Want to give someone an impossible task? Ask them to pick out the perfect red lipstick. It sounds easy, but it’s actually really hard. There are hundreds of reds in the world — blood red, apple red, berry red, orangey red — and they all look different according to the skin tone of the woman.
Makeup artists talk about these mythical shades that “work on every skin tone” as a simple solution to this problem, but I have my doubts. To see if a universally-flattering lipstick exists, I did a simple experiment. I put the same color lipstick on different women with varying skin tones. Genuis, huh? And for those of you not into red, I also tested three other lipsticks, from bubblegum pink to deep plum.
Click here to see the same lipstick on women with different skin tones.
What happened? Did one lipstick color work for all four women? While you can give the final verdict in the comments, I also asked Marissa Nemes, Miami-based makeup artist, for her opinion on the shades, and she didn’t hold back. Not only did she explain what did and didn’t work based on skin tone (and why), but Marissa also had replacement recommendations for any shades that flopped. Looks like this impossible task just got a little bit easier.
Click here to see the same lipstick on women with different skin tones.
* Hair and makeup provided by Byu-ti Salon in Santa Monica, Calif.
