The multitude of cosmetic colours on sale has made finding make-up to suit your skintone a daunting feat. Until now. Stylist’s 20-strong panel has found the four magical shades that flatter every woman

Photography: Republic of Photography

The beauty world has a problem. As our appetite for make-up has grown (sales of colour cosmetics have risen by nearly half-a-billion pounds in the past five years*), brands have expanded their offering to meet our demands. Tens of eyeshadow shades have turned into hundreds, blusher collections look more like a Pantone chart and even something as seemingly simple as buying a skintone-flattering red lipstick can prove more of a headache than working out which new Netflix original to watch (FYI, it’s Santa Clarita Diet). We have more make-up choice than ever before, but working out which shade is right for you? That’s never been harder.

During your quest, you’ve probably dabbled with the new breed of universally adaptable make-up products that rolled into stores over the past few years. From lip balms that react to your skin’s natural pH to cream blushers said to transform into the perfect bespoke flush, these products promise guaranteed shade perfection. However, their results are somewhat lacklustre, offering little more than a sheer stain or limp wash of colour. But all is not lost because hidden among the shelves of our most-loved make-up brands lies a small selection of unsung beauty heroes: shades of lipstick, blusher and eyeshadow that have the power to warm the complexion, brighten the eyes and flatter the lips, no matter what skintone they are applied to. It’s just a case of finding them.

Here on the Stylist beauty desk, we took it upon ourselves to identify the cosmetic realm’s most ubiquitous shades. Calling upon some of the industry’s most reputable make-up artists, we uncovered the colours the experts rely on to flatter every single face they touch – the shades that look equally as alluring on every single face in a line-up of 30 models backstage at fashion week, no matter the skintone, hair shade or eye colour. But we didn’t just take their word for it.

We assembled a 20-strong panel of Stylist Beauty Council members encompassing a spectrum of colourings to test them. Over a gruelling 10 hours (well, as gruelling as trying out make-up can be), we trialled 20 products narrowed down for us by the make-up artists, documenting the process in the Stylist photo booth to find the shades that impressed each and every single one of our guinea pigs. Get ready to discover the only shades of lipstick, eyeshadow and blusher any woman needs to buy, whatever their skintone or colouring. It’s OK, you can thank us later.

The red lipstick that suits every woman: the Stylist Beauty Council finds the make-up shades to flatter all