If makeup is a complete menu, our lip combinations are the final spices without which our makeup looks dull and tasteless. But if your skin has some depth, it is quite a challenge to find a lip set that can enhance your final look without giving you lackluster pigmentation or an unsightly color match. Since people with dark skin tend to have deeper pigmentation on and around the mouth, we are often limited to brown and black lip liner shades when we want to achieve a lip combination with a fruitful contrast.
There are many brands that have released lip kits and combos that promise a one-stop shop for luscious lips, but black makeup wearers don’t seem to be part of the focus groups or pre-launch brainstorming sessions. Because there’s no reason why, in 2024, after Fenty’s industry-changing foundation releases, brands are still missing the mark so badly. So it may take some work, but there are lip kits that are made for those with darker skin. We just need to do a little digging.
From juicy reds to rich mocha browns, these lip kits are tailored to us, or at least aim to give us something.
Ami Colé is a Senegalese-inspired, Brooklyn-born brand that caters to the unique needs of pigmented skin, so it’s no surprise that the brand has perfected the art of a lip kit for dark skin. The Cafe Touba Lip Liner and Excellence Lip Oil are the perfect duo to give you the brown lip look you’ve always wanted.
Detroit’s best brand, The Lip Bar, has consistently dedicated itself to the lip pigmentation needs of black women. It’s literally in their DNA and a mainstay of their brand mission. They have several lip kits for darker skin tones, but the Mocha Duo, which includes a brown lip liner in Straight Facts and lip gloss in Flyy Girl, is a magnetic combination.
Refy
Signature Lip Liner and Gloss Duo
Price: $40
Shopping at REFY
Refy first made waves with face-changing eyebrow products that dove headfirst into the full brow trend that largely defined most of the late 2010s. But the brand’s lip kits aren’t to be sniffed at either. What makes the kit particularly catchy is that you can customize the liner and gloss you want in your kit, so if you regularly wear red or prefer a brown lip, Refy has something for you.
If you’re looking for a cheaper alternative to the more expensive sets, Makeup Revolution’s Lip Contour is a great option. Some of the liners tend towards a lighter pigment, but the brown and red combinations have the pigment depth needed to stand out on a darker skin tone.
While lip liners are a popular accessory, they’re not an integral part of a lip kit. Exhibit A? Those sticky combinations from Merit. The kit is customizable, but the brand offers a wide range of caramel and cocoa shades that complement dark skin and, more importantly, don’t denigrate it.
NYX Professional Makeup
Gimmie Gimmie Lip Set
Price: $17
Shopping at Ulta
Another drugstore gem, this NYX set includes a Lip Lingerie pigment, a Suede Matte lip liner, and a sheer butter gloss. It’s the ultimate trio for NYX fans.
Ok, now hear us out. This may not be a traditional lip kit since it offers you pigment, but your lip moisturizing routine can also be a layered experience. This moisturizing kit from Fenty includes their signature cherry lip balm, strengthening lip oil, and Push Pudding lip balm.
I’m a red lip fanatic and so it will be. Finding the perfect red lipstick to match darker skin can be a tricky back and forth. But if there’s one brand we trust to win this aesthetic tug of war, it’s the masterful folks at Pat McGrath.
