Guide to buying the Perfect Nude Lipstick

For the last 2 years or so, eye make has been in the limelight - with smokey eyes & colored mascara galore. All this meant that the lips naturally were pared down in "nude" shades.

In India too, most girls like to go for the strong kajal eyed look, which for day time is paired with Nude Lips.

I have noticed that a lot of people equate nude lips with light beige colors, which frankly to me, makes them look washed out & ill. This is a high fashion look seen on a lot of ramp models & magazine covers, but this generally looks good only if you're doing a very intense black smokey eye look. That too only on magazine covers where the skin is photoshopped to matt perfection.

To me a modern nude lip is when the lips look natural. When looking for a nude lip color, one thing to remember is that natural lips are not nude, pale or beige unless a person is seriously ill.

Natural lip colors are more likely to be slightly red, rose or brown hued. So look for lipsticks that are mixtures of pink-peach, rose (dusty pink with hints of brown) or even light brown (hazelnut). If you are fair, don't go for very brown colors as they will just look muddy on you.

To counteract nude/pale lips wear a peachy or pink blush. Bronzer will make you look dull.

Some options for the natural nude look

1. Tinted Lip Balm: Nivea is a good option. Dragon Fruit matches me to a T. They have other shades as well. Even a clear glossy lip balm will serve the purpose, as long as it does not leave behind a whitish cast.

2. Clear Gloss with some shimmer: Colorbar makes nice shimmer clear gloss tubes. So does Jordana. Using clear gloss add the shine & finshing touches your lips need, also takes the guess work out as your natural lip color shines through. You can even opt for light pink, berry or peach colored tinted lip gloss to add some color if needed.

3. Matt & Creamy Lipstick: Bare by Colorbar is a personal favourite of mines in the matt category. These are generally more difficult to match as they are not so accomodating as lip gloss when it comes to colors. Matching the color to the tips of your fingers is a good option as the finger tips tend to be a lighter shade of the color of your lips. The skin here is just slightly thicker than your lips and has the same tint at times. In case you pick a shade that is too light, see if it can be salvaged with some clear gloss. Sometimes clear gloss softens up the lipstick starkness and makes it wearable.

 Rosy Nude by Revlon Colorburst is another the perfect creamy nude lipstick for my lips with a hint of color. This range has a number of neutral shades like Hazelnut & Blush.

4. Lip Pencil: The only lip pencil I have used till date is Lakme Glide On Lip Color. I use Rose Shimmer from this range.

• Outline your lips with a pencil one shade darker than their natural color. 
• Choose a rosy taupe color if you have fair skin, a pale brick hue if you have an dusky complexion & coppery shades if you have dark skin. 
• Then fill in the lips with the pencil & then top them with a pale, gold flecked sheer lip gloss. 

What is your favourite Nude Lip Product?