114 Comments

Comments that do not adhere to our comment policy may be removed. Discussion and debate are highly encouraged but we expect community members to participate respectfully. Please keep discussion on-topic, and if you have general feedback, a product review request, an off-topic question, or need technical support, please contact us!

Please help us streamline the comments' section and be more efficient: double-check the post above for more basic information like pricing, availability, and so on to make sure your question wasn't answered already. Comments alerting us to typos or small errors in the post are appreciated (!) but will typically be removed after errors are fixed (unless a response is needed).

We appreciate enthusiasm for new releases but ask readers to please hold questions regarding if/when a review will be posted as we can't commit to or guarantee product reviews. We don't want to set expectations and then disappoint readers as even products that are swatched don't always end up being reviewed due to time constraints and changes in priorities! Thank you for understanding!

Comments on this post are closed.
Eileen Avatar

I think the key to a successful nude lip is to pick a color that has the same undertone as your complexion. That will prevent you from looking unnatural or like death warmed over! Also, unless you’re embracing the opaque nude lip of the mid 60’s, a lighter formula that lets a bit of your natural lip color peek through will result in a beautiful nude look.

Ru Avatar

I don’t really like the feel of lipstick/lipgloss on my lips allday, so yes- I’m a fan of nude lips! Some conditioning balm with little or no tint is good enough for me!

Mariana N Avatar

I adore nude lips because I think it is a shade that complements almost anyone. Of course there is such a thing as too nude, aka dead. But MAC Creme d’Nude or Hue, ELF Nicely Nude are some of the perfect nudes that anyone can pull off in my opinion.

Anna Banana Avatar

I think I was doing it wrong, but for some reason I could not pull off Hue, so I haven’t even tried Creme d’Nude. But I can wear Innocence Beware! for some odd reason. 😛

Katie Avatar

Not a huge fan of nude lips unless it’s something that slightly makes my natural lip color a little more pink as opposed to my natural lip color, which is almost red. I find a lot of nudes, even if applied lightly make me look sorta dead. I do really love MAC Fleshpot though. I just sort of blot it on with my finger and it looks so pretty under MAC Spirited lipglass.

danette Avatar

i love a nude lip for most days great with smokey and dramatic eyes. Also great for the days you dont want to look like you have tons of makeup on

Michelle Avatar

I LOVE nude lips. Lately I have been going really light on the eyes with bronzed cheeks and a peachy nude lip. Revlon Soft Nude, NARS Belize, BUXOM Lola, MAC Frankly Fresh… are all some of my favorites!

Tawny Avatar

I have tried all kinds of nude lipsticks & I look dead. People loveeee Creme De Nude and I wanted to love it too. I adore the look of nude lips on pretty much everyone; somehow it does not work out for me

Jaz Avatar

I bought MAC’s Myth because people loved the way it looked and it makes me look dead, but a friend of mine has MAC’s Cherish and it looks great w/ Big Baby gloss over it…try it!

Michou Avatar

I love a nice nude gloss, especially when I’m wearing a strong or bold eye color, but I hate when nude lips make me look deathly or look cakey.

Kammie Avatar

Depending on the look, a nude lip can be great. With a really sultry smokey eye, a nude lip just puts the finishing touch onto the look. For more simple eyes, a nude lip can look too washed out. I think that for a nude lip to work, it has to look like you MEANT to do it. It can’t look like you accidentally smeared your foundation or concealer all over your lips, but like you actually took the time to apply a nude lipstick, nude gloss, or whatever you have used. As far as favorite nude lip looks, I love MAC’s Creme de Nude. For a completely nude look, just a simple nude gloss over it looks fantastic. For a more neutral daytime nude lip, I like to use either MAC’s Hue Lipstick, or Creme de Nude with Nars Easy Lover Gloss over it.

