The Best Nude Lipstick Colors for Every Skin Tone

The Bobbi Brown matte lipstick formula, in a beige hue with blush undertones that looks beautiful on a wide variety of skin tones, beat all others in the GH Beauty Lab's longwear lipstick test for full color that stayed in place. It received top marks for not smearing or fading. "The color lasted five hours, through eating lunch, drinking beverages with straws and even biting nails!” a tester marveled.

For a great drugstore bargain (only $5!), look no further than this GH Beauty Award-winning Maybelline New York cream-finish in a balanced nude shade with hints of pink and brown. In a study of over 100 women, 86% reported that the lipstick’s color looked fresh, 80% said it appeared rich and 89% found that their lips looked smooth while they were wearing it, a GH Beauty Lab data assessment confirmed.

If you prefer nude lipsticks with sheer textures and finishes, this Rituel de Fille hue, a GH Beauty Lab expert favorite, is for you. “It’s a peachy natural-looking shade that can be buffed into lips for a real ‘barely-there’ look on a variety of skin tones,” says GH Beauty Lab senior chemist Sabina Wizemann. “But it’s also well-pigmented and stays put.”

If you love your nude lipsticks with a touch of rose, pick this Yves Saint Laurent shade, a top performer in the GH Beauty Lab's longwear lipsticks test. Made with skin conditioners, the matte formula scored highest for not drying out lips and performed well for delivering even and vivid color. “Coverage was so full, I didn’t need lip liner,” a fan raved.

This MAC Cosmetics shade is ideal for very fair skin, thanks to its flattering pink undertones. “For me, this is the perfect nude shade — it veers pink, but it still gives the illusion of 'my-lips-but-better' when I wear it,” says GH's former beauty assistant. “It strikes the ideal balance between matte and sheer and it feels ultra-moisturizing on my lips.”

This Ctzn Cosmetics nude lipstick, which leans brown with hints of mauve and peach, is a great nude option for people with medium skin tones. “I love that this brand helps you find your nude shade with a quick questionnaire based on skin tone — my favorite is this one, Istanbul, which happens to be my birth city,” says GH Beauty Lab Director Birnur Aral, Ph.D. “The lipstick goes on smoothly for a velvety matte finish and you can top it off with matching shade of the lip gloss on the other end for a shinier look.”

A GH Seal star, this satiny matte Mary Kay nude lipstick shade is frequently found in the purse of GH's beauty director, who has olive skin. The full-coverage formula contains gel spheres that help the pigments glide on smoothly and lock onto lips without bleeding, plus silica particles that blur lines and parched patches, GH Beauty Lab evaluations found. High concentrations of jojoba butter also condition, so "it feels comfortable and light on lips," she says.

This brown-based nude L’Oréal Paris lipstick formula with the Good Housekeeping Seal contains a core of skin-nourishing ingredients like jojoba oil and vitamin E. In a clinical study, the cream-finish formula kept lips moisturized for nine hours, according to GH Beauty Lab data analysis.

A top performer in the GH Beauty Lab's longwear lipsticks test, this Fenty Beauty shade blends brown and rust-red to make for a spicy neutral shade that's perfect for warm Indian skin tones. The rich pigment of this lipstick “stayed on even during a cleaning at the dentist!” a tester marveled. In Lab evaluations, the color was still strong after five hours of wear.

This slim Laura Mercier matte-finish lip crayon also topped the GH Beauty Lab’s long-wear lipstick test and this rich chocolate brown shade perfectly complements deep skin tones. It ranked best for not transferring in the Lab's hot drink test and among testers for not smearing throughout the day. Many loved how easy the twist-up pen made it to apply the lipstick precisely. The “smooth” formula also had “great color payoff," users reported.

This earthy nude lip color with brown undertones from NYX was a winner of the GH Beauty Lab's liquid lipstick test. The formula glides on like a gloss but provides the pigment of a lipstick. It had strong staying power in the Lab’s hot drink transfer test and scored best for precise, even application without feathering. "A perfect look in seconds,” one tester said.

Top-rated in the GH Beauty Lab's liquid lipstick test, this versatile BareMinerals pink-nude hue is made with natural ingredients like sunflower seed wax to keep lips soft. The "smooth" matte mousse formula tied for best at not dehydrating lips or feathering throughout the day in Lab evaluations. Two testers commented that the lip color was "soft" and "didn't dry out my lips at all".