#ReDefineNude

Have you seen the newest revolt over social media to #ReDefineNude?

I have seen a countless amount of YouTube sketches, read so many different interviews and watched talks of companies all around the UK and US fighting to change the meaning of the word nude. I must say I am totally down with the cause!

When I used to work behind a beauty counter, I would have customers daily looking for the perfect nude lipstick. In my last job at bare minerals, we had one nude shade, and that would be the one they all wanted to try. I can probably count on one hand the amount of women that colour actually suited, so why should it be defined as nude. It seems that unless you are a certain shade of olive, finding a nude lipstick is always such a task. Today, I am going to show you how we can redefine the term nude, and find our perfect shade according to our skin tone, and lip tone.

 

 

Rule Number one

The key to finding a natural shade in lipstick (even if it is not a “nude” tone you are after), is to start from the colour of your lips, then either go two shades darker, or two shades lighter. Of course, if you are going for a nude, you want to aim for a colour two shades lighter then your lip colour. A “nude” is ultimately a creamy beige tone, so when looking for a suitable colour, you are going for a creamy tone that is two shades lighter than your natural lip colour. For example, my lips is a browny mauve colour, if I want the perfect nude, I will look at a brown mauve colour, with a creamy beige tone, two shades lighter than my complexion.

 

Rule Number 2

Consider the tone and shade of your skin. If you have a cool pink undertone, going for an coral beige coloured nude, worn by the golden toned Kim Kardashian wouldn’t work. If you have a cool undertone, the nude should also have a cool undertone to make it look more natural. I have a warm dark complexion, therefore my nudes will be a warmer dark tone.

 

Rule Number 3

I can not stress the importance of lining your lips when wearing a nude, that goes for if your lips are big, and if your lips are small. Because it is a nude, shading is mandatory to return definition to your lips, otherwise it can look a bit ghostly. Here is an example from my favourite MUA, who I would honestly knight the queen of the lipstick and liner.

 Kluermoi .. Picture taken from Pintrest.com

If your lips are bigger (like me and Kluermoi), I would advise to go for a liner a little darker than your skin, but of the same tone (not necessarily colour) of the lipstick. In the picture, Kluermoi has a warm toned lipstick with a warm toned brown liner, and has blended the two together perfectly for a good shading effect. Additionally, if you have bigger lips, follow line of your mouth and shade inwardly. On the corner of your mouth, make the line a little thicker to make the shading more realistic.

 taken from gurl.com

If you have thinner lips the same rule applies, a lip liner of a darker shade to skin is necessary. The model has gone two shades darker than her lips for her liner. As the picture shows, line around the lips outwards and inwards, so you have a thick liner around your lips and slightly outside of it. Then for the bottom, line the corners, then draw three horizontal lines in the centre of your bottom lip, then add another line on each side of the three lines. Next, line all the way across the lowest point of your top lips. This will give the illusion of bulging more voluptuous lips. Feel free to blend these lines out if you do not want too much of a dark line for shading. Lastly, go over with the nude of your choice. Your lips will end up looking similar to Kluermoi’s above.

In conclusion – not a rule but a good tip – is if all else fails and you just can not get a lip colour you are happy with, try using a lip liner with your concealer as your lip colour. You might want to use a lip primer and make sure your lips are moist before hand, but that is always a full proof last resort and will always look perfect. It will be the right tone hopefully, and a good thick consistency.

 

So.. I hope this has helped a few ladies out of their nude lipstick fiasco! It is about finding a nude suitable for us, not suitable for the few. If you think I have missed any other detrimental tips, let me know, and as always if something is unclear and your interested to know more, ask me :).

 

Tarah for now