Amy Avatar

LOOOOOVE THEM!
When I was younger (than my now early -gulp- 30’s) I liked a brighter pout; I’m not sure what it is, but I don’t really go that route anymore. A medium Pinkish is the darkest I’ll go. I tend to really play up my eyes more now, and go nude -or just gloss on the lips.

Besides, while I had braces, I nevvvver wore my bottom retainer and my teeth aren’t as straight as I’d like them to be. A darker mouth would draw attention to what I did to my poor parents checkbook all those years ago!

Julie Avatar

When I think of nude lips, I think of something that matches my natural lip color or something that’s brown based. That’s my kind of nude =D. Some looks require a pale/nude lip and I think it looks nice, but what I hate is the corpse-like nude lip with everyday neutral makeup. Especially when the lipstick is about 10X light than your skin…I think it looks horrible…really horrible lol. I see girls sporting this look way to often, the ‘nude lip’ is overrated. Just my two cents =).

Erin M Avatar

I love nude lips. Can’t stop buying MAC nudes. My absolute favorite is MAC Viva Glam II. Perfect nude for my completion. Another similar one that I love is Blankety. Honey Love is also nice when I am a little more tan.

Jena Avatar

I wouldn’t exactly say this is a hate, but it’s nearly impossible to find a nude lip for my coloring that isn’t too light or doesn’t make my lips blend in with the rest of my skin.

Elisabeth Avatar

agree with you there. i like pinky nudes, but not the white-out look. when people just load concealer on their lips, it looks really bad and tasteless.

Marcela Avatar

i love nude lips in terms of a clear shimmery gloss, but NOT in terms of nude-colored lipsticks (pointless and dead-looking in my opinion). my lips are naturally pigmented a mauve-y color so i can really pull off a clear shimmery gloss… intense smokey eyes and nude glossy lips is such a sexy look.

Z Avatar

NOT a fan at all. Mostly I cannot stand the offshoot of nude lips that involves completely erasing them. I love wearing color, nudes I just feel are pointless. And, if I want to take a break from lipstick, I’ll just wear chapstick.

Air Avatar

I love it when done successfully. I’ve only own lipgloss and I tried it with cthru lipglass and it looked like concelear lips. There is a thin line between nude and concelear lips lol

Dani Diamond Avatar

I love nude lips, they can either break or make a look though but i find if you choose the right shade of nude, beige brown rosy or pink shades depending on your skintone then you got it right, it also means you can really go big on eyes!
i have a huge wardrobe of nude lipsticks in my kit more than anythin else i love them!

PLUS THEY WILL ALWAYS LOOK HIGH FASHION =D

Dani Diamond Avatar

Best nudes i thin kare MAC Equality, Pretty Please & Myth (ish even tho myth is quite yellow based lol)
And Lancome, Chanel, Dior, Body Shop, E.L.F & Ysl all do my favourite nudes, love them!
BEST LISPTICK IN THE WORLD IS YSL ROUGE in TEA ROSE (omg its perfect!!!)

dolce aria Avatar

I rarely wear them. I have very fair skin, a fairly founded face shape, strong eyes and rbows, and full, pigmented lips. But with the face shape, my cheeks are full enough that I need stronger defined lips and eyes to balance them. I also have a very overstated use of “nude” eye makeup too.

I own nude lipsticks, and occasionally wear them, but it really IS hard for me to NOT look disproportionate while doing so.

Elisabeth Avatar

i only wear nude lip colors. i’m just not into the bright lipcolors at all. nude is sexy and subtle and since i frequently wear dramatic eye looks, it balances it all out.

Jazz Avatar

Nude lip : as in me just wearing clear or a pinky brown gloss on my already pink bottom lip – I approve. Or as in me making my lips match the rest of my skin – fail . If I want a nude lip – I just wear clear gloss

Lea Avatar

I’m VERY indifferent towards them. On one hand they can look absolutely beautiful, but so many people pick the wrong colour. For me nude is the colour of my lips, just better. That it looks like I’m not wearing anything! But these concealer lips and way too light shades some girls are wearing just looks unflattering. :/

Emma Avatar

Im loving nude lips at the moment! I’m really pale so I find a lot of colours hard to pull off but nudes just suit me. Also perfect with dark eyes. My fave at the moment is Innocence, Beware!

