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Nothing exudes glamour like a ruby pout. Period.

Yet many women are afraid of this look, with legitimate fears that, if chosen or applied incorrectly, it may lead to a garish and tasteless look — like the joker!

No one wants this, obviously!

The first step in choosing the right red lipstick is deciding upon your skin’s undertone! Two questions will help you decide this issue:

1) Do you look better in gold or silver jewelry — or both? If you look better in gold, your skintone has a warm undertone. If better in silver, your skin is cool-toned. If you cannot decide — or you look good with both — your skin tone is neutral.

2) Do your veins appear blue or green beneath your skin?. If blue, you are definitely a cool-toned individual. If green, your skin is warm-toned. If you cannot decide, count yourself among the neutral toned group!

Here are some celebrity examples — and some recommendations for flattering lipsticks for your skin tone:

***Cool Skintone

Taylor Swift immediately comes to mind. She often wears a cool-toned red lipstick which leans slightly pink, and such a lipstick usually makes the teeth appear whiter.

Some recommendations for cool-toned ladies include the following lipsticks:

Mac “Red”

NYX Round Label lipstick in Chic Red”

Napoleon Perdis Devine Goddess lipstick in “Xenia”

Lorac Alter Ego lipstick in “Pin Up”

***Warm Skintone

Beautiful warm red lipsticks, with a slight orange-y cast, really pop against dark/olive skin tones.

Some recommendations for warm-toned ladies include the following lipsticks:

Nars “Heat Wave”

Revlon Super Lustrous lipstick in “Fire and Ice”

Mac “Lady Danger”

Makeup Forever Rouge Artist Intense lipstick #42 “Vermillion Red”

***Neutral Skintone

The luckiest ladies of the bunch — those who can get away with wearing any lipstick color!

Here are some lipsticks which, while suitable for neutral-toned ladies, are universally flattering:

Mac “Russian Red”

Covergirl Lip Perfection lipstick in “Hot”

Napoleon Perdis Devine Goddess lipstick in “Aphrodite”

Revlon Super Lustrous lipstick in “Love that Red”

Makeup Forever Rouge Artist Intense lipstick #43 “Moulin Rouge”

Nars “Jungle Red”

Have fun shopping for your perfect red lipstick!