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Maybelline 175 Guide: Finding Your Perfect Lipstick Shade

By Emily Rodriguez Makeup Reviewer Published April 13, 2026

Maybelline 175 Guide: Finding Your Perfect Lipstick Shade - featured image

An educational guide from the Beauty AMZ research team. No hard sell, just what you need to know.

The psychology of lipstick shades

Lipstick shade choices communicate mood and intention: nudes signal polish and professionalism, berries signal confidence and vibrancy, reds signal power, and pinks signal approachability. Understanding this helps you choose shades strategically for occasions rather than randomly. The two picks in this guide give you the two most useful signals: competent nude and confident berry. Building a shade wardrobe around the messages you want to send makes getting dressed simpler and more effective.

Lipstick and age

Lipstick needs evolve with age, but the rules are flexible. Younger wearers can handle any finish, while mature lips benefit from creamy over matte formulas that do not settle into lines. Deeper shades like berry remain flattering at all ages when the formula is hydrating. The key adjustment with age is more lip prep and liner, not abandoning color. Both picks here work across ages with appropriate prep.

The full lip routine

Flawless lipstick starts before the bullet: exfoliate weekly, moisturize daily, and use SPF lip protection. Before application, blot off excess balm so color adheres. Line for definition, especially with bold shades. Apply in thin layers, blot, and reapply for longevity. Clean up edges with concealer for crispness. This five-minute routine elevates drugstore lipstick to prestige-looking results.

Seasonal shade rotation

Lipstick shades can rotate seasonally for the most harmonious looks: fresh nudes and pinks for spring, vibrant berries and corals for summer, deep berries for fall, and rich classic shades for winter. The Purely Nude works year-round as a staple, while Berry Go shines brightest in fall and winter. This seasonal awareness keeps your makeup feeling current without constant purchasing.

Building a lipstick wardrobe

A functional lipstick wardrobe needs a daily nude, a versatile pink, a statement berry or red, and optionally a deep evening shade. The two picks here provide the nude and berry pillars. Add a pink and a red over time, and you have a complete collection that handles every occasion. Resist the urge to accumulate dozens of similar nudes; curation beats quantity for actually wearing what you own.

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Beauty AMZ Research Team

Educational content based on published research, ingredient analysis, and expert guidance.

Nude matte on deep skin tones

Nude matte guidance stays at generic undertone level, but deep skin needs specific direction. The rule: the nude must be deeper than the natural lip color, not lighter. Pale nudes that flatter fair skin wash out deep skin entirely, creating the ashy lip effect. For deep skin, reach for caramel, toffee, and warm brown nudes with real pigment depth; the sheer washes that work on fair skin disappear without effect. Undertone still matters: golden undertones suit warm caramel, while cooler deep skin suits cocoa and espresso.

Test in daylight, since store lighting flatters every nude. The Inti-Matte Purely Nude shade suits light to medium skin; deeper skin tones should look to the brown-nude end of the Maybelline range. Our long lasting lipstick guide covers wear tactics that keep deeper nudes intact through the day.

Thin lips: which matte textures add fullness

Matte lipstick flattens thin lips visually, but texture choices recover the dimension. The Inti-Matte blurred finish is kinder than flat liquid mattes because its soft-focus effect diffuses the lip edge rather than drawing a hard line. The techniques that add fullness: a slightly overlined edge with a matching liner, a dab of gloss or lighter shade pressed into the center, and avoiding dark shades that shrink the lip visually. Berry Go's brighter tone naturally reads fuller than the nude.

What flattens most: dark matte shades with crisp edges, which is the severe combination on thin lips. If the goal is fullness, keep the matte blurred and the center highlighted.

Mature lips and modern mattes

Modern blurred mattes like the Inti-Matte formula treat mature lips better than the flat mattes of the past. The blurred finish does not settle into vertical lines as aggressively, and the creamier base resists the cracking that aged lips fear. The application still matters: fill the whole lip with liner first as a grippy base, apply the matte thinly, and blot once. Thick bullet application on lined lips pools color in the creases regardless of formula quality.

Berry shades deserve a caution on mature lips: bright berries can emphasize redness around the mouth, so keep the application precise and the edges clean. The nude is the safer daily choice for 50+ lips, with the berry reserved for evenings. As with all mattes, prep decides the result: exfoliated, balmed, and blotted lips carry matte beautifully at any age.

The cruelty-free and vegan question

Maybelline is not cruelty-free certified, a fact buyers deserve plainly. The brand sells in markets requiring animal testing and holds no Leaping Bunny certification. For buyers prioritizing cruelty-free, the drugstore alternatives with certification exist but cost more per tube. Vegan status is separate: many Maybelline lipsticks contain beeswax or carmine, so cruelty-free and vegan do not overlap automatically.

The honest framework: decide which standard matters to you, then verify per product rather than per brand, since formulations change. Our Armani Lip Maestro guide covers a luxury velvet matte for comparing what higher price tiers offer. No guide can make the ethical tradeoff for you, but the facts should be stated clearly.