How to Find the Best Red Lipstick For Your Skin Tone

Whether you’re celebrating Valentine’s Day, Galentine’s Day, or it’s just another Tuesday in the office, this year paint the town red…by wearing red lipstick that is! A bold red lip exudes confidence and femininity and looks amazing on absolutely everyone, provided you’re wearing the best shade of red lipstick for your skin tone of course. To help you find the best hue for you, we compiled the ultimate guide below!

How to Find Your Skin Tone

First things first, you can’t find the best shade of red lipstick for your skin tone if you aren’t sure what skin tone you have! Contrary to popular belief, your skin’s tone doesn’t directly correlate with its color, it’s actually referring to the undertones present in our complexion. By identifying those undertones you’re better equipped to find cosmetics—everything from red lipstick to smoky eye shadow colors to foundation—that better complements your unique skin! There are three main undertones that are present in the skin:

• Cool: People with cool undertones have hints of pink under their skin.
• Warm: When you have a warm skin tone you’ll often notice a yellow or golden tone to your skin
• Neutral: With neutral skin tones, you don’t have any undertones visibly present and your skin’s actual color is more front and center.

To find your undertones turn your wrist over so your veins are visible. Are they bluish or greenish? When veins appear blue it’s often a sign of a cool undertone, greenish and it’s likely you’re sporting warm tones, and if you’re not sure which—or if you feel you see both—you probably have a neutral undertone. Another popular marker of undertone is whether or not you look best with gold or silver jewelry or even with a bright white t-shirt on. If you find silver jewels and bright white looks best on you, you’re cool. Prefer gold bangles and colors that skew more cream than stark white? Welcome to the warm side. If you look great in everything—lucky you!—your undertones are likely neutral.

Red Lipstick Prep

Now that you know your skin tone, are you ready to go red? Not yet! Red lips look best when your pucker has been well cared for—read: you’ve successfully kept parched lips at bay this winter. Our best tips to prep your pout for a bold lip color? Exfoliate with a gentle lip scrub and hydrate with an emollient lip balm. Easy-peasy! To ensure your pucker is always kiss-worthy you can follow the tips we outline here.

The Best Red Lipstick for Your Skin Tone

Now that your lips are silky smooth it’s time color them crimson! Below we share our picks of the best red lipsticks—from L’Oréal’s portfolio of brands—for each skin tone.

Red Lipstick for Cool Skin Tones: When you have cool undertones you should reach for red lipsticks that are bold, bright, and have a bluish tint. Cool complements cool after all!

Try: Urban Decay Vice Lipstick in Rock Steady, $17 MSRP

Red Lipstick for Warm Skin Tones: Ladies with warm skin tones should shy away from those bluish tints as they can potentially wash you out. Instead, reach for red lipsticks with orange-tints—yes, the color opposite blue on the color wheel!

Try: Yves Saint Laurent Rouge Pur Couture Satin Radiance Lipstick in Rhythm Red, $37 MSRP

Red Lipstick for Neutral Skin Tones: With a neutral undertone you have your pick of the litter when it comes to lipstick. We recommend a bold burgundy or merlot-hue which will look sultry and sophisticated on your skin tone.

Try: NYX Professional Makeup Liquid Suede Cream Lipstick in Cherry Plum, $7 MSRP