You know what’s harder to let go than memories of a heartbreak or giving in to your sugar cravings: that perfect nude lipstick that makes you feel like it was made for you.
It’s your comfort zone when nothing else feels right, your trusted companion at every holiday, and the one product you know you’ll never tire of. So, of course it’s as elusive as the snow leopard. “The first thing to consider is your skin tone and lip colour,” says makeup artist Tanvi Chemburkar. For Indian skin tones in general, she suggests going for warmer undertones if you’re looking for brown-nudes, dusty-pinks for a rosy-nude, and brownish undertones rather than corals if you want a true-nude—“and trying it on your lips for your final decision.” If the consequent result is a skin-tone complimenting shade that applies evenly on your lips and doesn’t flush out your face or make it look pale, you’re close to the one.
To get the best result, line and fill your lips with a lip liner that is very close to your nude or slightly warmer if you’ve picked a pale nude, “since often tend to have a double or two-toned lip, filling the lip with a pencil first makes a good base for the nude lipstick colour to come out evenly,” says Chemburkar.
And to make it all easier, we’ve done the hard work for you and tested one too many nudes (we’re not complaining), to pick out the 50 best ones that work for the Indian woman. Because it’s so unique to each individual’s face, we suggest taking one of these out this weekend to know if you’re ready for a long-term commitment.
