Choosing a lipstick is easier when you look beyond the shade name. The same word—pink, brown, nude or red—can describe very different colours. Your skin's undertone, overall depth and the finish you prefer all change how a lipstick appears once applied.
Start with your undertone
Undertone is the subtle hue beneath the surface of your skin. A simple starting point is to compare how gold and silver jewellery look on you, or whether your skin tends to look more golden, peachy, pink or neutral in natural light. These are only guides, not strict rules.
- Warm undertones: warm brown, caramel, terracotta, peach and warm red families can be natural places to explore.
- Cool undertones: rose, mauve, berry, plum and blue-based red families may be worth trying.
- Neutral undertones: you can often move between warm and cool families depending on the look you want.
Then consider skin depth
Undertone does not determine the exact lipstick shade. Think about depth as well. On lighter complexions, very close-to-skin beige shades can sometimes look subtle, while rose, mauve and soft brown shades can add more definition. Medium and deeper complexions can explore richer brown, berry, red and plum families while still choosing either warm or cool undertones.
Match the shade to the occasion
For an everyday look, dusty rose, nude beige, warm brown and muted pink can be easy starting points. For evening or festive makeup, deeper reds, berry tones and expressive plum shades create more contrast. There is no single correct shade—your preferred level of contrast matters just as much as undertone.
Try BellaBloom by colour family
If you are exploring softer everyday colour, see BellaBloom Dusty Rose or BellaBloom Nude Beige. For warmer brown tones, BellaBloom Warm Brown is another shade to compare. If you prefer stronger colour, explore BellaBloom Purple or browse the wider BellaBloom lipstick collection.
A simple shade-testing method
When possible, compare two or three shades in natural light. Look at the colour after it settles rather than judging only from the first swipe. If you are between two shades, compare their undertone and depth side by side instead of relying only on the shade name.
Final takeaway
The most useful lipstick match is the one that fits your preferred contrast, undertone and occasion. Use colour families as a starting point, then choose the shade that makes you feel comfortable wearing it.