Style Beauty 10 Classic Lipstick Shades Southern Women Will Never Stop Wearing Which do you love most? By Kaitlyn Yarborough Kaitlyn Yarborough Part of the Southern Living team since 2017, Kaitlyn Yarborough is a Georgia native living in Austin, Texas, who covers a wide variety of topics for both the magazine and website, focusing on culture and lifestyle content, as well as travel in the South. Southern Living's editorial guidelines Published on February 9, 2022 Share Tweet Pin Email We independently evaluate all recommended products and services. If you click on links we provide, we may receive compensation. Learn more. Getty Images/LightFieldStudios A signature lipstick shade is about more than just finding the perfect color to flatter your skin tone or personal style. It's about finding confidence in a tube—moxie in a swipe! There's no rule that you can only have one single lip shade as your signature color, either. It's completely acceptable, if not totally necessary, to have different go-to shades that work for any and every occasion. You can easily rotate between a bold red that's fun for holiday parties and fancy affairs, a creamy pink-nude that is your staple on a daily basis, a glossy berry reserved for dinner with the girls, and a sheer rose that can fake a natural flush even on your dreariest day. Each shade has a personality and power of its own. For that reason, certain classic lipsticks have made their mark throughout the years as the most reliable and most likely to be found at the bottom of any Southern woman's purse. From audacious Revlon Fire & Ice to subtle (and recently re-popularized) Clinique Black Honey, you'll run into some longtime friends—and perhaps some you've not yet been introduced to—in this definitive list of lipstick shades we'll never stop wearing. Our Top Picks Revlon Super Lustrous Lipstick in Fire & Ice at Ulta Jump to Review L'Oreal Lip Color in Fairest Nude at Amazon Jump to Review Clinique Pop Plush Creamy Lip Gloss in Black Honey Jump to Review Dior Rouge Dior Lipstick in 999 at Amazon Jump to Review YSL Rouge Pur Couture Lipstick in No. 19 at Nordstrom Jump to Review Revlon Super Lustrous Lipstick in Toast of NY at Amazon Jump to Review Elizabeth Arden Ceramide Ultra Lipstick in Honeysuckle at Amazon Jump to Review Chanel Rouge Allure Velvet Lip Colour in Rouge Vie at Ulta Jump to Review Charlotte Tilbury Matte Revolution Lipstick in Pillow Talk at Amazon Jump to Review Estée Lauder Pure Color Envy Sculpting Lipstick in Unrivaled at Amazon Jump to Review Revlon Super Lustrous Lipstick in Fire & Ice Ulta View On Ulta You can't deny the power of a red lip, and this shade is about as vintage and classic as it gets. Since 1952, Fire & Ice has graced the lips of many a confident woman. The vibrant red shade possesses coral-pink undertones that will push through depending on your skin tone, usually veering either more coral or pink. L'Oreal Colour Riche Lip Colour in Fairest Nude View On Amazon One thing's for sure: Southern women have always loved a bargain-friendly lipstick that packs a punch, and this ultra-creamy nude is a trusty everyday shade that never fails. It keeps lips nice and hydrated, and it has the slightest pink tinge within the true nude color. Plus, you'll find over 20,000 five-star reviews for the time-tested tube on Amazon alone. Clinique Pop Plush Creamy Lip Gloss in Black Honey Clinique View on Ulta View On Sephora View On Beautybay.com This legendary lip product has been around for over 30 years, but has seen a major resurgence recently when everyone remembered (or their mom told them) how insanely good it is. This sheer, deepened raisin "almost" lipstick deserves every ounce of praise it has received over the years. While the color looks borderline gothic in the tube, it goes on as a natural hydrating tint to your lips that's just barely-there. Dior Rouge Dior Lipstick in 999 Amazon View On Amazon View On Nordstrom This shade is nothing less than iconic. It's an absolute, perfect true red that works on any skin tone and makes its incredible quality known upon first swipe. In 1953, Christian Dior desired to create the perfect red for his models to wear on the runway, no matter the outfit, and came out with two shades, 9 and 99. These two reds were later combined and perfected into the single 999 shade. YSL Rouge Pur Couture Lipstick in No. 19 Nordstrom View On Nordstrom The first shade created by Monsieur Saint Laurent in 1979, this bright berry has something to say—and can perhaps have the same extrovert effect on those who wear it. It's one of the boldest of the bunch and should be worn with total confidence. Luckily, the quality is unmatched and goes on like a dream, which will only make you want to don it more often. Revlon Super Lustrous Lipstick in Toast of NY Amazon View On Amazon View On Ulta Not only does this red-brown shade give us major 1990s supermodel flashbacks (Cindy Crawford made us covet the color back in the day), but it goes even further with its depth of pigment and slightly glossy finish to ensure there are no blah lips here! The warm lipstick is the perfect fall and winter staple. Elizabeth Arden Ceramide Ultra Lipstick in Honeysuckle Amazon View On Amazon View On Walmart Leave it to this forever-favorite brand to make a shimmery nude that feels both neutral and exciting. The formula is made to enhance your natural lips with its hydrating Ceramide Triple Complex for youthful plumpness and definition. It has a little more warmth to the tone than your average nude, making it one of our all-time favorite everyday shades to add a little natural glow to the face. Chanel Rouge Allure Velvet Lip Colour in Rouge Vie Ulta View On Ulta This revolutionary formula is enough to turn anyone into a red lip lover. Because there's matte lipstick, and then there's this matte lipstick. It goes on as smoothly and softly as velvet, creating the perfect non-drying finish with very vivid pigment. This shade, Rouge Vie, got a fast pass to classic thanks to its unique deep red-plum-brown tone. It's worth the splurge. Charlotte Tilbury Matte Revolution Lipstick in Pillow Talk 4.8 Sephora View On Amazon View On Sephora View On Bloomingdales The closest thing this generation has to a cult-classic lipstick that we're convinced will stick around for decades to come, Charlotte Tilbury's Pillow Talk somehow strikes perfection. The shade itself can best be described as a nude-pink that shifts and changes when applied to different skin tones, appearing more mauve-y on some and more classically pink on others. There is now even a Pillow Talk Medium and Pillow Talk Intense to suit darker complexions. Estée Lauder Pure Color Envy Sculpting Lipstick in Unrivaled Amazon View On Amazon View On Walmart The name says it all. The comfortable cream finish gets this lipstick our stamp of approval—because it makes you want to wear it over and over again! This shade is a rosy pink that reminds us of Dolly Parton's classic pink lip. (The formula also plumps and sculpts lips with each swipe.) Was this page helpful? Thanks for your feedback! Tell us why! Other Submit