The Best Red Lipstick For Your Skin Tone + A Giveaway!

Skyler E.

A red lip is a classic statement, and the best part is that it looks gorgeous on everyone! You may be bewildered, though, by the millions of options that are available and you may be unsure as where to start. Maybe you’ve been at your local drugstore and grabbed the first red lipstick that you saw. You go home, put it on and…. It just doesn’t look right.

Well, not all reds are created equal, and your skin tone has a lot to do with that. So, we created this nifty guide to picking your perfect shade!

What’s your Undertone?

You are either cool, warm or occasionally neutral. How do you know what your undertone is? You can compare different colors to your skin. The method that I think is the simplest is to compare your skin to silver (cool) and gold (warm) jewerly. Hold a piece of both up to your cheek or your inner wrist. Which one brings out the healthiest glow in your skin? If you aren’t sure, ask a friend! Sometimes an outside perspective can be super helpful. 

Often the most common way to know is through trial and error. Sometimes you see an old picture of yourself and think, "Why did I wear that mustard yellow sweater? I look like a corpse!" (based on real life) You know what looks best on you, think about what colors those usually are and go from there.

Once you know what your undertone is, picking the perfect shade becomes quite simple! Warm shades with warm skin and cool shades with cool skin (duh!)

If you have Cool Undertones:

Fair Skin: Saturated blue reds

Cherry (bright berry), Deep Wine (Moody, dark, striking against pale skin) Brick tones are not recommended.

Medium Skin:

Coral-Red (looks great with olive skin), muted or desaturated reds.

Dark Skin: 

Generally deep or vibrant colors look best, Maroon/Burgundy (blue undertone), Raspberry (pink undertone), Plum (deep purple-red)

If you have Warm Undertones:

Fair Skin: (Oftentimes redheads are fair but warm toned)

Classic Red with an orange tint, brick red or a warm toned burgundy.

Medium Skin:

Orange-Red (vivid and bright), Blackberry (purple-red)

Dark Skin:

Tangerine red (striking against dark skin but won’t wash you out), any brilliantly toned red.

At the end of the day, if you are still unsure as to your perfect red, a True Red or Classic Red is a great way to go. It blends with all skin tones and types because it’s tonally neutral!

Red Lipstick Giveaway!

Since we're talking to much about red lips, it only makes sense for us to give some to you, right? We think it does! Plus we wanted to take this opportunity to thank you for sticking with is through our first relaunch month. So, thank you so much!

We'll be giving away a Lipstick Matchbook in Classic Besame Red from Besame Cosmetics. The matchbook contains five sticks which can each be used up to three times. Perfect for traveling or on-the-go application. It has a semi-matte finish and full coverage for a vintage look. So chic! Besame Red also happens to be a neutral shade, so it will go well with any skin tone.

The Besame brand recreates modern reproductions of classic luxury makeup from the 20s to the 50s. All of their products are US made, using natural, gluten-free and paraben-free ingredients. So they're perfect for those sensitive skin types, like me. I use several of Besame's products including the matchbook and the Violet Brightening Powder and I adore them all.

How to enter:

1. Subscribe to The Sunshine District, if you haven't already

2. Leave a comment below

3. For an extra entry, follow us on Twitter and/or Instagram!

How easy is that! We will be picking and announcing the winner on Monday March 28th. May the odds be ever in your favor dear readers <3

-skyler