When we think of switching up our makeup, it’s often something dramatic that springs to mind. Are you picturing a smoky eye? Graphic winged eyeliner? A pop of the brightest blush you’ve ever seen? Then hold your makeup horses.
Trying something new doesn’t need to mean marching out of your comfort zone at speed, and can be as straightforward as simply re-discovering a classic. Case in point: pink lipstick.
It’s often overlooked in favour of red, but as far as shades go, pink lip colour is uniquely diverse. It spans from soft rose and cute baby pinks through to vampy, almost-purple hues – passing through punchy cerise and fuchsia en route. Pink lipstick certainly ticks the stereotypical boxes of feminine and pretty, but it can be so much more than that, with the ability to look fresh, confident and modern too.
Keep these key considerations in mind when shopping for a pink lipstick. To take out the guesswork, we'd always recommend our Match2Me tool. It takes your skin tone, hair and eye colour into account to generate your perfect shades.
Pink lipsticks cover a huge amount of ground, meaning you’re likely to feel spoilt for choice when choosing a shade. As a general rule, don’t opt for a colour that is any lighter than your natural lip colour. Why’s that? It’s because this will wash out your complexion, which is the exact opposite of what a pink lip should do, which is to perk up your skin. If you have a deep skin tone, look to dark, sultry pinks like berry tones or colour pop brights. Both will look gorgeous against your complexion. Those with olive or warm-toned medium skin are best suited to coral pinks with a touch of orange, as these will balance out the more yellow-hued elements of your complexion. Finally, if you are porcelain or fair skinned, a pretty powdery or pale pink is your best match.
Not all pink lip colours are created equal, and the finish will vary depending on the product. For a seriously bold lip, Trinny London Lip Luxe offers the most densely pigmented pinks. The colour pay-off is rich, intense and easy to build. Use sparingly for a wash of colour, or build in layers for a real look-at-me finish. It works well for day and night, depending on the look you’re after.
If you did want to up the ante for an evening out, the Trinny London Lip Love is the pink for you. It has a pearlescent quality that gives a lustrous, frosted finish to your pink lip. Because of the light-reflecting nature of the formula, it actually makes your lips look plumper, making it a great choice for anyone who thinks their lips are too thin to wear colour.
Cautious about diving in with a pink lip? Start with shades from the Sheer Shimmer or Lip Glow collections. The former gives a dewy veil of colour with a subtle glow, while the latter is traditional high-shine lip gloss without the stickiness. Both will create the illusion of fuller lips, without making a huge commitment to the colour.
Finally, if you did want to double-up on a pink lip and pink blusher, Lip2Cheek is the perfect product. Designed to be applied to your lips and cheeks, the colours in the range offer a flush of rosy pigment with impressive staying power. Dab on with fingers, or apply with a brush for increased precision.
I’ve always been one to love a pop of color on my lips to add an extra touch to an outfit. Ever since I started wearing makeup, experimenting with different lip colors has been one of my absolute favorite things to do!
To be totally honest, though, I think pink can be a tricky color to get right. If you’re not careful, sometimes it can come off a little 80’s, know what I mean? But don’t worry about it, girl, I got you! I want to share all of my tips and tricks for pulling off pink lipstick and making it something you feel comfortable rocking anywhere.
How To Wear Pink Lipstick:
There are a few things I like to take into consideration when testing out a pink lip. First of those being skin tone and what shades will complement your tone and complexion. Once we’ve nailed down the right shade and hue for you, perfecting the whole makeup around your pink lip so that the pink can really pop is important. Finally, I’ll give a few tips on outfits I like to wear with pink lips and tips for rocking it with full confidence.
Step number one is going to be deciphering what your skin undertone is. When we’re talking skin undertones, there are three categories that we are looking for: warm, cool, and neutral. One of my favorite ways to determine this is to take a look at your wrist and the veins beneath your skin. Make sure that you are performing this test without any self-tanner on your wrists, that may skew your results.
