How to Find the Perfect Nude Lipstick for Your Skin Tone, According to Makeup Artists

Nude lipstick is like the white t-shirt of your makeup wardrobe: It’s a timeless staple that you can always rely on when you don’t know what to wear. However, it also takes time and patience to find the perfect nude lipstick in the right shade and formula for your skin tone. You could swipe on hundreds of iconic lipsticks before you find one that really complements your features...or you could save yourself some time and just read this helpful guide.With the help of professional makeup artists, I put together this cheat sheet to finding the best nude lipstick. You’ll learn how to determine your undertone, along with what shades work best for every skin tone (and undertone). Plus, you’ll walk away with your new fave nude lipstick. Nudes for all!How to find the best nude lipstick for your skin toneThis goes without saying, but the perfect nude lipstick for light skin won’t be the same for those with dark skin. Selecting the right one for you is an incredibly personal and subjective beauty experience, says J. Brandon, YSL Beauty’s National Makeup Artist. However, knowing your undertone can guide you to the right hue that will make your lips pop.“First determine whether your undertone is cool, warm, or neutral, then look at the natural pigment already present in your lips,” Brandon says. “Your perfect nude should feel like an extension of you, not necessarily the color beige.”Let’s back up for a second: How on earth do you determine your undertone?! Celebrity makeup artist Neil Scibelli assures us it’s pretty simple. “I suggest looking at your vein colors on your inner arms,” he says. “Blue veins signal cool undertones; green veins are warmer undertones; and if you have a combination of both, you most likely have neutral undertones.”Why does your undertone matter when selecting nude lipstick?Every makeup artist preaches the importance of understanding your undertones when buying any makeup (not just lippies). But why? “Your undertone is essentially the quiet color story underneath your complexion, and it affects how every color placed next to it is perceived,” says Brandon. “When the undertone of your nude lipstick relates to your own undertone, the effect tends to feel softer and more harmonious. When they oppose each other or clash, the lip becomes more noticeable.”Consider matching your nude lipstick to your undertone as a starting point, not the end-all-be-all rule. “I always say undertone should be a guide, not a restriction,” adds Brandon. “Matching creates harmony, clashing creates impact. Decide what you want to feel and choose accordingly.”If you want a more ~harmonious~ finish, follow Brandon’s framework: Those with cooler undertones will shine with a nude lipstick that leans a little pink or rose. As for warmer undertones, something with a touch of gold keeps the color from falling flat.The Best Nude Lipsticks for Your Skin ToneBuilding off of the undertone ideas mentioned above, we gathered three nude lipsticks for every skin tone—one with cool undertones, one with warm, and one with neutral, so there’s a perfect hue for everyone.Best nude lipsticks for light skin tonesBest nude lipsticks for medium skin tonesBest nude lipsticks for olive skin tonesBest nude lipsticks for dark skin tonesHow to choose the best nude lipstickBeyond looking at your undertones, there are a few other things you should consider when looking for nude lipstick.Pay attention to your natural lip pigment“If your lips are very pigmented and you want a true nude effect, opt for a more pigmented option to neutralize some of the existing color,” says Brandon. On the flip side, if your lips are less pigmented and you simply want them to look enhanced, opt for “a more translucent formula which allows your own lip color to become part of the finished shade.”Decide on your preferred formula.There are so many lippie finishes: matte, glossy, satin—you name it. What’s important is selecting a formula that feels comfortable and true to you. But you also have to think about the sheerness of the formula. Scibelli has suggestions that will enhance your natural beauty.“Fair to medium skin tones may want to look at formulas that are sheer to buildable when going two to three shades deeper than their lip color,” he says, while “those with olive to deeper skin tones may want to lean into formulas with truer, deeper nude pigments.”Meet the experts J. Brandon is a New York-based makeup artist. He is YSL Beauty’s National Makeup Artist and Manager of Artistry for the brand.Neil Scibelli is a New York-based celebrity makeup artist and on-air beauty expert.Why trust Cosmopolitan?Mary Honkus is a contributor for Cosmopolitan with over eight years of experience researching, writing, and editing beauty stories. She’s an authority in all beauty categories, and carries about four nude lipsticks with her at all times. For this story, she tapped makeup artists for tips on how to find the perfect nude lipstick for your skin tone.Mary Honkus is a freelance writer who covers beauty, home, fashion, health, and wellness (just call her a jack of all trades!). She has held staff roles at Real Simple, People, and InStyle, and her bylines can be found in numerous other publications. When she's not testing the latest and greatest products, she can be found chilling on her Hell's Kitchen rooftop, checking out NYC's hottest new restaurants, or recording her podcast Good Trouble NYC. 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