What your lipstick says about you: lipstick and lip liner shades, how to choose and care

Lipstick is the quickest way to change your look. A few seconds in front of the mirror and your face looks more rested, more elegant or bolder. No wonder so many people have their own “signature” shade that they always wear, plus a few more for special days.

In this article we start by having a little fun: what your favourite shade is supposed to say about you. Then we get serious: how to choose a shade that really suits you, when to reach for which colour, why a lip liner is worth having and how to care for your lips so that every lipstick looks better on them.

What your lipstick says about you (with a smile)

First, a disclaimer: don't take this section too seriously. Lipstick colour isn't a personality test, and nobody knows you by what's on your lips. But it is fun to look at how we usually read different colours. Perhaps you'll recognise yourself in one of them.

• Classic red: confident and decisive. Red lipstick is worn by those who aren't afraid of being noticed. You're the person who walks into a room and everyone knows you've arrived. Red is also the colour of tradition: you trust things that have worked for decades.
• Nude: calm and practical. You're the type who always has everything under control, from your diary to your handbag. You don't need attention to be noticed, and you appreciate elegance that doesn't shout. Your friends say you're the one who stays calm while everyone else panics.
• Soft pink: warm and romantic. You're kind, playful and love making others happy. You probably have fresh flowers at home and far too many sunset photos on your phone.
• Coral and peach: cheerful and sociable. Summer is your favourite season, even when it's November outside. You make friends quickly, love to travel and are always up for a “quick” coffee that lasts three hours.
• Burgundy and wine: mysterious and elegant. You have refined taste and love deep conversations. Books, good wine, autumn evenings. People find you hard to read, and you rather like it that way.
• Terracotta and brick: warm and grounded. You're natural, sincere and reliable. You love earthy colours, linen clothes and walks in nature. People feel at home around you.
• Mauve and plum: creative and individual. You don't follow trends, you create your own. Maybe you draw, write or simply have the most interesting style in the office.
• Clear gloss or balm: relaxed and natural. You love simplicity. Care matters more to you than make-up, and your lips are grateful for it.

The best thing about all this is that you don't have to pick just one. You can be nude on Mondays and red on Friday nights.

How to choose a lipstick shade that suits you

With lipstick you have much more freedom than with foundation. Foundation has to match your skin almost exactly, lipstick doesn't. Even so, some shades brighten the face while others make it look tired. Three things help you choose: your skin's undertone, how light or deep your skin is, and the colour of your lips.

1. Skin undertone: cool, warm or neutral

Undertone is the colour hidden beneath the surface of the skin. If you don't know yours yet, the easiest way to find out is to look at the veins on your wrist in daylight: blue or purple means a cool undertone, greenish means warm, and if you can't tell, your undertone is probably neutral. We describe more tests in the article How to choose the right foundation shade.

• Cool undertone: shades with a blue or violet tinge look lovely: rosy red, raspberry, berry, burgundy, mauve and plum.
• Warm undertone: shades with a yellow or orange tinge look lovely: coral, peach, terracotta, brick and warm brown.
• Neutral undertone: most shades suit you. Rosy nudes, brownish pinks and “true” reds that are neither too orange nor too blue are especially flattering.

2. Skin depth

The same lipstick can look very different on different skin, as the photo above shows. As a rough guide:

• Fair skin: lighter, softer shades such as light pink, peach and rosy nude look natural. Dark shades are very striking on fair skin. That can be gorgeous for the evening; for every day, you can apply them in a thin layer and lightly pat them in with a finger.
• Medium and olive skin: suits a very wide range, from pink and coral shades to terracotta, berry and warm browns.
• Deep skin: looks wonderful with rich, deep shades: berry, plum, chocolate brown, burgundy and intense red. For nudes, choose warmer, deeper browns rather than light beiges, which can look greyish on deep skin.

3. Your lip colour and the perfect “nude”

Nude is the hardest to choose, because it doesn't mean beige, it means “my lips, only a little nicer”. A good nude is a shade darker or pinker than your natural lips. If it's too close to your skin colour, your lips look pale, as if covered with concealer.

Tip for shopping online: you can't try lipstick on in person, so it helps to find it a “twin”. Look at the lipsticks you already own and love wearing, and search the descriptions for a similar shade. IDUN shade names are Swedish (the matte lipsticks, for example, are named after berries), so always read the colour description, not just the name.

Matte, creamy or gloss?

