How to choose your bridal lipstick
The lip is the detail people notice most in close-up photographs. Here is how to choose it.
By Rama Shabaneh, makeup artist in Amman
The short answer
Choose a bridal lipstick by your undertone first and your dress second: warm undertones suit peach, coral, terracotta and warm nudes; cool undertones suit rose, berry and mauve. A shade one step deeper than your everyday lip usually reads best in photographs.
Warm or cool undertone?
Look at the veins on your wrist in daylight: greenish usually means warm, bluish or purple usually means cool, and a mix means neutral. Another clue: if gold jewellery flatters you more, you are probably warm; if silver does, probably cool.
Shades that suit each skin tone
Fair skin: soft pinks, rosy nudes and light corals. Medium and olive skin — very common in Jordan — suits rose-brown, terracotta, warm nudes and soft berry. Deeper skin carries rich berry, brick and deep rose beautifully. Avoid nudes much paler than your skin; they wash out in photos.
Then match the dress and the time of day
White and ivory dresses suit almost any shade from your undertone family. Daytime celebrations favour softer, fresher lips; evening weddings under warm hall lighting can take a deeper shade.
Making it last all night
Line and fill the whole lip with a liner close to the lipstick shade, apply the lipstick, blot and apply again. Keep the same lipstick with you for after dinner.