Lipstick doesn’t suit me

[Cafeaulait27]

I’m 35 and have never been able to find the right lipstick shade, so I stick to tinted lip gloss.

i have a pale complexion that gets a light tan in the summer, and blush easily. I have a bit of pigmentation from teen acne.

I find that most lipsticks make me look older or like a man in drag! (That’s what I think anyway) But surely there must be a good lipstick out there for me? When I look at photos sometimes I think my lips could do with a little more colour to define them.

should I go to a beauty counter to have them find the right colour for me? And if so, which brand?

thanks 😊

Clinique 'Black Honey' is your friend. Looks very dark in the tube but seems to adapt when on so it looks like your own lip colour but better somehow.

As above, it gives a natural looking colour and for me just made me look a bit more alive without obviously being a lipstick. I have wasted so much money trying to find 'my' shade and this is definitely it!

Same. Doesn't matter if I try light or dark, nothing looks right. I recently got Clinique Black Honey as it's supposed to be pretty universal and it still doesn't work.

I also find it hard to find the correct eyeshadow shade that either doesn't make me look like a zombie or I'm in drag.

Watching with interest as this is exactly my problem.
The dream was to find a red that suited me: "Red is a classic! There's a red for everyone!".
Well, so far, I haven't found a red that doesn't make me look like the Joker in Batman after a heavy night on the cab. sauv.
Pillow Talk isn't really for me either.
After trying loads of shades, formulas, brands etc, atm I'm wearing a nude lipliner around my lips and smudged in to cover the rest of them, with a smidge of Vaseline over the top.

I do have Black Honey and, yes, that does look okay on me.

Firstly do not fall for any marketing that says "suits all". You, like I, (and surprisingly very many people) are an exception to this.

As a starting point if there is a no.7 counter in your boots go and get colour matched by their machine thing. Then they have a guide which tells them which lipstick should go well.

Try them on and see how you feel about them and go from there.

Lipstick looks unappealing full stop, I'd stop looking and stick to your lipgloss.

I did wear it a bit as a teen but more and more I just think it looks like it belongs in the past.

I'm the same. Chantacaille are super pricy but the texture and shades of their lipsticks are soft and flattering. Maybe find a counter and try some. It's the only brand that I can get through a tube of lipstick with. My other go to is nars dolce vita. It gives colour but it's muted. I've seen it mentioned as a 'natural and neutral' colour but it's definitely a 'going out' colour on my pale skin.

This is me too. Strong lipstick makes my lips look smaller and my teeth look yellower. It also doesn’t last on me longer than 20 minutes. I tend to go for tinted lip balms, of which I have a million, the best being Bobbi Brown bare melon and Pawpaw balm in peach (I’m warm toned).

I'm the same ,makes me look very hard if I don't get the right colour. I have an ongoing thread in S and B about finding the right shade at the moment.

When you are buying a lipstick, put some of the tester on your finger tip not the back of your hand, the skin there is the same colour as your lips,if it's the right shade for you then it'll look 'right' on your lips too.

I don’t think it suits everyone, nothing does.

It’s also a high maintenance look (it suits me fine, just mostly can’t be arsed with regularly refreshing it) - if you just need more colour on your lips just go for a lip stain, there are loads about.

I've been getting into colour theory / seasons lately and I'd recommend you start there.

I will never trust a beauty counter, the lighting is all wrong inside shops and lipstick can't be returned so an expensive risk!

So far as finding one that suits, I got a tester/sample pack off ebay of 12 shades, tiny sizes and then bought the full size in the 1 shade that suited me. They were Avon but I'm sure you can find other brands too.

I’m with the pp who said that lipstick looks odd on everyone. I think the flat / mat look looks like children’s face paint and just a strange thing to do to your face. A bit of lipgloss, tinted lip salve etc looks ok, drawing out your natural colour rather than painting something over the top.

Try going for brown-based colours. I’m another one that red lipstick doesn’t suit - or purple/plums either actually. They look too harsh, the plums make my teeth look weirdly yellow, and my lips smaller.

Revolution lipsticks are good and cheap to try. I like these:

Rumba

Velvet

There are other shades in those two ranges if those don’t suit you. The Rumba is a lovely medium warm brown that makes my teeth look whiter and brightens my face, and the Velvet is beautifully moisturising and a rosewood colour.

The Nyx lip creams that are named after cities are also very good if you can find them. Leon is a lovely natural colour that looks like my lips but better. Los Angeles is subtle too - slightly lighter and more of a mauve brown.

Following with interest because I've NEVER been able to find lipstick that suits. I'm deathly pale with cool undertones and everything just looks too... Clowny? "Neutral" tones look very brown or pink on me, reds and corals garish, dark colour a bit too Marilyn Manson. I also don't think my lip shape helps, it just doesn't seem to look right.

Literally the only one I've ever found that doesn't make me look like a corpse, a drag queen or chuckles the clown was a lip crayon from Primark of all places called Mushroom. I borrowed it from my daughter when it looked nice on her and it's a sort of lilacy taupe. Unfortunately that seems to be an almost impossible to find colour.

Same! I look like a pig in a wig with lipstick on. My lips are very small, the top one is turned down so you see very little of it. I've been known to colour in with lip pencils and then put Vaseline on top. That tends to last an hour or two tops though, so no good for an evening event!

@UpToonGirl I'm pale and blue toned skinned with warm toned hair. Pale golds and pale shimmery bronzes tend to work on me, making me look warmer skinned. Would anything like that work for you? It's quite subtle, but I wear pale eyeshadow on the inside of the eye and blend out to darker tints on the outside. Like I did in the 90s, but with less aggressive colours 😂

I found the same until I had my teeth whitened (trays from dentist)

my sister is not a lipstick wearer and she does look good without it… occasionally she wears Pillowtalk by Charlotte Tilbury which they advertise as suiting everyone but makes me look like a corpse. I do wear lipstick but increasingly go for balm type formulations rather than strong velvety formulations. I think Bobbi Brown is the best on the High Street for pinky nude colours and light formulations. Glossier are good for all round” light” make up looks. The other option is a multi purpose “chubby stick” that you can use on cheeks and lips. I have one from Clinique but my favourite is from Jones Road ( the new brand owned by Bobbi Brown) - it requires zero skills to apply

Yeah I look extremely odd with lipstick on. Like I'm playing dressing up and have raided a grown ups makeup.

I just go with a little of the pink vaseline for a 'finished' look.

Go for a colour that is similar to your lips (or nipple colour lol) I don't suggest cracking your boobs out at the boots counter though, so perhaps stick to near your lip colour 🤣

YES YES YES!!! That was the BEST and I bought ten at a time, then they discontinued it and had a rosier version and I'm on my last of my bulk buy and trying to find a replacement. Look at my thread on cool toned lipstick,lots of suggestions there from similar people with same colouring.

No 7 matched me as a warm based skin.

Im a summer in terms of colours do need cool colours. Yet they matched me as warm. It doesn’t work every time. I’ve got very live skin ( warm) but it has lots of pink in it.

l avoid no 7 now.

Olive skin! Not live skin!

I think if you blush eadily you need a cool based lipstick.

I've found my one recently and ordered a couple just in case they discontinue. It was a Xmas gift from Valentino beauty. I'm pale but with brown hair and it's the only lipstick that compliments my lips. It's not dark when you apply it, it's very natural and I've had people asking whether I've had my lips done permanently.

I don't suit black honey it's to dark