Besides colour, the finish matters too:

• Matte lipstick has full coverage and lasts the longest. It's elegant but highlights dry flakes, so apply it to well-cared-for lips.
• Creamy lipstick is more comfortable, slightly shiny and more sheer. Lips look fuller and fresher.
• Lip gloss gives the least colour and the most shine. It makes lips look bigger and is great for every day or over lipstick.
• Tinted balms and elixirs are somewhere between care and make-up: they care for your lips and give them a hint of colour.

Which shade for which occasion

There are no rules, but some colours work better than others in certain situations.

• Every day and work: nudes, rosy browns and soft pinks or a tinted gloss. You look polished but not overly made up. A creamy texture is more pleasant during the day, because you don't have to keep touching it up to perfection.
• Important meeting or interview: a medium-intensity shade, such as a rosy nude, terracotta or a soft red. It looks confident without distracting from what you're saying. A matte lipstick works well here because it lasts longer.
• Date: pink and berry shades, or gloss over lipstick. If you're not sure, choose a shade in which you feel like yourself, not like someone else.
• Night out and parties: now is the time for red, burgundy, wine or plum. For staying power, first outline and fill in your lips with a lip liner.
• Weddings and celebrations: choose a long-lasting matte lipstick in a shade that matches your outfit, or at least doesn't clash with it. Slightly stronger shades than the ones you wear every day look better in photos.
• Summer and holidays: coral and peach shades or a tinted elixir with SPF. Lips dry out and burn in the sun, so protection is just as important as colour.
• Autumn and winter: terracotta, brick, burgundy and warm brown. Lips are drier in winter, so creamy lipsticks and more frequent care are welcome (more on this in the article Winter skin care).

The balance rule: if your eye make-up is bold, choose a softer lipstick, and vice versa. Red lipstick looks best with simple eye make-up: a little mascara and perhaps a thin line.

Lip liner: a small product, a big difference

Lip liner is a product many people skip, and then wonder why their lipstick bleeds or disappears after the first coffee. A lip liner:

• draws a precise edge, so your lipstick looks neat, especially with dark shades,
• prevents bleeding of lipstick into the fine lines around the lips,
• extends wear: if you fill in your lips with it, the colour stays even when the lipstick fades, and you're not left with just an outline,
• helps with shape: a line just along the natural edge makes lips look fuller or more symmetrical.

How to choose a lip liner shade? The safest choice is a liner as close as possible to the colour of your lipstick, or one shade darker. A nude or rosy brown liner in the colour of your lips is the most versatile, because you can combine it with most lipsticks, glosses and balms. Just don't draw a noticeably dark outline around a light lipstick, unless that's the look you're going for.

How to use it:

1. Care for your lips with a balm and wait a few minutes for it to absorb. Blot off any excess balm with a tissue.
2. Start in the middle of your upper lip and draw the shape of the “Cupid's bow”, then continue towards the corners. Repeat on the lower lip.
3. For a longer-lasting result, fill in your whole lips with the liner.
4. Apply lipstick or gloss. Blur the edge with a finger or a brush if you like.

IDUN Minerals lip shades in our shop

Swedish brand IDUN Minerals makes its lip products with highly purified mineral pigments and in vegan formulas enriched with nourishing oils. This is how their range is divided.

Matte lipsticks have full coverage and long wear, and thanks to Nordic cloudberry oil and vitamin E they don't dry your lips the way many matte lipsticks do:

Creamy lipsticks are ultra creamy, with a semi-sheer, softly shimmering finish, plus shea butter and cloudberry oil. One layer works like a lightly tinted balm, more layers give stronger colour. Shades: Filippa (sheer pink), Elise (light pink), Alice (rosy nude), Frida (coral), Stina (light chestnut), Katja (greyish brown), Ingrid Marie (raspberry red) and Sylvia (shimmering plum).

Lip Lusher is a nourishing gloss with a non-sticky texture and just the right amount of colour. It contains sunflower seed oil and vitamin E for moisture, plus green tea and raspberry seed oil as a source of antioxidants. Shades: Emelie (soft pink), Julia (shimmering pink), Adele (dusty mauve), Grace (shimmering coral bronze), Lydia (warm brown), Sandra (mocha brown), Jasmina (shimmering berry) and Maria (cherry red). You can wear it on its own or over lipstick.

