A few years ago I wrote a post about 3 perfect brown lip liners for brown skin and I thought it was around time to update this post with a few more gems I’ve found since then.
Before I start, I want to explain that although I do have lip liners in my collection, I normally line my lips with either a brown liquid lipstick or brown bullet lipstick. I’ve even seen others line their lips with eyeliners and cream contour shades as these tend to be richer, so please do not feel limited to this list.
Be inventive if you cannot find your right shade, just make sure the product you use is suitable for lip use.
So let’s get started: (T-B)
MAC Cosmetics Lip Pencil – Chestnut | £15.50
The OG of lip pencils for black skin. If you love nude lipsticks and you do not have Chestnut in your collection, you really need to ask yourself, why? Chestnut is a rich red-brown perfect for blending stark nude on black skin.
Morphe Color Lip Pencil – Richie | £4.50
A brown liner on the cooler side of things. Richie is a good fit if you like the bold liner look, think 90’s lip liner. If you want your liner to stand out or if you love to really go in and contour your lips, you’ll love Richie!
NYX Slide On Lip Colour Pencil – Urban Cafe | £6.00
One of the creamiest lip pencils you will ever encounter. Urban Cafe is another rich red-brown, but unlike Chestnut, Urban Cafe is warm-toned.
NYX Lip Lingerie Push-Up Long-Lasting Lipstick – Teddy | £9.00
Teddy is actually a lipstick, but I use it as a lip liner as it is a rich creamy brown which blends out like a dream. If you find lip liners hard to blend out, I would definitely recommend Teddy. It’s easy to apply and the tip is thick enough for an easy blend on the lips.
Colourpop Lippie Pencil – CTRL | $6.00
Affordable and pigmented, CTRL is a perfect purse-friendly brown lip liner. Slightly slept on compared to BFF3 and BFF4 but still a gem! I would highly recommend picking it up if you love a nude lip.
Morphe Color Lip Pencil – Bar | £4.50
Described as a “coffee’ brown, Bar is a another purse-friendly brown lip liner. Not as creamy or as rich as the other offerings, it is still a pigmented find, great for slightly lighter complexions.
NYX Suede Matte Liner – Downtown Beauty | £4.00
Downtown Beauty is perhaps the truest brown offering of the bunch. Not too warm or too cool-toned, Downtown Beauty is a great liner to use on the very edge of your lips for further definition.
Colourpop Lippie Pencil – BFF3 | $6.00
BFF3 was one of the most popular liners when it launched, but it has since been superseded by BFF4. Looking at the swatches above, BFF3 is definitely one of the lightest of the bunch and almost a little pink toned but it still works as a great brown liner. If you do need something a little deeper, you can, of course, go for BFF4.
Morphe Color Lip Pencil – Date Night | £4.50
Date Night is a bit of a wild card as it leans on the reddish side. I would almost call it a burgundy brown. Great if you’re looking for a deep liner but you don’t want to go down the true brown route. This liner would also look great with a red lip too!
MAC Prolongwear Lip Pencil – Bittersweet | £15.50 (Discontinued)
I don’t know what’s going on with MAC Cosmetics, but I have to say, I was not surprised to see they discontinued a favourite used primarily by black people. If you’re black and love makeup, this isn’t something that’s new to you, but we move. Bittersweet was a rich creamy brown, perfect for nude lipsticks of the lightest kind.
Honourary Mentions:
Colourpop Lippie Pencil – BFF4 | $7.00
Morphe Color Lip Pencil – Trendsetter | £4.50
Honourary mention for the two above, I do not own these two but I’ve heard great things about them so had to add them to this post.
I hope this blog post helped you in your search for brown lip liners.
I remember there was once a time when it was so difficult to find a good brown liner but now we have such a generous offering for a range of skin tones.
If I’ve missed any liners out, please do let me know in the comments below. I would love to know your brown liner staples.
Much love, Nat x