Not Nuts about Nude [Lips]

[cno64]

Can someone please explain the nude lips phenomenon to me?

I'm NW15, brunette, jade green eyes, moderately pigmented full lips, and the beige lipcolors that have been so incredibly popular for the past several years look just awful on me. I look positively unhealthy with pale lips.
Now, browns and beiges on the eyes, yes, but I look bloodless without some color in my lips.
So what is the point of nude lips?
Are the nude colors intended to make the lips look plumper, or what?
A friend of mine keeps wanting me to go nude on the lips, but why should I?

 

[knoxydoll]

I honestly don't really like lips that match the colour of your skin. But nudeish lips I like. Something that has just a little pigment in it so that you don't look dead.

 

[redambition]

cno64, i'm in the same boat. I can't really do the whole nude lip thing as it just looks wrong on me.

my lips are naturally pretty pigmented, so anything that makes them too skin-tone makes me look pale and dead. i go for natural (not nude) lip colours when i want understated lips.

 

[SparklingWaves]

I think it's my undertone, because I just don't look good with it. I tried it. It looks awful on me. A lady that I worked with looked great with nude lipstick, but looked awful with the lipsticks that made me glow. So, I think undertone has a lot to do with it. I am NW15 too.

 

[purrtykitty]

I really love nude lips, and my coloring is very similar to yours. But, I think there are different opinions on what nude is. I'm not a fan of the "concealor lips". I think I look dead, but other people pull it off much better than I. When I go nude (tee hee hee, naughty!) I choose a pale pinky lipstick and/or a pale pinky-peachy lipgloss, like Pretty Please l/s and Fine China l/g.

 

[Kuuipo]

What I consider nude lips is not a nude skin colour, its the colour of the lips-with no colour. Or sometimes the colour of your lips in a tube plus a hint of extra colour. Lios look their fullest when they are in a colour one shade up from their natural colour. It adds a little boost, evens out the colour. Nude lips for me is a mocha-y rose colour because my lips are like that naturally. I don't consider Blankety a nude colour (unless your lips are naturally chalky) but I do consider Cosmo a nude colour (looks like my natural lips) or some of Dior's sheer Rose Browns that don't change my natural colour but add a little sheen. Nude lips are lips in a very natural range, not fuschia, orange, blood red,etc.

 

[SparklingWaves]

3N is the most naked I will go with lipstick colors.

Yes, concealer lips is not a good look for me. I like pink in my lipstick. If it is pale beige or brown, it's thumbs down.

 

[rbella]

If I try to make my lips nude to the point where they "disappear" into my skin, I look ridiculous. It just looks like I forgot to put my lipstick on. I think that the coloring of your skin definitely has a lot to do with it. I always have to have something on my lips with at least a hint of color in it. I've spent more money on trying to perfect the art of the "nude lip" only to find that it just doesn't work for me!!!

 

[jlphipps]

i think the nude lips are mostly for when u are wearing bright bold colors on ur eyes so u don't distract from them... even if u wear a nude lipcolor, u can still wear a great gloss on them and keep them sparkly that way so u don't feel do pale or washed out.. but if ur eyes aren't bright or bold, then u can go with color on ur lips..

 

[Babylard]

there are different kinds of nude lips. you can have beigey tones or pinky tones. i have heavily pigmented lips so i can never raelly do pale lips. concealer on my lips makes them look blue. you can try pink toned neutrals like Hue. my favourites are 3N and flutterby. flutterby is the nudest i will ever go. if you don't like beige, pick the ones with pink tones in them. flattering mattene is a good one too. it doesn't have to be ultra pale. beige pale lips arent for everyone.

a lot of people wear nude lips to balance out dramatic eyes. for example, its hard to look decent with smokey eyes and red lips during the daytime. however, smokey eyes and a nude lip is something you cant go wrong with. nude lips go with everything. bright blues, greens, anything goes with a nude lip.

 

[S.S.BlackOrchid]

I can't do the look where the lipstick is creamy and matches my skin tone because then it just looks like my lips disappeared. I don't mind using a sheer, glossy lipstick or gloss that is one shade darker than my skin.

 

[frocher]

..........

 

[ratmist]

My lips are quite pigmented (purpley-brown) and trying to nude them out is very hard unless I use layers of concealer. I don't like the look I get either. I've tried doing it with a hint of pink or peach but I think it just looks terrible. The concealer dries my lips out even if I put some kind of chapstick base underneath, and I don't like coating my lips in a thick layer of glossy shine - which is kinda key to making the nude lip work.

I think it looks great on some girls, but not me. :shrug:

 

[breechan]

I think the nude lip look is better on girls with darker complexions. I think its harder to find an appropriate shade for us pale NC15 gals. That being said, don't give up. Keep trying different shades till you find a color that works.

 

[chameleonmary]

I think its all about trying variations of the nude lip, beige nudes do not suit me but nudes with pinkish tones look better.. mac high tea is the nude-est i can go!

 

[foomph]

I actually like nude lips on myself, much to my surprise. I have pretty pale lips to begin with so most nude lippies actually give my lips some color. Plus lipsticks tend to turn darker on me for some reason so nudes turn a nice pinky on me after about 30 minutes. I also find they make my thin lips look poutier and more defined.

 

[Winnie]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kuuipo What I consider nude lips is not a nude skin colour, its the colour of the lips-with no colour. Or sometimes the colour of your lips in a tube plus a hint of extra colour. Lios look their fullest when they are in a colour one shade up from their natural colour. It adds a little boost, evens out the colour.

This is what I consider nude for me too. I always take Nude as to look natural, so on me, I consider a shade like Syrup to be pretty nude but it adds a slight pinky tone. There is no way I can get away with the concealer lips, I don't have the right colouring at all and have relatively pigmented lips but some people can pull it off.

 

[elegant-one]

I love a nude lip look. Like some have said above, it's just a matter of finding what additional sheer color you need on top of the nude lip to make it work for you.

Also, if you lightly line your lips just a shade darker than your own natural lip color, you will be amazed at what a beautiful natural nude lip you can get. I just posted in the cosmetic discussion thread about a really perfect lip liner for almost everyone. Its so natural, pretty & lip enhancing.

 

[cno64]

Quote:

Originally Posted by breechan I think the nude lip look is better on girls with darker complexions.

I think so, too. My friend, in trying to persuade me that I "need" to go to a nude lips look, keeps saying, "It looks so great on Paula Abdul!"
I always reply, "But Paula has olive skin; I don't."
I just can not do nude lips well, and I doubt it will shorten my life any.

Sheer I can do, but I have to have at least a little color.
What's the point of buying and applying good makeup, if it's going to make you look worse?

 

[cno64]

Quote:

Originally Posted by frocher I love nude lips, but you need to find the right shade, or it washes you out and makes you look odd.

That's exactly what I mean, about the odd, washed out look.
If the occasion is right, I can do the full-on bright Elizabeth-Taylor-in-Technacolor thing, and I think that actually looks better with my coloring than pale lips.
Most often, though, I do best in sheer-but-bright.