Tinted oil-infused lip elixir combines the care of a balm, the shine of a gloss and colour, with mineral SPF 15. It contains shea butter plus argan and sunflower oil. Shades: Syren (mauve pink), Malva (coral beige) and Linnea (cherry pink).

Lip liners have a creamy texture and a matte finish, with a built-in sharpener at the other end. They are named after famous Swedish film actresses: Lena (beige pink), Bibi (pink beige), Harriet (beige brown), Ingrid (brown), Maud (mauve), Margaretha (reddish brown), Anita (red) and Greta (burgundy).

Tried-and-tested lip liner and lipstick combinations

If you don't know where to start, here are combinations that go beautifully together:

• Natural, everyday look: Bibi liner + Lip Lusher Julia or creamy lipstick Elise.
• Soft nude: Harriet liner + Lip Lusher Adele or creamy lipstick Alice.
• Warm nude: Lena liner + matte lipstick Hjortron.
• Brownish nude for autumn: Ingrid liner + matte lipstick Krusbär or creamy lipstick Katja or Stina.
• Terracotta: Margaretha liner + matte lipstick Lingon or Jungfrubär.
• Romantic mauve: Maud liner + creamy lipstick Sylvia or Lip Lusher Adele.
• Classic red: Anita liner + matte lipstick Jordgubb or Körsbär.
• Evening burgundy: Greta liner + matte lipstick Björnbär or Vinbär.

How to care for your lips

Even the most beautiful lipstick won't look good on dry, chapped lips. The skin of the lips is very thin and has no sebaceous glands, so it can't protect itself. It needs a little help from us:

1. Apply balm regularly. In the morning, during the day and always in the evening before bed. A night-time layer of balm works like a lip mask.
2. Don't lick your lips. Saliva evaporates quickly and dries your lips even more.
3. Gently remove dry flakes. Once a week, massage your lips with a mix of sugar and a drop of honey or oil, or with a soft toothbrush. Never peel off flakes with your fingers or teeth, and don't exfoliate chapped lips.
4. Protect them from sun and cold. Lips can burn just like skin. In summer use a product with SPF, and in winter protect them from the cold with a thicker layer of balm.
5. Remove lipstick every evening. Long-lasting matte lipsticks too. The easiest way is with make-up remover or oil, then apply balm.
6. Drink enough water. Dry lips are often the first sign that your body needs more fluids.
7. Prep your lips before matte lipstick. Apply balm, wait a few minutes and blot it. This way the lipstick spreads evenly and doesn't highlight flakes.

How our products help with lip care

• IDUN lip balm (Care & Repair Cream) is the foundation of any lip care. The vegan creamy formula contains olive, rapeseed and oat oil, shea butter and sunflower wax, which protect and soften the lips. It is free from fragrance and alcohol, so it is also suitable for very sensitive and chapped lips. It has a slanted applicator, so you can apply it to other dry areas too. The tube is made in Sweden from renewable sources.
• IDUN tinted oil-infused lip elixir with SPF 15 is the choice for anyone who wants care, colour and sun protection in one. It's great for summer, skiing or days when you don't want to think about lipstick.
• IDUN Lip Lusher with oils and vitamin E moisturises your lips and makes them look smoother. If your lips are dry, it's a kind alternative to matte lipstick.
• IDUN creamy lipsticks with shea butter are the most nourishing of the lipsticks. One layer is like a tinted balm that you can apply even without a mirror.
• IDUN matte lipsticks contain cloudberry oil and vitamin E, so they are more comfortable than most matte lipsticks. On very dry lips, though, apply a thin layer of balm first.
• IDUN lip liners have a nourishing formula with plant oils, so they don't dry your lips, even if you fill in the whole lip with them.

For intensive repair of very dry lips, we also stock the NILESSENCES repairing lip balm, a natural balm with crocodile and coconut oil.

In short

• Lipstick colour doesn't define your personality, but you can choose it to match your mood.
• Your skin's undertone (cool, warm, neutral), its depth and the colour of your lips help you choose.
• A good nude is a shade darker or pinker than your lips.
• For every day choose softer shades, for the evening red, burgundy or plum.
• A lip liner prevents bleeding, extends wear and improves shape.
• Care for your lips regularly with balm, exfoliate gently once a week and protect them from the sun.

You'll find all IDUN Minerals lipsticks, lip liners, glosses and lip balms in our shop in the Lips category. Not sure which shade to choose? Write to us, we'll be happy to advise you.