Lee Avatar

If it’s nude as in close the natural lip color, I’m all for it. If it’s nude as in porn star/Snookie lips, I think it looks horrible and really dated.

Jenny v Avatar

I LOVE a nude lip! I cant get out of it, it’s like my signature color lol

My manager (I work at a makeup counter) is always yelling at me for never wearing color she is threatening to strap me down to a chair wipe off the nude lip and add some color haha

Pat Avatar

I love nudes and their subtle variations, specially in matte and satin finishes.. Can’t get enough of the MAC ones… I already have: Velvet Teddy, Spirit, Kinda Sexy, Taupe, Brave, Twig, Cherish, Jubilee, Honeyflower. Sounds crazy, but they all are different for me. Sooner or later I will have Viva Glam II. I tried Honeylove but it was too light for me (NC30 in winter, but already tanned to NC40/42 in brazilian spring). Any recs?

AnGeLwInGz Avatar

I think nude lips only look good when you have perfectly applied foundation – like airbrushed perfect. Most ladies I’ve seen, including myself, just can’t seem to pull it off.

Daintynymph Avatar

Using a lipstick to get a “nude” color just seems pointless to me, but nude as in not wearing color is great. Most of the time I wear lip balm and my lips are pinkish (redder when I’ve been licking/biting them too much). To me the whole point of lipstick (and makeup in general really) is to make your mouth look different than normal.

kaaren Avatar

It’s a personal choice but what I don’t understand is the TV makeup artists who send those talk show guests on with a beautiful face of TV- appropriate glamorous makeup until you get to the lip which looks pale & dry & it’s as if they forgot the lips. The nude lip does not work the same on TV!

Stephanie Avatar

Since I typically do my eyes up all the time, whether it be eyeshadow or eyeliner, I am a huge fan of Nudes and I love collecting new nude shades for my lipstick collection. I have a few “concealer” looking ones that basically fade your lips into your skin’s color, but my favorite nudes are any with a pink or peach undertone to them. I tend to wear more peach shades on days where I like to look more natural. I am a huge fan of Shy Girl from MAC. That is my number one go to color for an everyday look, it never does me wrong. Some other notable MAC faves are Angel, Myth, Fleshpot, & Creme d’Nude. Revlon also makes a gorgeous affordable shade called Soft Nude. 🙂

Abigail Avatar

Agh I cannot STAND concealer nude lips. I’m only in high school,and today a girl in my class smeared foundation all over her lips. She looked like the equivalent of dead, and by the time the day was over it was crusting off her lips. *cringes* There should be a rule against it.

but i love love love natural nudes! Like pinkish peachy nudes.

Dawn Avatar

I’m not really a fan of ‘nude’ lips (other than truly nude lips, i.e. no makeup on them at all) and definitely not a fan of ‘concealer’ lips. I’m pale skinned as it is, and don’t want to look anaemic

Lucie Avatar

Not a nude lip person. :/ My lips are naturally so pigmented it just looks weird, and I don’t usually wear a lot of eye make up so a statement lip colour works better for my style.
If I DO wear a nude lip, I layer a sheer pink gloss over it to keep from looking so dead.

Beyond the Bath Avatar

I don’t have a problem w/ nude lips. I discovered that my perfect nude lip is a very small amount of my liquid or CtP foundation on my lips w/ Clinique’s ‘Bamboo Pink’ gloss on top. I like this lip look with eyes that are more heavily made-up.

Stephanie Avatar

I absolutely love nude lips, but I gave into the hype and bought Myth lipstick. I have to use a darker lipliner or a gloss to make it work, which is sometimes a pain. I much prefer High Tea (favorite lipstick EVER) as a nude.

