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How to swatch a lip colour

The inside of your wrist is the closest skin to your lips that you can see in daylight. Here is how to test a shade properly, at a counter or at home.

3-minute read

Hands swatching a lipstick on the inner wrist at a bathroom counter.

Use the inner wrist, not the back of the hand

The back of the hand is darker and more tanned than your lips. The inner wrist is thinner skin with a similar undertone, so a swatch there reads closer to how the shade will look worn.

One stroke, then two

  1. 1Draw one short stroke: that's the sheer, everyday version.
  2. 2Go over half of it again: that's the full colour.
  3. 3Wait a minute. Most tints darken slightly as they set.

Look in daylight

Shop lights are warm and bathroom lights are often green. Step to a window. Our swatch photos are all taken in the same soft daylight for the same reason.