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Natural colour lip liner

19 replies

EarthSight · 07/01/2026 15:15

I'd like to make my lips look bigger by using some subtle lip liner without much lipstick.

I'm pale, and so far had found it difficult to get the right shade. They're either too red, too pink, or too orangey, including all the ones that are labelled 'nude'.

Either they're not good with colour blending, or they cut back on mixing too many pigments to keep costs down, which means most of them don't have enough blue in the mixture (same as why so many foundations lack enough green pigments which results in an orange look, maybe).

Of course, there are plum liners out there....but then they're obviously made for dark, plum & purple lips sticks. Using them very lightly to get a paler effect doesn't always work or look good either as it then looks too patchy or the undertone is different from the masstone .

Unfortunately, due to living very rurally, most local shops stock Rimmel or Mabelline, and that's it, so my ability to really shop around is limited. When I was in a city a month or two ago, it was hard to test anyway since so many brands had no testers at all, which is very annoying!

OP posts:
TMMC1 · 07/01/2026 15:37

Lisa Eldridge. Would still be better if you can test when next somewhere bigger. I think her team do online consultations though

gillefc82 · 07/01/2026 15:38

Would second Lisa Eldridge liners. Or Charlotte Tilbury - iconic nude or pillow talk.

FrostAtMinuit · 07/01/2026 15:40

You can get clear lip liner that has no colour at all but helps keep the lipstick in place.

MontysMum909 · 07/01/2026 15:51

I like the Bobbi Brown liner called Ballet Pink. I’ve bought it twice now which is unusual for me. It’s not super pale but matches my lip colour which seems to have got darker with age.

Darklane · 07/01/2026 15:54

Have you looked at Rimmel’s Eastend Snob?

Pineneedlesincarpet · 07/01/2026 16:34

I know what you mean. I'm pretty fair but have good natural colour in my lips and have always thought lipliners were too warm or brown on me. And pink ones just show up too much. Ive recently realised that you need to look for mauve colours. The Elf love triangle lip filler lip liner in mauve works. I also like the Refy Blur liner also in mauve.

TeaRoseTallulah · 07/01/2026 16:36

Pineneedlesincarpet · 07/01/2026 16:34

I know what you mean. I'm pretty fair but have good natural colour in my lips and have always thought lipliners were too warm or brown on me. And pink ones just show up too much. Ive recently realised that you need to look for mauve colours. The Elf love triangle lip filler lip liner in mauve works. I also like the Refy Blur liner also in mauve.

Edited

You'll like Rimmels East End Snob, one of the few that doesn't pull orange on me. I can't wear Charlotte Til uey at all,they look ridiculous on me

Pineneedlesincarpet · 07/01/2026 16:41

TeaRoseTallulah · 07/01/2026 16:36

You'll like Rimmels East End Snob, one of the few that doesn't pull orange on me. I can't wear Charlotte Til uey at all,they look ridiculous on me

Ive actually tried East End snob (dupe for Pillow Talk!) and it just doesn't work for my lip colour. It shows up which I don't like if I want to overline slightly. Mauve works perfectly with my own lip colour. So now I know that, Im finding buying lipliner online much easier!

Pineneedlesincarpet · 07/01/2026 16:45

OP have a look at this Refy Chart. Can you see your lip colour? I tried stone but it's too warm/brown so shows up. Mauve is the exact colour of my lips. If you look at the website it shows each liner on people with different colouring so makes it a bit easier. And it has a description of the colour so in case you don't like Refy you can Google a lip liner that has the same tones.

Natural colour lip liner
Slightyamusedandsilly · 07/01/2026 16:57

The Body Shop used to make a lip liner (may still do but I haven't bought it lately) that was EXACTLY the colour of my lips. It was great, could be used as a liner OR to fill in my lips with a gloss over for a subtle, less made-up effect.

Santangelo · 07/01/2026 17:34

Dior 303 Greige Attitude.

user98732 · 07/01/2026 19:34

Elf love triangle lip liner is cheap and good

angieloumc · 07/01/2026 19:36

Charlotte Tilbury pillow talk fair is perfect for me and I’m also pale.

EarthSight · 07/01/2026 21:34

Pineneedlesincarpet · 07/01/2026 16:45

OP have a look at this Refy Chart. Can you see your lip colour? I tried stone but it's too warm/brown so shows up. Mauve is the exact colour of my lips. If you look at the website it shows each liner on people with different colouring so makes it a bit easier. And it has a description of the colour so in case you don't like Refy you can Google a lip liner that has the same tones.

Mine would a be a slightly paler, more blue version of berry I think.

Kind of reminds me of Elf's Black Cherry which is a dupe for Clinique's famous honey 'Black Honey'. That would be a darker version of my outer lip colour.

OP posts:
EarthSight · 07/01/2026 21:37

Slightyamusedandsilly · 07/01/2026 16:57

The Body Shop used to make a lip liner (may still do but I haven't bought it lately) that was EXACTLY the colour of my lips. It was great, could be used as a liner OR to fill in my lips with a gloss over for a subtle, less made-up effect.

'Collection' used to make a pretty good one called 'pink clover'. Not exact, but the closest I've had, but that was maybe a decade ago. Sometimes the cheap brands are good.

OP posts:
EarthSight · 07/01/2026 21:41

TeaRoseTallulah · 07/01/2026 16:36

You'll like Rimmels East End Snob, one of the few that doesn't pull orange on me. I can't wear Charlotte Til uey at all,they look ridiculous on me

Thank you. I'll try that.

I've tried Elf's Pinky Swear. It looked promising, but that was again too peachy / orange for my natural lip colour.

OP posts:
EarthSight · 09/01/2026 15:39

@TeaRoseTallulah @Darklane @Pineneedlesincarpet I bought it online and it arrived today. Even though it's a bit too pink, it's pretty much the closest I'm going to get to my natural lip colour at the lower end. Thanks for the suggestion.

OP posts:
gillefc82 · 09/01/2026 23:01

@EarthSight If the Rimmel one isn’t quite right and you’re looking to stay at the drugstore end of the spectrum, it would be worth looking at the Maybelline Lifter Liners, possibly in shades Big Lift or Line Leader?

I haven’t used them myself but a friend of mine who’s makeup views I trust very highly absolutely swears by them. She says they are one of the best liners she’s used in terms of staying power.

www.maybelline.co.uk/all-products/lip-makeup/lip-liner/lifter-liner?variant=Big+Lift

EarthSight · 10/01/2026 21:31

gillefc82 · 09/01/2026 23:01

@EarthSight If the Rimmel one isn’t quite right and you’re looking to stay at the drugstore end of the spectrum, it would be worth looking at the Maybelline Lifter Liners, possibly in shades Big Lift or Line Leader?

I haven’t used them myself but a friend of mine who’s makeup views I trust very highly absolutely swears by them. She says they are one of the best liners she’s used in terms of staying power.

www.maybelline.co.uk/all-products/lip-makeup/lip-liner/lifter-liner?variant=Big+Lift

Thanks I will, although, I had to laugh at their before & after photos (with the model opening her mouth slightly to make her lips look bigger)!

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