Beauty Maybelline 135 Guide: Drugstore Nudes and How to Choose
An educational guide from the Beauty AMZ research team. No hard sell, just what you need to know.
Why Shade Numbers Disappear
Drugstore brands rotate shades constantly. Numbers get retired without notice. Old stock sells through quietly. Online listings vanish. But search interest lingers. That creates orphan shade numbers like 135. The shade may still exist somewhere. Without verification, substitutes are the honest answer. This cycle repeats across all drugstore brands.
The Drugstore Lipstick Advantage
Drugstore lipstick offers incredible value. Formulas have improved enormously. Pigment rivals luxury brands. Prices allow fearless experimenting. You can try trends cheaply. Shade ranges are vast. Availability is everywhere. The stigma is long gone. Smart shoppers mix drugstore and luxury. Your lips do not know the price.
Cream, Matte, and Beyond
Lipstick finishes keep expanding. Cream is the comfort classic. Matte is the long-wear star. Satin splits the difference. Gloss adds shine. Each serves a mood. Most people need two or three finishes. Match the finish to the occasion. Variety beats loyalty here.
Finding Your Drugstore Nude
Drugstore nudes need careful picking. Test against your natural lip color. Go one shade deeper for polish. Avoid shades that wash you out. Read reviews for undertone clues. Buy one to test first. The low price makes this easy. Your perfect nude is out there. Keep sampling until it clicks.
Lipstick on a Budget: Full Routine
Build a full lip routine cheaply. Start with a nude for daily. Add a pink for freshness. Add a red for drama. Include a balm for care. Four products cover everything. Total cost stays under thirty dollars. Drugstore makes this possible. Great lips do not require wealth.
Recommended Products
These are the products our research team rates highest in this category.
Best for: Creamy nude lipstick daily wear
Maybelline Color Sensational Lipstick, Lip Makeup, Cream Finish, Hydrating Lipstick, Nude, Pink, Red, Plum Lip Color, Almond Hustle, 0.15 oz; (Packaging May Vary)
- Cream finish with shea butter
- Almond Hustle warm nude
- Hydrating formula
Pros
- Comfortable creamy wear
- Flattering warm nude
- Affordable price
Cons
- Cream transfers
- Needs reapplication
Best for: Matte nude lipstick lovers
Maybelline Color Sensational Lipstick, Lip Makeup, Matte Finish, Hydrating Lipstick, Nude, Pink, Red, Plum Lip Color, Peach Buff, 0.15 oz; (Packaging May Vary)
- Matte finish, hydrating formula
- Peach Buff soft peach nude
- Honey nectar infused
Pros
- Matte without dryness
- Pretty peach nude
- Budget friendly
Cons
- Matte fades with eating
- Light shade may need liner
Ready to Choose?
See our top product picks for maybelline 135 lipstick, or jump straight to the head-to-head comparison of the two most popular options.
Two-Toned and Hyperpigmented Lips: Beyond the Orange-Cancel Trick
The orange-cancel trick for pigmented lips is a start, but two-toned lips, where the upper and lower lip differ in color, need a fuller routine. The method: apply a thin layer of a peach or orange corrector only on the darker areas, not the whole lip, then press a nude lipstick over everything; spot-correcting avoids the mask-like effect of full-lip concealer. For gradient or ombre application, place the deeper nude at the outer edges and the lighter shade in the center, blending where they meet with a fingertip, which evens out natural two-toning while adding dimension. Formula choice matters here: creamy and satin nudes blend over uneven pigment far better than mattes, which can grab onto darker patches and emphasize the contrast. If one lip is significantly darker, a lip primer underneath the corrector adds staying power so the correction does not slide by midday. Drugstore nudes like the Maybelline shades on this page layer well for this technique since their creamy texture blends without dragging. The lip products guide covers prep and application steps that make nude color last on challenging lip tones.
Rescuing a Wrong Nude: Layering Fixes Instead of Throwing It Away
Almost every nude lipstick buyer owns a wrong nude, too light, too dark, or the wrong undertone, and layering rescues most of them. Too light and washing you out: layer a deeper liner underneath, filling the whole lip, then apply the nude over it, which deepens the result by a full shade. Too dark for a nude look: apply the dark shade, then press a lighter gloss or balm into the center of the lips, which sheers the middle and creates a wearable gradient. Wrong undertone, like a pink nude on warm skin: mix it on the back of your hand with a tiny amount of a warm brown or peach lipstick to shift the undertone before applying. Two wrong nudes can fix each other: layer the too-light over the too-dark and blend, which often lands exactly on the right shade. The rule for all rescues is thin layers, since thick layered lipstick pills and cracks. Keep one rescue liner in a mid-tone neutral brown; it fixes more wrong nudes than any other single product. For shade-specific guidance, the Very Victoria guide breaks down how a classic nude shade works across skin tones.
Undertone Testing Beyond the Wrist-Vein Trick
The wrist-vein test is unreliable for many people, since veins look different under different lighting and on different skin depths, so build a better undertone picture with multiple tests. The jewelry test: hold gold and silver jewelry against your face in natural light, and whichever makes your skin look brighter and healthier points to warm or cool respectively; if both look good, you are likely neutral. The white fabric test: hold pure white and off-white fabric near your face, and pure white flatters cool undertones while off-white flatters warm ones. The foundation mapping trick: if you know your foundation shade, its undertone label is a direct guide, since nude lipstick undertones should generally harmonize with foundation undertones. The daylight test is the final arbiter: swatch the nude on your actual lips, not your hand, and check it in natural daylight, since store lighting lies about undertones. Test one variable at a time and trust the consensus of the tests over any single result.