If you’ve recently let your hair go naturally gray then you may have found that the lipsticks you’ve been wearing just don’t make you ‘pop’ anymore. I really struggled with it (I have 22 lipsticks in my drawer that I never wear!). So how do you choose the best lipstick color for gray hair? Don’t worry, it’s fairly simple once you know how.
To find the right shade of lipstick all you need to consider are your skin tone and your skin undertone.
What is Skin Tone?
This is your surface skin color and can be grouped into four categories: fair, light, medium and dark.
- Fair Skin Tone: Generally natural blondes and those with red hair who tend to burn in the sun.
- Light Skin Tone: Similar to fair but will tan more easily.
- Medium Skin Tone: Have a tanned, warmer, olive toned complexion
- Dark Skin Tone: Women of colour
The reason I started with skin tone is that it’s not the same as your skin’s undertone. The undertone is a more important factor in choosing the best lipstick colour for you. But your skin tone will also determine how bold you can go with lip colour in your undertone category.
What is Skin Undertone?
This is the colour you can see beneath your skin and people who have the same surface colour (skin tone) don’t all have the same skin undertone. Confused? Read on.
There are generally 3 types of skin undertone: warm, cool and neutral. I talked about how to find out which undertone you are in my post on The Best Color Clothing To Wear With Gray Hair but I’ll go over it again here.
The easiest way to check is:
Warm Undertones : Your veins will look a green colour, you’ll probably suit gold jewelry rather than silver and you will tan easily.
Cool Undertones : Your veins will look blue or purple, you’ll suit silver jewelry rather than gold and your skin will burn in the sun.
Neutral Undertones : Your veins will look a green/blue colour and you’ll be able to wear gold and silver .
But each type of skin tone (fair, light, medium and dark) can all have warm, cool or neutral skin undertones.
So now we know what skin undertone we have it should make it so much easier to choose the perfect lipstick shade to make your gray hair really pop. As a general rule of thumb, if you have a warm skin undertone, when your hair goes gray it will likely have a warm tone to it, whereas cool skin undertones will likely have grey hair with a cool tone to it. Obviously there are exceptions to all these rules.
How To Test a Lipstick Before You Buy It
Most shops will have testers for you to try and it’s a good idea to use an alcohol wipe to clean the lipstick and then use an applicator to apply it to your lips. If you don’t fancy applying a tester lipstick to your own lips then the next best place to test it is on the palm of your hands or the pads of your fingertips as these are closer in colour to your lips.
What Color Lipstick Shade with Which Undertone?
Lip Shades for Cooler Undertones
These would include colours such as cherry red, berry colour, vivid rose or soft mocha. All of these shades will have pink or purple undertones or a bluish hue to them, which are all cool tones. I find a red lipstick is one of the hardest to get the shade right but opting for a dusty pinkish red or a coral red would be a good choice.
Revlon Super Lustrous Matte Lipstick Crushed Rubies 017 is an ideal shade for cooler undertones.
Lip Shades for Warmer Undertones
Colours in this category include brick, terracotta, chocolate, deep berry shades, peach, pale pink, copper and bronze. They will all have a touch of red or orange to them which are all warm tones. For a red lipstick if you have warm skin undertones then go for an orangey-red shade.
​Revlon Super Lustrous Creme Lipstick Siren 677 is an ideal shade for warmer undertones.
Lip Shades for Neutral Undertones
If you are neutral then you can try everything from subtle pinks to deep berry and mauve. For your red lipstick try a deep brick red.
Revlon ColorStay Suede Ink Lipstick, In The Money is a lovely shade for those with neutral undertones.
Lip Shades for Gray Hair
The above guidelines still apply even when your hair color is gray. But as gray hair can sometimes make you feel a bit washed out, a brighter shade can really make your face pop. I found as I went from dark hair to grey, the bright colors that made my face look ‘too made up’, worked really well with my white/grey hair. I have a light skin tone with a cool undertone and I just love the Emolyne London Cape Coast Red Lipstick, it’s just an ideal shade for me now. Grey hair framing your face gives it a ‘blank canvas’ so adding a pop of colour really draws attention to how beautiful your new grey hair is.
General Lipstick Tips
- Whatever lipstick you choose, for an everyday colour try something that is 1 or 2 shades darker than your natural lip colour.
- Dark shades will make lips look smaller and lighter shades will add plumpness to your lips.
- Matte lipstick will make lips look thinner and a gloss lipstick will make them appear fuller.
- It’s always helpful to use a lip liner with your lipstick as this stops the it ‘feathering’ effect and can give more definition to your lips.
- Using the lip liner all over your lips before applying lipstick of a similar shade can also make your lipstick last longer.
Remember that all of these rules are just guidelines and your personal preference is key. Your lipstick colour should make you feel happy.
There is a huge amount of lip products and different shades to choose from. Try a different colour weekly or monthly and choose the right color lipstick for your gray hair AND your personality!