What You're Saying About Yourself Based on Your Lip Color
As a twenty-something woman who wears lipstick everyday, deciding on the perfect one ready can be a process. It comes down to more than just matte or satin, liquid or regular, and gloss or stain. It’s the color.
There’s certain colors that I know looks good with the rest of my makeup, but most of the time, I’m trying to subtly convey a message with the hue of choice.
It’s no surprise that colors have meanings behind them—which is what I mean when I refer to giving off a “message” with my lip color.
Before I realized that the whole 9 to 5 work schedule was most likely not for me, I would have the hardest time deciding on a lip color for interviews. Would a red lip send a different message than I thought? Would a neutral-colored lip convey responsibility? I wasn’t sure.
The more uncertainty I had, the more curious I got. Eventually, I figured it out by reading articles and going through my old psychology notes. Today, I’m sharing my notes with you, so you can learn about the break down of lip colors and what they’re subtly saying about you.
Red
As far as makeup goes, there’s nothing that makes me feel more sexy and confident than wearing a classic bold red lip.
Red is a color of attention, passion, and sex. It’s an intense and exciting color. It gives a feeling of strength, energy, and courage.
Formal events, a hot date, anniversaries with your man, going out at night, and the like are all occasions I recommend wearing a red lip. When you have things such as job interviews, court, and meeting your significant others’ family for the first time going on, maybe opt for a different hue in your makeup collection.
Nude
As you could imagine “nude” was not a color I found much on during my little research spree. However, brown and yellow—which are close to many base colors in nude lipsticks—were to be found.
These colors have many similarities, but since they are different colors, there are some characteristics that don’t match up perfectly. I’ve done my best to blend these into their own “nude” category for you all.
A nude lip has the opportunity to covey emotion, creativity, and optimism. It can make you come off as genuine and reliable which is ideal if you want to seem inviting towards others. However, too much yellow can convey negative emotions like anxiety, so it’s important watch the undertone of the nude lipstick. If your skin has a yellow undertone, try opting for a more brown-based nude rather than a yellow-based one.
Nude lips are anything but boring, however, they do seem to be the safest lip color in my opinion. There aren’t any occasions that I wouldn’t recommend a nude lip for. It’s trendy and most of the messages it gives off are positive.
Berry
Since oftentimes I don’t find many people (including myself) opting for a full-on purple or blue lip, I combined my notes to create the berry lip category.
A berry lip can send messages such as luxury, intelligence, and serenity. It has the ability to be calming and spiritual.
Since blue tones have the tendency to give off an impression of loyalty, I would (like many others) recommend wearing a berry tone for occasions like meeting the parents, going on a job interview, or even bridal showers. There aren’t many occasions I don’t recommend wearing a berry lip to, due to it’s calming affect.
Black
In the fall and winter, I tend to see many women sporting the ever-so-edgy black lip. It’s high fashion. It’s attention grabbing. It says this about you…
Glamour, chic, and elegant are some of the words that might come to a person’s mind when they see you wearing this color. The negatives to this color is that it can comes off as cold or overpowering.
A black lip can be difficult to pull off, but if worn to the right occasion—think: fashion week, red carpet events, gallery openings, etc.—it can be stunning. I say to give it a go at any creative or arts-based event. However, it’s also beautiful on a fall day with messy hair and minimal makeup (besides the lip) when you’re going shopping with the girls. Just be mindful of the occasion you’re wearing it for (job interviews, meeting the parents, and weddings are all not the best times to rock this).
Pink
Oftentimes when I wear a pink lip, many young children tend to stare at me. I’ve actually had a child pull on her mom’s arm in the store, point at me, and say “Mom! It’s Barbie!” I guess that kind of thing sometimes happens when you’re a blonde who wears pink, then a pink lip on top of it. Regardless, pink is a great option as far as lip colors go.
If you’re looking to come off as feminine, loving, and soothing, pink is the color to apply. The softer the shade, the more feminine of a vibe you’ll give off; the closer to red, the more powerful and sexual it becomes. Pink can be seen as a weak color as well, so be weary of that as well.
Although she’s only a character, Elle Woods has been an idol of mine since I was a child. She wore a pink lip for almost every occasion in Legally Blonde. That being said, if Elle Woods can wear a pink lip in law school, it’s acceptable for every occasion.
Coral
There’s never a better time of year to wear a coral lip than in the summer. It looks amazing on tanned skin and gives you this glow that is hard to describe.
Orange (which is the base color for most corals) gives off a passionate, fun, and creative vibe. It will make you stand out and seem more edgy without dipping into the darker hues. If you’re trying to some off as serious, orange won’t exactly help with that because it can also give off an immature vibe.
I’m all for wearing a coral lip whenever you want. Depending on the undertone—pink or orange—you can get away with wearing it for almost every occasion, just like pink. I personally find that coral tends to be a seasonal color, so wearing it in fall and winter are not preferred by me personally.
I hope this blog post helped some of you! Although I did study psychology in college, I’m by any means not a psychologist. This post is simply a way for me to share my notes and information I came across with you, so by all means, do what you want with it. There are no rules in beauty, so do whatever makes you feel most confident!
Side note: I’ll be in NYC attending Beautycon this weekend, so if you see me, come say hi!
If you're curious, here are some of the articles that helped me create this blog post!
