Reader Arielle wrote in asking, “I’m in love with the ‘Barbie’ look, and you did an awesome post on finding your perfect nude lip. Can I get some pointers on finding the right pink for my complexion (think: Kelly Rowland/Gabrielle Union)???? Pretty please?”
Hey Arielle! The Barbie pink look is definitely hot and I love it because there’s a pink out there for everybody. I’ll even throw in darker, brighter pinks for good measure, too.
The key to finding makeup that suits your skin is to understand your undertones. If you look at how many makeup brands categorize undertones, you’ll go crazy trying to figure things out. The simplest way to finding your perfect shade is to think of undertones in terms of warm, cool, and neutral.
Warm undertones have yellow or golden look to them. You can tell if you have warm undertones if your skin looks more yellow or golden (of any shade), you look better in gold than silver, your veins have a green tint to them, or your eyes are golden brown, hazel, or green with gold flecks.
Cool undertones have a pink/red or blue look to them. You can tell if you have cool undertones if your skin looks more red or blue (sounds weird, but skin like Alek Wek’s has a blue undertone to it), you look better in silver than gold, your veins have a blue tint to them, or your eyes are dark brown, grey, or blue.
Then of course if your skin doesn’t have obvious warm nor cool undertones and you can rock gold or silver, your undertones are neutral.
This helps to break down picking out makeup shades because if for example you know your undertones are warm, you’ll zoom right in for the warm colored makeup.
The next part of the trick after getting the right undertone is to finding the right shade. Generally the darker your skin, the brighter and deeper you want to go with your color.
Here are a few shade suggestions. Note these are just suggestions to help you find your perfect pink. You can find similar colors in other brands so use these shades as your guide when you’re out shopping. MAC Lipsticks are highlighted since they’re available in most countries and are most likely to have swatches available online (google images or makeupalley.com) so you know what to look for whether you shop the web or a store.
For reference:
Light: Rihanna
Medium: Beyonce
Caramel: Queen Latifah
Dark: Gabrielle Union
Deep: Alek Wek
Choose the shade category that closely matches your skin. Then I have it broken down by undertone.
Warm Barbie Pinks: MAC Angel (good for light to medium toned skin), MAC Hue (good for light to medium toned skin), MAC Please Me (works great on virtually all skin tones), MAC Faux (works great on virtually all skin tones), MAC Bombshell (works great on virtually all skin tones), MAC Creme de la Femme (works great on virtually all skin tones), MAC Chatterbox (works great on virtually all skin tones), MAC Hot Gossip (works great on virtually all skin tones)
Cool Barbie Pinks: MAC Bubblegum (works great on virtually all skin tones) , MAC Saint Germain (works great on virtually all skin tones), MAC Pervette (good for light to medium toned skin), MAC Creme Cup (works great on virtually all skin tones), MAC Snob (good for light, medium, and caramel skin tones), MAC Speed Dial (works great on virtually all skin tones), MAC Up the Amp (good for caramel, dark, and deep toned skin), MAC Viva Glam Gaga (works great for virtually all skin tones, but darker skins may want to use a dark lip pencil to make it more wearable)
Warm Bright Pinks: MAC Pink Nouveau (works great on virtually all skin tones), MAC Pink Poodle (works great on virtually all skin tones)
Cool Bright Pinks: MAC Speak Louder (works great on virtually all skin tones), MAC Just Add Colour Lipglass (works great on virtually all skin tones), MAC Impassioned (works great on virtually all skin tones), MAC Lickable (works great on virtually all skin tones), MAC Girl About Town (works great on virtually all skin tones)
Still need help? Contact me for individual tips :)
May 10, 2010 3:51 am
I got MAC Pink Nouveau because I love it on Nicki Minaj, I am a caramel colored girl and it doesn’t work on me like her, any tips?
May 10, 2010 9:03 am
Wow! My M.A.C. girl just talked me into a baby pink from the new Viva Glam collection…the one endorsed by Lady Gaga. I have a caramel complexion and would have never picked the color for myself. But with a little gloss it works and is so fabulous!!!! Thanks for the post.
May 10, 2010 10:41 am
This is a great post! I like the frosted look, but don’t want Tyrone Biggums lips, I have Benefit’s ‘Who are you wearing?’ gloss, is there a base I can use to give it a frosted effect?
