Nude Lipsticks 101

Hello beautiful people! Over the past few years the nude lip trend has been ever increasing and with all the brands and different products on the market it can be hard to find your perfect nude. There are a few points to consider: skintone, formula and the colours that make up the undertone of the lipstick. I have put together a selection of my personal favourite nude lip products and broken them down into categories based on their undertones and which shades of nude I believe you should have in your collection.

1. The True Nude – MAC Blankety

I define true nude as a shade that looks incredibly pale and almost foundation like. Of course this shouldn’t be the case, you should be able to tell you’ve got lipstick on your lips not foundation. I’ve selected Blankety by MAC as my true nude because there’s something beautiful about how subtle it looks on the lips. I tend to reach for Blankety if I’ve got a lot going on on the rest of my face or if I’m having a more natural looking makeup day. The formula of this lipstick is amazing, it’s very creamy and applies like a dream.

2. The Pinky Nude – MAC Patisserie

I promise not all the lip products mentioned in this post are by MAC, in fact this is the last one. To look at Patisserie in the bullet you’d think it would come out darker than what it does on the lips. In the bullet it looks slightly peachy, slightly pink and ever so slightly brown with flecks of gold glitter. It comes out more of a light pink on my lips. I think the reason Patisserie comes out lighter on the lips than in the bullet is due to its’ lustre finish. This finish is one of MAC’s sheerer ones but it doesn’t detract from Patisserie at all and makes it a very wearable everyday shade.

3. The Pinky/Brown Nude – Rimmel Asia

Asia by Rimmel is quite a recent addition to my lipstick collection and a product I haven’t talked about on my blog up until now. One of my closest blogging and Twitter friends Claire had talked about this lipstick many times and I just knew I had to try it out. Up until a few months ago I would’ve flat out refused to wear anything with a hint of brown in it because I was convinced those shades didn’t suit me. I’m glad to say I was wrong, and I’m even more glad to say I’m happy I purchased Asia. Rimmel is one of my favourite brands as the quality always blows me away and the prices are so good. This lipstick cost me $10 and the formula is incredible for a drugstore lipstick. I have also read that Asia is a dupe for a few different MAC shades: Twig, Cosmo, Faux and Mehr.

4. The Brown Nude – Rimmel Comet

Brown lips were a popular trend in the 90s and they are making a comeback due to the likes of Kylie Jenner. Brown can be a hard colour to pull off, especially if you’re pale as the wrong shade of brown or a very dark brown can end up making you look paler than you already are and wash you out. I’m very fortunate to have found what I believe is my perfect brown in Comet, one of Rimmel’s Show Off Apocolips lip lacquers. Comet has a milk chocolate tone to it almost with hints of terracotta and red to further warm things up. This product isn’t matte and the shine makes your lips look juicy and full without being sticky.

Swatches in the middle picture, left to right: Blankety, Patisserie, Asia and Comet.

There you have it, the lip products I believe are my perfect nude shades! Have you found yours yet – let me know in the comments below!

Disclaimer: The shades mentioned here are barely only guidance to help you find your perfect nude. The way these shades look on me may differ to how they look on you. I broke the post down into undertones to help you see the differences between nude lip products and ultimately help you decide which shades are right for you.

P.S. I don’t use the term MLBB (my lips but better) as I believe there is more than one shade that enhances your natural lip colour and I’ve never really understood the term. If you don’t want it to look like you’re wearing lipstick, don’t wear any, simple as that.