Veteran beauty editor Charla Krupp believes that you shouldn’t wear lipstick that is darker than your lip colour.

At the extreme I agree with this guideline. Extra dark lipstick on ladies with fair complexions tends to look harsh, unnatural and costume-like. Ladies with darker skin tones often have darker lips, which allows them to carry off a darker shade of lipstick. So these thoughts are in keeping with Charla’s rule.

But here’s the thing. I wear lipstick because I like the way that the extra colour brightens up my face. I have pale skin and light hair, so creating a colour contrast on the lips is attractive. I also wear bright red lipstick at night, or on dressier occasions, just because it’s more eye-catching and dramatic. Both shades of lipstick are definitely darker and brighter than my lips, which is precisely why I wear them. But they aren’t too dark or bright either I guess, which is probably at the heart of Charla’s point.

I look absolutely awful in light coloured lipstick because it doesn’t create a contrast against my skin tone, eye colour and hair colour. Light pink and brown lipstick would probably look better if I were tanned because it would create a contrast against my darker skin. But I’m never tanned so bang goes that idea.

Does Charla’s lipstick rule make sense to you? What’s your lipstick and lip colour strategy? Do you go darker or lighter than your lip colour? Or are you a neutrally toned gloss girl at heart. This adorable little pup doesn’t really care what colour lipstick she wears.