May 10, 2010 10:58 am
@Ashley Try using a darker lip pencil underneath Pink Nouveau (like MAC Chestnut or Nightmoth) to help make it more wearable for you. You can also try sheering it out with a lip brush and adding gloss on top.
@CrimsonDiva That Viva Glam Gaga lipstick is to die for! It’s workable on a number of skin tones, but like you did–trying it with gloss makes it more wearable. So do darker lip pencils :)
@TicaPica if you love the frosted look, try a MAC Creme Colour Base (like Hush or Pearl) on top to alter the finish. OR you can hit up your local drugstore and get a frosty lipstick that normally wouldn’t work on its own but when coupled with your Benefit lipstick will get the look you’re going for.
thanks ladies :)
May 10, 2010 12:02 pm
Yippeeeeee for a pink lip post! :). I’ve been hearing so much about MAC Up the Amp but I don’t think that it’ll work for me, but so many say that its nice on deep skin tones….idk. I would like to try Girl About Town, idk. I’m undecided. I’ll just slow down a bit because I do have lots of pinks to choose from already, lol. Thanks for the post.
May 10, 2010 12:05 pm
Oh yes….would you happen to know the color that Rihanna is wearing in the above picture?? Mucho Thanks!
May 10, 2010 12:12 pm
Tyrone Biggums lips…ha! I almost spilled my latte.
May 10, 2010 10:50 pm
This is right up my alley…i love pink lips another job well done!
May 11, 2010 1:58 am
@Joanne I’m not sure what exact color Rihanna is wearing, but MAC Viva Glam Gaga with a similar pink gloss on top looks like it could be a dead ringer :)
thanks Lish :)
June 12, 2010 4:50 pm
hey, can u do a post like with orange & coral colors please? :)
i love the coral look but i have no clue what shades will go with my caramel tone.
June 15, 2010 9:30 am
close to Queen’s color but I’m scared of pink lipsticks lol. My mom is closer to Rihanna color and she wears a lipstick like what Rihanna has on well a little more frosted and I don’t like how it looks on either of them.
July 8, 2010 9:54 am
I will definitely be buying Pink Nouveau and Please Me soon because I’m so into matte lipsticks at the moment whether they be dark, nude, or light actually.
Please me is more muted than Pink Nouveau which is a bit cooler on me (I’m Kerry Washington’s color I’d say), but the MAC Cork lip pencil is my staple and works magic with both of them WITHOUT changing the lipsticks’ actual colors on me.
I hate obvious lip pencil lines around my mouth so I blend the pencil into the lipstick as much as I can and it just makes the Pink Nouveau for example just fit in perfectly with my face while it still maintains its ‘integrity’. LOL LOL
September 24, 2010 10:38 am
[...] lips–check out our guide to wearing a bright lip: Weekend Makeup Idea: Wear a Bright Red Lip, Barbie and Bright Pink Lips for Skin of Color, and Rock a Bright [...]
September 24, 2010 1:00 pm
Hey Danielle! Whats a lipstick thats similiar in color to what Gabby is wearing??
September 25, 2010 1:30 am
Hey Lashawn! It looks like she’s wearing a soft pink gloss like MAC Viva Glam V :)
December 17, 2010 7:31 pm
i’m a white girl..and i ordered Pink Nouveau but i’m not sure it looks very good on me, i’d say i’m warm skin toned (i have green eyes and pale skin with really no colour) and i think it looks terrible..sadly. Anything i can do to make it look better? i used mac lip conditioner before i applied it, and used lip gloss after. it may just be bad lighting in my house though? or maybe this is only for darker skinned girls. no idea.
December 18, 2010 12:29 am
Hey Rissa!
Pink Nouveau actually looks good on a range of skin colors, but it’s more of a cool pink so it may be clashing with your warm undertones. Try “warming” it up with a sheer golden gloss like MAC Lustreglass in Instant Gold. If you still don’t love it, rub a tiny bit on your cheeks making sure to blend in carefully and use it as a sheer creme blush. Otherwise keep it as an empty to turn in for Back 2 MAC.
Hope this helps!
March 13, 2011 11:51 pm
Balck Radiance lipgloss in Diva Deluxe