If your veins look more green, you likely have a WARM undertone.
Common qualities of those with WARM undertones are olive, darker complected skin. Typically warm undertones will not have difficulty tanning from the sun and may have darker body hair.
If your veins look more blue, you likely have a COOL undertone.
Common qualities of those with COOL undertones are pink, fair skin. Typically cool undertones will burn in the sun and may have freckles and/or light body hair.
If it’s difficult to tell if they are more green or blue, you likely have a NEUTRAL undertone.
Common qualities of those with NEUTRAL undertones are a mix of the above two categories.
Once you’ve determined your undertone, now we can narrow down an undertone to look for in pink lipsticks for you! Typically you’re going to want to look for pink shades in the same undertone as your skin. For example, if you have a warm undertone, you’re going to want to look for pink shades with warm undertones.
Because there are literally thousands of pink colors, I’ll list a few of my favorites for each undertone here:
Warm Pink Shades (typically have more orange or yellow in them): clean pinks, yellow pinks, peach, warm fuchsia, rosy-tinted pink, pinky coral, hot pink, Pink-beiges
Cool Pink Shades (typically have more blue or purple in them): Mauve, cool fuschias, blue pinks
Neutral Pink Shades (typically fall in the middle): Midtone pinks, creamy fuschias, Neon pink, Dusty rose
Final step is to consider the depth of your skin. If you are on the light end of your skin tone, too light of shades can tend to wash you out. If you are the darker end of your skin tone, too dark of colors may not register. Here’s what I’d recommend for your skin depth:
Fair/light Skin Tones In Any Undertone (Words to look for in your lipstick): Bright, Deep
Midlevel Skin Tones In Any Undertone (Words to look for in your lipstick): Light, Soft, Muted, Bright, Deep, Dirty or Dusty, Nude
Dark Skin Tones In Any Undertone (Words to look for in your lipstick): Light, Soft, Bright, Clean, Neon, Nude
Keep in mind that this is just a starting point! I love to try lots of different shades and figure out what I love and don’t love on my skin tone. You’ll get there, just give it time.
I love to experiment with makeup and I think it is SO individual that putting too many “rules” or guidelines around it can sometimes limit your creativity. Always have fun with makeup and do what makes you feel confident! Here are a few tips, though, that I like to keep in mind when rocking a pink lip:
If you’re rocking a bright lip, try to keep them the star of the show. In other words, keep your eye and face makeup muted and neutral. This prevents anything from looking too “done up” or 80’s. Remember the blue eyeshadow with the pink lips? I try to avoid that, lol.
Accentuate your eyebrows. I don’t know what it is, ladies, but there is something about fluffy brows and pink lips. It is so feminine and romantic. One of my favorite features to accentate when wearing pink lipstick.
ALWAYS use a liner. Nothing ruins a gorgeous lip shade more than bleeding and feathering. I love to use a lipliner every time I apply lipstick, even if it’s a muted or light shade, just to make sure it looks crisp and clean.
More than any jacket or accessory you could rock with a pink lip, the most important thing is CONFIDENCE. If you are confident and feeling like your best self, whatever you wear will look stunning. I promise!
With that being said, I typically like to consider the depth of the pink lipstick when putting my outfit together. If I’m rocking something bright or neon, I’ll usually be wearing an outfit composed of neturals (whites, creams, browns, and black). Mid-tone and light/nude pinks are so versatile and can be worn with just about anything!
MAC Lipstick in Creme Cup
Lawless Lipstick in Parker
Charlotte Tillbury in Pillow Talk
Tarte Lipstick in Pink Sands
Buxom Full-On Plumping Lip Polish
Pink lipstick is something that anyone and everyone can pull off and I hope that these tips helped you narrow down a shade that you will not want to stop wearing! Looking for a full face of makeup with a pink lip tutorial? I’ve got one for you right here. If you use any of these tips, tag me in your post so that I can check you out, girl!