The Best Nude Lip Glosses For All Skin Tones

We know ‘nude’ isn’t a ‘one size fits all’ category, our skin comes in so many different, beautiful tones. Although beige-pink makeup products are often described as ‘nude’, this colour only works as a true ‘nude’ on a small amount of skin tones. We’ve all experienced this before, when your mate is wearing the most stunning lip colour – the one you think you’ve been searching for your whole life. But then you try it on, and it’s about ten shades too pink. Or peach. Or brown. This is why it’s so important to get the perfect ‘nude’ to match your skin tone and not somebody else’s; what might look perfectly au-natural on you, may not work at all on someone else! Here, we run through the best nude glosses, for all skin tones.

If you have very fair skin, you may have found it hard in the past to find your perfect nude. Very pale pink colours may wash you out, and the beige ‘nudes’ might appear too brown or orange against your pale skin. That’s why for porcelain skin tones, an almost translucent colour can be the perfect fit. The SOSU by Suzanne Jackson Sheer Lip Gloss in I Don’t Care is a super soft pink – barely there – kind of colour. This milky, transparent type of nude is an excellent choice – it won’t look harsh against your skin colour, but will still give you all the juicy, lip plumping benefits of a nude gloss!

For fair skin, the key is to avoid nude shades that are too golden or yellow – these can match your skin almost too well, and begin to blend your lips in with your face. Not what you want when you’re trying to make your lips the star of the show! Instead, make your lips really ‘pop’, and play up the pinky undertones of your skin. Opt for pretty rose pinks and mauvey purples, or even lean toward the toffee tones. The Revolution Pro Hydra Gloss in Tainted is enriched with hyaluronic acid – to draw water to your lips & plump them – while keeping them super moisturised. Tainted is a rosey nude-pink that looks gorgeous against fair skin, or opt for shade Become for something a little darker.

Olive skinned gals have warm undertones, and should therefore stay away from frosty nudes – anything too pale, or blue toned pinks and beiges – as these can make the lips look lacklustre. Instead, you should opt for warmer nudes, such as apricots, peaches and honey caramel beiges. Jouer Cosmetics High Pigment Lipgloss in PCH is a gorgeous peachy nude, that will accentuate the beautiful, warm undertones in your skin. If you want to really draw focus to your lips, you can top it with a little bit of warm gold gloss – such as the ZOEVA Melody Lip Gloss in Spread Your Wings – right in the centre of your lips.

Those of you with medium to dark skin, congrats! You won the lipgloss lottery. Because your skin sits in the middle of the spectrum, most colours look great on you – and that applies to nude shades, too. You can rock a pinky nude, a beige nude, or a dark rouge nude equally – not to mention a toffee or a peach – so why stick to just one colour of nude gloss? By BEAUTY BAY’s Nude Collection Lip Gloss Quad comes with four super glossy,  vanilla-scented shades – a cool taupe, a nude beige, a warm mid-toned nude, and a warm chocolate brown – and you’ll look beaut in all of them! You can wear them individually, or mix them up, for a custom shade.

For those with dark skin, a light pink ‘nude’ might look too pale or ashy – it’s best to avoid these milky colours, and go for a richer shade to complement your gorgeous skin tone. But, that’s easier said than done, there might be plenty of rich nude colours out there to choose from – but that doesn’t necessarily mean they’ll all be a good fit! The best way to determine which colour nude gloss you should go for is to first work out your skin’s undertone. If you have a caramel undertone, it’s best to look for glosses in the beige, honey and toffee range; Nabla’s Shine Theory Lip Gloss in District is a beautiful honey neutral. However, if you have more of a mahogany undertone, richer, true chocolate shades will suit you better, or you can even opt for shades leaning towards burgundy and crimson. For very deep, dark skin tones, Dose of Colours Lip Gloss in Hot Cocoa is a perfect, true dark chocolate nude – and its velvety, non-sticky formula will stick around all day!