Cameron Avatar

I love nudes! They’re the only kind of lipstick a boy can pull off without looking overdone haha.

The Guerlain Giny Lipstick you reviewed recently is GORGEOUS. Despite the cost, it looks like it has the perfect color as well as having a fantastic performance on the lips (in terms of application, wear, etc.)

leesie Avatar

I quite like nude lips. I used to be all opposed to them (and I still usually just go without a lip product), but I realized from blogs, mainly(and you’re partly to thank, Christine) that nude lips look lovely with more intense shadow looks. I’m still more likely to slick on some lip balm, or go without anything on my lips, but when I’m going somewhere more special than the grocery store, I like to wear my HG nude, Benefit Lady’s Choice.

Michelle Avatar

Love a nude lip. I usually go for a nude lippie that leans a bit pink or peach so I have some color. A great look with a smokey eye/ dark eye colors.

Ani_BEE Avatar

Mostly a rant sice it took me years to fink a nudelipstick that didn’t make me look dead with my fair skin. I tried Mac’s Myth, Angel, Blankety, and Peach-stock as well as NYX’s Rea, Circe and Echo.

Creme de Nude turned out to be the perfect shade with my skin tone. NYX’s Orange Soda also worked along with Pumpkin Pie.

shavonne Avatar

There is NOTHING like a nude lip!! Since my eyeshadow is usually dramatic I always go with a nude lip. I use Mac Touch and Urban Decay Lip Junkie gloss in Heavy. Perfection! 🙂

konconsc Avatar

I have not so pigmented lips and I have pretty fair skin tone. I like using nude lip color with glossy finish because if I use very light and matte nude lip color (ex. Revlon matte lipstick in nude attitude ), I will look very sick. I prefer peachy nude or pinkish nude or any nude lipstick with a hint of brown. Nude that is too dark does not look good on me.

Evelyn Avatar

I hate when I see people with nude lips that are an unnatural color. Pale pink nude lips don’t go with a dark tan. Personally, while I’ll do nude lips for certain looks, I prefer a nice twinkly or lushly colored lipstick.

Cathy Avatar

I recently fel in love with nude lips.My favorite lipsticks are L’Oreal’s In the Buff or MAC Creme d’Nude with BE Buxom Sandy gloss on top.

MissChels Avatar

I like wearing a nude lip with heavy eye makeup. However I have a hard time finding ones that I like. Most of them turn my lips an almost orange nude and I hate orange lips. Creme De Nude looks awful on me.

Emily Avatar

So I’ve always LOVED nude lips (not the deathly kind though)…however I’m pale (NC15) so I’ve always had trouble finding a good one. Anyone got some ideas?

Katie Avatar

I love nude lipsticks but they don’t love me. 🙁 whenever I try one on at sephora, my lips get dried out and the color just looks wrong. I will keep searching though, to find some suitable nudes fir me because I love the look.

Rosanna Avatar

I don’t particularly love them or hate them. They are a bit of a hassle for me because I have pigmented lips so I do need a lipliner so I don’t get that “rim” of my lips.

I prefer pinky-nudes because that looks the most natural on fair to light skin (which is me).
Caramel Nudes are good for the medium-darker skin.

Nudes the same colour as your skin? Looks great on the runway but not real life.

Brenda Avatar

I love nude lips of any kind! Pink nudes, brown nudes, MLBB nudes, super light nudes; I think they all have their uses and places! I’m not a bright/red/hot pink/purple lips person, so any variation of nude is what I do. And hey, to each her own, right? Makeup is not about rules, it’s epxression!

