7 best bright, bold lip colours for black skin

Experiment with brightly coloured lipsticks to suit all skin tones

Many people believe bright lipsticks don’t suit black skin, but this simply isn’t the case.

Not only do they suit black skin of all shades, but they look positively radiant, beautiful and striking on brown beauties.

From pretty pinks to burnt oranges, to the majestic and luxurious look and feel of purple – colour is irrefutably complementary to dark skin.

So we’ve road-tested shades from a kaleidoscopic colour palette, and have rounded up the strongest contenders, listing a range of high end, bargain and quirky niche brands.

We’ve enlisted the help of testers with various skin hues, from mahogany-toned to honey-hued.

Artist Liquid Matte 501 (The Purples): £18, Make Up Forever

I’ve become quite a fan of purple shades over the past few years. Not only is purple extremely versatile and can be worn throughout the seasons, it’s also super flattering to dark skin tones.

The Artist Liquid Matte formulation by Make Up Forever is purple perfection. It glides on as a glossy liquid allowing you to apply to precision, before transforming into a solid matte.

The colour is rich and vibrant, and virtually stays untouched for hours (throughout lunch, dinner, hot beverages – it stayed put). The only slight downside is my lips felt a bit pinched at times due to the matte texture, so I’d suggest applying a lip balm after application.

Buy now

Sleek Lip VIP Hype: £5.49, feelunique.com

This is a bright, vibrant fuchsia shade that is heavily pigmented but has a slight purple undertone which is flattering to darker skin tones. It’s described as a semi-matte lipstick, but it felt more like a semi-gloss, and thankfully so, as my lips feel really tender and moisturised after application (shea butter, coconut oil and vitamin E are listed in the ingredients).

The longevity it offers is impressive too. I applied mid-morning before sitting at my desk, and by lunchtime it still remained on my lips, despite copious mid-morning snacks. A fantastic value for money purchase.

Buy now

Black Up Matte Liquid Lip Colour LM/04: £21, Black Up Cosmetics

My tester’s initial observation about this lipstick was how extremely light it is in texture. It glided onto her lips and had an almost water-like consistency.

The colour, however, is anything but sheer. The strong matte texture lends to a “painted on” quality which she claimed made her feel like a 1950s Hollywood screen siren.

Although my tester initially felt a bit conscious about her lips being such a strong focal point (as a lifelong brown/nude lipstick wearer), she eventually gravitated towards the look, and believes it’s perfect to wear during summer nights out due to its vampy/glam factor. Again, it is a matte formula, so your lips may get a bit dry, but it has unbeatable staying power.

Buy now

M.A.C Matte Lipstick Heroine: £17.50, Mac

My tester describes her skin tone as deep dark and is an enthusiastic bold lipstick wearer. She tested the M.A.C Matte Lipstick in shade Heroine and was duly impressed.

She claimed the texture was soft and velvety, and didn’t feel like a matte lipstick at all. She described the shade as deeply rich with a slight dark blue undertone, which she says prevented it from appearing too brassy, so is perfectly suited to a range of black skins from medium brown to blue black.

Buy now

Marc Jacobs Le Marc Williful: £25, Marc Jacobs

This was the brightest of all the products featured; I’d classify it as a bubble gum pink shade, so it had a fun, carefree quality to it.

As a semi-matte lipstick, although it glided onto my lips it had a slight grit-like texture to it, so I felt confident of its staying power. This is definitely for the more adventurous bold lipstick wearers, and probably best suited to those with light-medium black skin tones.

Buy now

Kat Von D Studded Kiss Crème Lipstick A Go Go: £17, Debenhams

My tester describes her skin tone as light-medium black and says that she has been looking for an orange lipstick for ages and has found it near impossible to find a colour that flatters her skin tone.

Despite her initial scepticism, she was delighted by Studded Kiss Crème Lipstick by Kat Von D. It appeared positively florescent in the bullet, and my tester feared that it would make her look clownish.

However, her apprehension disappeared once applied and the lipstick transformed into a creamy tangerine, which added a zesty look to her complexion. My tester said it gains extra points for the texture, which was creamy and nourishing to her lips.

Buy now

CYO Two Tone Ombre Lipstick Couplet: £5, Boots

This fun and quirky take on a bright lipstick by C.Y.O is a wearable ombre lipstick which fuses the colours orange and red.

Although my ombre application skills left a lot to be desired, you can wear this lipstick in a number of ways: as individual colours, a cool ombre look or red and orange blended together.

For a budget buy, it feels really nourishing on the lips, perhaps more so than any of the other products featured. And although the colours look really popping in the bullet, once applied it tempers out slightly due to its slight gloss texture. Ideal for those colour-shy lipstick wearers who’d prefer to take tentative steps towards high voltage, full-on bright shades.

Buy now

The Verdict: Best bright, bold lip colours for black skin

There are a few contenders for the top spot, but Make Up For Ever Artist Liquid Matte in shade 501 just manages to get top billing.

It ticks all of the required boxes: it’s a versatile colour that we believe would suit many shades of black, the colour payoff is huge, and it stays put on your lips until you decide it’s time to remove.

A close second is Sleek VIP Semi-Matte Lipstick in shade Hype, which offers a gorgeously potent pop of colour in a quality formula at a seriously budget-friendly price.