Avon for You: Lipstick - finding the right shade for you!

Many women wonder how to find the right lipstick. With thousands of colors and formulas available in the cosmetic market, finding the right shade and consistency is a game of trial and error.

When browsing cosmetic counters or the beauty aisle in a drugstore, you'll notice a variety of lip coloring products. There are lip stains, lip gloss, and traditional lipstick formulas available in hydrating, rejuvenating, matte, long wearing, and high shine finishes. It's no wonder the choice can be complicated and confusing.

Prior to seeking out the right lipstick, it makes sense to determine what type of formula you're comfortable wearing. Here's a look at a variety of formulas and a rundown on how they tend to feel on your lips.

Gloss: Gloss lipsticks tend to have a thick and sticky formula, which may bother women with longer hair. There are many benefits of gloss lipsticks. Gloss formulas pack hydration and tend to soothe lips in winter months while adding sexy shine. New formulas offer better staying power, quickly making glosses a product worth revisiting.
Extended wear: Extended, or long wearing lipsticks may claim to color last for up to six hours. Although some brands may live up to this promise, it is rare that the product comes without the dry and flaking downside. Every brand may wear different on your lips. If you seek an extended wear lip color, it pays to try out a variety of formulas.
Lip stains: Lip stains color the lips with a diluted wash of color. They are perfect for the woman seeking low maintenance wear ability. A stain can be applied without lip liner and will last for a few hours. The downside? Lip stains come in limited color choices, and often dry the lips. The trick to wearing a stain is to top the color with a light coat of lip balm.
Matte finish: Matte lipsticks are a tricky category, as matte finishes tend to go in and out of vogue, and the finish itself can feel drying on the lips. Topping a matte lipstick with a clear gloss will help add some shine and moisture.
Moisturizing finish: Moisturizing and rejuvenating lip colors are the most popular and the easiest to wear. With a bit of shine, hydration, and heavily pigmented color, this traditional lipstick category is perfect in almost every way. The downside? Some have little staying power. To combat this, line and fill in the lip with lip liner to increase staying power.

Once you've found a winning formula, you'll need to discover a color that flatters and compliments your skin tone.

Women should feel free to experiment in every color family, and focus on underlying tones rather than color to find a suitable match. Generally speaking, skin tones look best in either cool or warm cosmetic colors:

Fair: Fair skinned women with blonde, red or dark hair will fall into the cool category.
Warm: Women who tan easily and have olive, medium or dark skin fall into the warm category.

Here's a look at some complimentary shades for both tone types:

Cool: Cool toned lipsticks are berry, blue red, and pink. This skin tone can wear the lightest shade of pink and the brightest shade of raspberry. Avoid muddy neutrals and find lipsticks that add a punch of color to your skin to brighten your cool complexion.
Warm: Warm skin looks best in true reds, browns and dark berries. To avoid looking sallow, stay away from brown or beige neutral shades. To avoid garish tones, stay away from fuchsia and hot pink lipstick. Mauves and berries flatter this skin tone beautifully.

Why not check out Avon's collection of wonderful lip shades including:

Beyond Color Plumping Lip Color