Peggy M Avatar

I have yet to try a real Nude lipstick.
But the `nudest ive gone so far is Creme Cup, Nude Rose, Shy Girl and Florabundance.
I think that next time im gonna try Hue and Creme d´nude!
I have Gosh Darling, but i find it very hard to work with…

XOXO

S. A. Avatar

I… am mostly indifferent to the nude lip. It certainly has it’s place, but it’s not a style I often go for unless I’ve done my eye make-up a bit TOO dramatic for work. Then I go for the nude lip to tone things down some. Otherwise, I very much prefer more dramatic lip colours.

Mind, my lips, despite me being an NC15, are quite pigmented, so finding a nude that doesn’t wash me out is a bit difficult.

As far as nudes go, I am a fan of MAC’s Hot Tahiti. It’s a slightly ruddier and more intense version of my lip colour, and does go well with just about everything.

I also like, for a closer to flesh-tone nude, Celebutard from the Kat Von D line. It’s more flesh toned without being concealer lips on me.

Linda Avatar

Not a big fan of nude lips especially on me, i’ve quite naturally pigmented lips and i think anything paler than my natural lip tone on me just looks weird.

Katie Avatar

I think a nude lip can be pulled off by anybody if you find the right color and sometimes, the right application technique. I’m a very fair NW20 with red lips. I can’t pull off certain colors like Myth without being completely washed out. Hue even makes me look like a joke when I just lather it on. With that said, Hue is my FAVORITE nude. The trick for me is to *dab* it on, then blend with my finger. That makes it look more natural.

Nicole Avatar

I love love love love love nude lips, but everyone is right by saying it can look amazing, or really really crap depending on how it is done. And I have racked by brains (and read many of the comments below) to figure out why it looks good on some, but not on others….

1. you have to have full makeup (foundation, concealer, powder etc) on. Someone earlier said that you had to have perfect foundation/base, which is true – otherwise nude lips look just look wrong.
2. you have to have played up another feature – usually eyes, but heavy blush could do instead. Nude lips have to be the compliment to something else, otherwise they it just looks wishy-washy.
3. you have to pick the right tone. If you are a cool toned skin and are wearing a warm or yellow based nude (i.e Mac “Freckletone”) it won’t look right , or if you are a warm/yellow toned skin wearing a pink based nude (i.e Mac “Blankety”) is just isn’t right….if not complementing your skin tone, then complement your shadow/blush tones
4. sometimes overly matte or overly glossy nude lips can be OTT, so stick to a satiny/cream finish.
My favourite nudes are:
YSL rouge volupte #2
Mac creme de nude or 3N
Gosh Darling
Mac Brave New Bronze
Revlon Soft Nude
HTH’s someone….

ann Avatar

i love nude lips. i’m an nc25-30 and my fave is mac myth. it is a little concealer looking so i pair it with mac oak lip liner and i love it! i also love peachstock. mac siss lipstick has too much gray in it, it makes me look dead.

Chloe Avatar

if you go to pale in colour then you will look ghostly but i love nude lips and i think mac brave would mirror my lips quite well .aim for your lip colour not a super light colour i think … 🙂 i feel that it would look most natural

Ket Avatar

I really dislike dead pale nude lips; I don’t get that trend at all. But I love subtle nudes that equate to my lips but better shades. I’m all for natural – I think those are the easiest to wear. Especially in a rush!

Sami Avatar

I only like Nude lips if they are in the cremesheen formula. Creme Cup, Innocence Beware, and Creme D’ Nudeare my favorites because of the creamy texture!

Ms Lelee Avatar

I absolutely love a nude lip but I am a woman of color and it is sooooo hard to find a color that is opaque and complemetary to my skin color. I have so many nice nude lip glosses but I would love a HG nude lipstick… If anyone can recommend/suggest a color I would be ever greatful… Im shade NW45 (dark/warm – yellow undertone)

RosaVee Avatar

LOVE nude lips. Pinky nude, peachy nude– whatever– I always pair it with whenever I do dramatic eyes – even when I’m just wearing eyeliner and mascara, I’ll wear nude lips. (I always do thick eyeliner tho)

The miaomi Avatar

i know many of us love nude lips. personally, i hate beige/skin color opaque lips that u can clearly see the paint and lipgloss that settles into those lil lines. gross.

slight pink or peachy coral toned semi-opaque lip creams r the way to go

Yumi Avatar

I love love love nude lips because I hate my natural lip color, it errs on the darker side which I dislike. I find Creme d’Nude does the trick because it still lets my natural lip color show a bit while lightening it. It’s just my thing. I try not to do lips that are too pale/corpse like, but sometimes I fail (like today lol).

