Lipstick Shades

Internationally renowned make-up artist Bobbi Brown

(opens in a new window)says that to find your ideal day-to-day lip colour, you should start by taking off all your war paint.

• For pale lips, try beige, sandy pink, light coral, pale pink and bright red lipsticks.

• Women with medium-toned lips should play about with brown, pink, rose, orange and warm red shades.

• Dark-lipped ladies should experiment with brown, deep red, plum, deep chocolate and deep raisin shades.

• The perfect neutral shade will generally be close in tone to your natural lip colour. "The one that looks good on the naked face is the right neutral, everyday, mistake-proof colour." If it looks ashy, orange or pink, forget it - we're looking for a shade that enhances the natural colour of your lips.

• There are exceptions to every rule though. Bobbi adds, "Some women might need more colour, and the shade that works best without make-up could be bright or dark rather than neutral. You know when you've found the right colour because it will enhance the skin tone, make the eyes look brighter and give the face a lift."

"If I had to teach someone just one thing about lip colour, it would be this: find a lipstickthat looks good on your face when you are wearing absolutely no make-up," she says. "This is the magic colour that will make your skin, hair and eyes look their best."