Going Nude

If you're like me, it's difficult to find lip color that's truly wearable, especially nudes. While all the things that a nude lip can do (perfectly complement a smoky eye, brighten your skin and eyes) sound like a dream come true, the selection process is sort of a mystery to most.

Finding that perfect nude shade is hard work. And if you're going to work at it, shouldn't the final product look good? Hell yeah it should.

I always gravitate towards softer, more muted shades when I make the conscious decision to wear lipstick (which is not often). And I have always loved a nude lip. It's just so damn chic and glamorous in a way that red lipstick just can't compare. There's an edgy-cool association, as opposed to the sultry, femme-fatale look of a red lip. I find a properly executed nude lip is hard to achieve (apparently I'm not alone in this feeling). It's all about finding the right just-barely-there-without-looking-like-a-corpse shade that fades just so into your natural coloring. You want something that tones down the natural reddish-pink of your lips without looking like you've just caught a nasty flu. The goal is understated, not sickly.

My (very long) search has come to an end. I've found the holy grail of nude lip colors. Smashbox's Lip Tech in Nude is perfection. It's matte but goes on creamy and smooth (it's infused with vitaman E and emollients) so you're not left with a chalky, dry mess. It has a silicone applicator which glides easily over lips, depositing the perfect amount of color. The finished product is ethereal and sweetly pretty. It makes me look positively glowy. Plus, this stood up to the ultimate test: I wore this color to my sister's wedding, and it photographed beautifully and only required a minimal number of touch ups.