LorraineER Avatar

I have never gone for the nude lip look because I find it so unappealing. I don’t know if pale lip colors like caramel light tan and light pink fall under the nude umbrella but if so, those are the ones I really dislike. I think people with deep complexions or yellow-toned skin pull nudes off best.

Jessica Avatar

I am a big fan of the nude lip, but it can be difficult. I am very fair (NC15) with highly pigmented lips (their natural color is bordering on plumish-mauve). Creme d’ nude works pretty well for me, but Myth can make me look too washed out. For me, it is a harder look to pull off because to keep the color even and covering my natural lip color I have to reapply lipstick fairly often. I do like doing the nude lip though because of my brightly colored lips and heart shaped face with am angular jaw, it is nice to be able to pull attention elsewhere in my face by muting out my lips every once and awhile. Hue is a nice one, too, since it just mutes out the natural color just a bit.

Sam Avatar

Hate hate hate hate nude lips! They look so gross and unnatural. It’s a very rare occasion that I think a nude lip looks good (it does happen though, however rare it may be), but it has to look REALLY good for me to like it. I have really intensely pigmented lips so I’m completely unable to wear nudes, or even light pinks. I’ve definitely embraced it and embraced bright, funky lip colors instead. I’m absolutely more of a hot fuscia, deep purple, bright red kind of person. 🙂

Jules R. Avatar

I’m just going to come out and say it- I think nude lips look horrible. On everyone. Don’t get your feathers in a ruffle, it’s only an opinion. They’re not as bad as say, coral lipstick. 🙂

lazeny Avatar

I love nude lips. I have naturally small lips so using a nude, peachy or beige colors makes them look slightly bigger and lush. My favorite shades are Guerlain Guerlinade, Shiseido Spiced Cream & NARS Tashkent

Tina Avatar

I love nude lips. I usually use a nude lipstick when I am doing a smoky eye. I do one or the other, when I do a bold lip I go light on the eye makeup. As far as nudes, I like NARS Belle de Jour and MAC Creme de Nude or just a gloss like MAC dazzleglass in Baby Sparks

Natalie Avatar

I ADORE nude lips. I have very big, full, Angelina Jolie-like lips, along with big, wide eyes, so going nude on the lips always looks good (for me). I tend to do dramatic, smokey eyes at night so the nude balances it out. Also, I like not having to constantly worry and check my teeth to see if any of my beloved brights are smeared all over them! If done right, a warm nude lip – not deathly pale or the dreaded “concealer lip” – will always be my favorite and my go-to.

Linda Avatar

I just tried MAC Myth and Passing Fancy Dazzleglass Creme from the Tartan collection. It’s the perfect warm nude that I’ve been looking for.

Janina Avatar

To me, nude lips has it’s place, for example, when doing dramatic eye makeup. I love this look but it’s hard to find a nude lip color for my complexion that doesn’t make me look like I have concealer lips which looks awful. So what I end up doing is mixing two colors or lining my lips with MAC Spice and then dabbing a nude lip color on top. The best I’ve found are sheer nudes that lets my pigmented colored lips show thru a bit.

We try to approve comments within 24 hours (and reply to them within 72 hours) but can sometimes get behind and appreciate your patience! 🙂 If you have general feedback, product review requests, off-topic questions, or need technical support, please contact us directly. Thank you for your patience!