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If there's one thing I could win an Olympic gold medal in, it's picking out the perfect nude lip colour.
Nude shades, in my opinion, complete a look and they're so versatile with multiple finishes in pinks, browns or reds.
As a woman of colour, I am extremely particular with which products I use, because I've been burnt in the past. I've learnt the hard way that just because a lipstick has the word "nude" in its shade name doesn't actually mean it'll look "nude" on you. Sometimes it'll look beige and unlike your lighter-skinned friends, people will ask you if you're feeling ill.
So when it comes to nude shades, I only trust my tried-and-tested holy grail products and each product has to work bloody hard to appear on this list.
Here are the 13 shades I won't ever stop re-purchasing.
Tarte Maracuja Juicy Liquid Lip in the shade honeysuckle, $43.
Image source: Sephora.
This is the newest and the darkest edition in my collection. It has a browny/red finish and holds up super well. It's not drying and if you give it a second after applying, it doesn't transfer. I also rarely need to touch up throughout the day.
Lanolips Tinted Lip Balm in the shade Rhubarb, $14.95.
Image source: Adore Beauty.
I first started wearing this just because I needed a lip balm. The colour doesn't have much coverage over my duo-toned lips so I never used to count it as a "good" shade. That was until I kept getting complimented on it. I think because I usually expect my lip products to be full coverage so they even out my natural lip tone, I forget that having duo-toned lips isn't a bad thing. Now, this one is permanently in my handbag.
Holme Beauty Alignment Lip Liner in the shade sara, $37.
Image source: Holme Beauty.
I fell in love with lip liners before lipsticks. When I was younger, brands were never able to nail nude shades in liner form for me because they were always darker than their lipstick equivalent. So, I would only buy liners and use them over my entire lips. Now, beauty brands have gotten much better at realising that the shade "nude" needs to cover a spectrum of skin-tones.