rosy pinks.
If you have a warm undertone…
If your veins have a green tinge, you are someone with warm undertones. You are best off opting for shades that are also warm.
For this undertone, make-up artists recommend colours such as brick and terracotta reds, caramel brown and peach and coral pinks.
If you have a neutral undertone…
If this is you, consider yourself lucky, as you can veer in either direction. This means you’re better off using your skin tone as a guide.
You can choose from lipsticks in chocolate and chestnut browns, coral and cranberry reds and light or deep shades of peach.
