Flaunt your true colors with confidence

There’s nothing like lipstick to lift your spirits! But too often, you’ll come across gals hesitant to try on a chirpy hue because they think it won’t ‘suit’ them. If you’re one of them, sit up and pay attention! Anyone can wear lipstick, the bolder the better! All you have to do is figure out your skin tone/undertone and then wear colors with pride. Read on for Nykaa’s guide to transform you from a retiring lily to a confident rose in the next ten minutes.

Nykaa makeup expert and beauty artist to the stars Namrata Soni says that the one thing that can change your life is knowing your skin’s undertone. “You can magically transform the way you look once you know yours,” she says dramatically. “I’ve seen simple girls-next-door look like divas that can light up a room once they know what colors work for them.”

So what your undertone?

Soni explains: Stand in front of a well-lit mirror in the privacy of your bathroom wearing a pure white towel/bath robe and wrap your hair under a white towel. Drape another white towel over any furniture behind you so that you’re surrounded by white because that makes it easier to see the colors hiding beneath the surface of your skin. Now what do you see? Does your skin look blue-ish? You have cool undertones. If it looks yellowish, you have warm undertones, and if it’s greenish, you have neutral undertones.A quicker way of deciphering your undertone is looking at the veins on the underside of your forearm or underarm in the sunlight. If your veins are blue or blue-purple, you have cool undertones. If your veins are yellow or olive, you have warm undertones. If you have both blue and green veins, you are neutral, and you can wear colors that look good on both cool and warm undertones.

Now choose the right lippie for your skin tone

1. For Beginners

Wary of swiping on a pigmented lipstick? Start with lighter tinted lip gloss instead. Sure, it won’t light up your pout but at least it’ll give you a sense of having product on your lips. In fact, lip gloss is the lazy girl’s savior, it comes off without a trace, unlike lipstick that needs to be reapplied to refresh the stain. All you need to do is reapply gloss for instant shine when you need some extra sparkle.

Choose a gloss for your skin tone 

Fair (cool undertones) All you need is a dab of light color, like a pastel, candy floss pink or mauve. Try L'Oreal Paris Infallible Pro Matte Gloss - 306 Aphrodite Kiss

Wheatish (warm undertones)A deeper, corally, peachy-brown lip gloss will look great. 

Try Lakme Absolute Plump And Shine Lip Gloss, Shades Rose Shine and Red Shine

Dusky skin tones Either go darker or much lighter for maximum impact. Try Colorbar Diamond Shine Lip Gloss, Shades Pixie Pink and Pink Flash.

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