The perfect nude lip gloss is something very hard to find for all of us. And what works for me might not work for you, it all depends on your skin tone. I don't tan my face so I would describe my skin color as light medium, that's the shade before tan on foundations. As a general rule, in order to make any nude lip gloss work, you have to create contrast around your lips. Use a lip liner that is 2 shades darker than your skin tone. Otherwise it looks way too pale on your face. Before I do that, I put a little concealer under my bottom lip so that skin is the perfect bright canvas to contrast against the lip color. Nude lips look best with some makeup as you need some other color on your face. My lips are naturally very pink so I like colors that are close to my natural color but more enhanced. I love to wear bold eye looks so pairing a nude lip with it makes perfect sense so my lipstick is not competing with my dramatic eye look.

One pet peeve I have with some brands is they only show the lipstick on white skin and deep skin, well there's a whole world of tan people out there! lol Lipstick looks different on different skin tones and I need to see it on my skin tone.

It's a little embarrassing how many lip glosses I have that are almost the same color. lol I really do like a nude lip that is your lip shade but better. These all have different formulas and textures.  You know I love a no makeup look so it's not complete without a nude lip. These are my top nude lip products.

Lip Contour

I think my lips are the perfect size, I would never get filler. But I do wish I had a little definition. You know how a clothing seam has a bump to it, I wish the outline of my lips had that. So what I do is contour my lips and this makes them pop more. You can fake anything with makeup. There is a learning curve to getting your top lip right but your bottom lip will easily look very pouty. Here are the steps and this is not old school overlining your whole lips. 

1. Exfoliate first so your lips aren't flaking

2. Contour by faking a shadow to give the illusion of fullness. Use your contour stick under the center of your bottom lip and blend it out with a brush.

3. Then overline ONLY the center cupids bow of your top lips and center of your bottom lips. You want the pout to stay centered so don't overline the entire lip.

4. Clean up the outline with concealer. This especially makes a red lip or nude lip pop more to have clear borders. 

5. This step is optional but after you apply your base lip color, apply a second lighter gloss just in the center of your lips for a spot highlight. Or apply a highlighter on your cupids bow. 

Urban Decay Lip Liner in Uptight link

This is the pencil that I use the most! It's described as a "warm nude" but on me it has pink undertones and compliments my natural lip color perfectly. It's a creamy, pigmented formula that glides on easily and stays put on the lips for the whole day even when you reapply gloss. (left photo)

Make Up Forever Lip Liner in Anywhere Caffeine link 

This is more brown toned and I see a lot of people talk about this shade on youtube. (right photo)

 

MAC Lip Pencil in Spice link

Described as a "pink cinnamon stick" and a little darker than the Urban Decay pencil. I've gone through a few of these. It's their top seller and you can google dupes for it because it's been around so long.

 

Here are the three liners on my hand.

Lip Gloss

Saie Glossybounce High-Shine Hyadrating Lip Gloss Oil in Dip link 

The slip of a lip oil and the high-shine of a sheer tinted gloss meets the hydration of a balm. I have the color dusty rose which is the same color as my natural lips but it gives such a high glossy shine! This is my current fave and I have to wear it with a lip liner. I saw a lot of sephora reviews say it smells bad, but mine has the faintest neutral smell. The color is a little darker on my lips.

Kosas Wet Lip Oil Plumping Treatment Gloss in Unhooked  link

I love this creamy rosy beige shade! This was my favorite for the whole past year but I felt that unless I have freshly applied multiple coats on I didn't have my desired look. And even if I don't eat or drink anything, a few hours later the color pay off has faded and the gloss is so close to my natural lip color that you may not think I'm wearing a lip product.  I can wear this without a lip pencil. 

 Kosas Wet Stick Moisturizing Shiny Sheer Lipstick with Ceramides in 100 Degrees link

A neutral pink beige and is the same color as Kosas Unhooked but more sheer. It's a lip balm packed with squalane and ceramides.

Yves Saint Laurent Candy Glaze Lip Gloss Stick in 15 Showcasing Nude  link 

The shade is a pink sheer nude. The product has the shine of a gloss with the nourishment of a balm. This lip gloss stick has vitamin E and hyaluronic acid and gives medium coverage. There are 6 reviews on sephora that say they had an allergic reaction to it, but thankfully it hasn't happened to me. This feels amazing on my lips, lasts a long time, and leaves my lip feeling like it has a lip treatment on it. 

Lisa Eldridge Lip Gloss in Affair link 

It's an earthy soft caramel brown and is the same exact color as the YSL. It's very pigmented almost like wearing a lipstick but not sticky. A gloss and lip care hybrid with key lip care ingredients including wild mango kernel butter, acai berry oil, sunflower seed oil and vitamin e oil. 

 Anastasia Beverly Hills Tinted Lip Gloss  link

I  bought the shade Kristen multiple times as I need to have backups available. They discontinued that shade but released a similar shade at the end of last year called Deep Taupe that is described as a soft beige brown but looks like a cool toned pink on me. The texture is thick and the color is dreamy. 

Lipstick

 HUDA BEAUTY Power Bullet Cream Glow Hydrating Lipstick in Sweet Cheeks link

The shade is a medium nude mauve and this is my perfect nude lipstick. It's an ultra-hydrating, ultra-comfortable lipstick that gives lips a natural, fuller-looking pout with a dewy finish. So you don't need a gloss over this because the lipstick has a gloss finish. The lipstick is very soft so you have to be very gentle applying it or the stick will break.

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