Fall Beauty Trend: Brown Lipstick Done Right
Brown lipstick is making a comeback, like many other ‘90s trends. (Photo: Jon Paterson)
Like many women who grew up in the ‘90s, I have a love-hate relationship with brown lipstick. When I was 13, I begged and begged my mom for what a L'Oréal lipstick called Real Raisin. At the time, I thought it was a lot to spend on makeup, but she got it for me as a present and I only wore it on weekends or when hanging out with my friends. I thought it was super flattering and edgy and cool. Maybe back then it was? But looking back in photos, the shade looked pretty muddy on my fair complexion.
With brown lipsticks (and other ‘90s trends like lip liner, Manic Panic, and crop tops) flying off retail shelves, I reached out to celebrity makeup artist Jamie Greenberg (she glams up stars like Rashida Jones and Kaley Cuoco) on making brown lipstick look hot, no matter what your skin color.
“Brown lipstick was very late ‘80s, early ‘90s and it’s made a big comeback!” says Greenberg. “All of the muddy tones — purples, grayish-brown, greens, blacks — are back with a vengeance. I’ve found that people love it as a more experimental color now. I think it’s being done in a more avant garde way than it was in the past. It’s sort of bringing back the trend, but with a cool, new edge.”
Greenberg says the key to wearing brown is looking for a shade with a more-wearable undertone rather than a straightforward brown. To find the most flattering tube, look to your skin tone. “Brown lipstick for fair skin should be a little lighter with a light pink undertone, while medium Skin should look for rosier but deeper brown than the fair skin one,” she says. “Olive skin should look for more cranberry undertones, and dark skin looks best in browns that have a red undertone.” The most important thing to remember: “They should never wash you out!”
While complementing your skin is important, Greenberg says this is a bolder look and you need to pay very close attention to the rest of your makeup — something my 13-year-old-bare-faced-self didn’t account for. “This is different from a bold red or bright color, which would pair well with minimal makeup up top,” she says. “In this case, you’ll want to have some color on the eye or cheek to really balance the bold, muddy tone on the lip. Otherwise, it may wash you out.”
With all lipstick textures equally popular these days, Greenberg says matte is more on-trend and wearable for a brown lipstick. I’ve been experimenting and found several tubes worth trying. For fair-skinned ladies like myself will love pike shades with a touch of brown like Chanel Rouge Coco Ultra Hydrating Lip Color in Julia ($36), while medium skin tones may enjoy a shade a touch deeper like L'Oreal Paris Colour Riche Lipstick in Ginger Spice ($8). Olive skin looks lovely in a burgundy brown like Charlotte Tilbury Matte Revolution Lipstick in Birkin Brown ($32) while dark skinned-women would look beautiful in a deep warm shade like Dior Rouge Dior Lipstick in Unique ($35). Brown lipstick that looks pretty and even a bit edgy can be yours.
Related:
Fall Beauty Trend: Brick Red Lips Are In
