How to choose a lip tint shade online

Screen brightness, studio lighting and your natural lip colour can all change how a tint looks. Shade names help less than checking three things: depth, undertone and finish.

Start with depth

Choose whether you want a light wash, a medium everyday colour or a deeper statement shade. Naturally pigmented lips can make very pale tints look subtler, so a medium or buildable colour is often easier to predict.

Use undertone as a guide, not a rule

• Warm: peach, coral, terracotta and brick
• Cool: rose, berry, mauve and blue-red
• Neutral: balanced pinks, muted reds and rose-browns

If both gold and silver jewellery suit you, you may be neutral. But makeup has no compulsory colour chart: the shade you enjoy wearing is the correct one.

Check the finish

Watery stains feel light and leave colour behind. Glossy tints look juicy but need more touching up. Velvet and mud textures give stronger colour with a soft-matte finish. See our guide to lip textures for a fuller comparison.

Read swatches carefully

Look for swatches on more than one skin tone and in natural light where available. Product photos are a guide, not an exact colour promise. Starting with one shade before buying several is the safest approach.

Browse lip tints, lip gloss and lip mud.