The Best Makeup Shades
for Red Hair
Red hair is one of the most visually specific features in personal coloring — its warm, orange-red quality creates a strong color context that influences every makeup shade worn near it. The wrong colors either compete with red hair's warmth or disappear beside it. The right shades amplify your coloring and make the combination look intentional and vivid.
Discover Your ColorsWhy Red Hair Changes Everything in Makeup
Red hair sits in the warm orange-red spectrum — it has high saturation and inherent warmth. This creates a constant warm backdrop for any color worn near the face. Makeup shades that also live in the warm-orange family can either create beautiful harmony or compete for attention depending on their saturation and depth.
The skin tones that accompany red hair vary widely — from very fair and porcelain to freckled warm skin — but almost always have cool-to-neutral undertones with warmth in the surface. This creates an interesting makeup challenge: the hair is warm but the skin often has cool or pink undertones, giving you flexibility in lip and blush choices.
The most common mistake with red hair is choosing makeup that either fades beside the hair's intensity (too pale, too muted) or clashes with it (too orange, too warm-yellow). The sweet spot is makeup with clear color intention — cool or warm contrasts that create deliberate definition rather than blending into the overall warm picture.
Your Best Makeup Shades
Berry & Plum Lips
Berry and plum lip shades are the signature look for red hair. The blue-red quality of berry creates complementary contrast with red hair's orange-red warmth — opposite color temperatures make both more vivid. Deep raspberry has enough warmth to avoid looking too stark while still creating that beautiful contrast. Rich plum adds sophistication and works beautifully on fair skin. These are the shades that make red hair look most intentionally striking.
Terracotta & Warm Rose Blush
Blush for red hair should echo the warmth of the hair without overpowering the natural flush. Soft terracotta sits in the same warm family as red hair but in a muted, desaturated form — it reads as a sophisticated natural flush rather than a competing warm element. Warm peach-rose adds brightness to the cheeks while complementing the overall warm palette. Avoid cool fuchsia-pink blushes, which fight red hair's warmth.
Bronze & Copper Eye Shadows
Bronze and copper eye shadows create a warm, resonant look that harmonizes with red hair's metallic warmth. Deep copper particularly amplifies the orange quality in red hair while adding depth to the eye. Warm brown-gold is the everyday version — sophisticated, wearable, and beautifully resonant with red hair. This family makes eyes appear warmer and more defined without competing with the dramatic quality of red hair.
Green & Teal Eye Shadows
Green and teal shades create stunning complementary contrast with red hair — green is the direct complement of red, making both appear more vivid. Khaki olive is the wearable, everyday version: it picks up on any green notes in hazel or green eyes while creating beautiful warm-cool tension with red hair. Deep forest green creates a more dramatic effect. These shades make red hair look most luminously red.
How to Apply These Shades
The classic red hair makeup look
The most universally flattering makeup for red hair is the simple combination: berry or plum lip, warm peach-rose blush, and a bronze or warm brown eye. This creates a coherent warm-contrasting palette — the eye resonates with the hair, the blush complements the skin, and the lip creates beautiful contrast with the overall warm picture. Skip the eyeliner for daytime and let the warm eye shadow do the work.
Making eyes pop with green shadow
For maximum impact on green or hazel eyes with red hair, use deep forest green or khaki olive shadow on the outer corner and crease. The green-red complementary contrast makes both the eyes and the hair appear more vivid. Blend a warm gold or bronze shadow on the inner corner and lid for warmth and brightness. Finish with warm brown mascara rather than black for a softer daytime effect.
Bold lip strategy
Red hair handles bold lips beautifully — in fact, the hair's intensity often calls for a bold lip to create balance. A deep raspberry or wine-plum lip with minimal eye makeup (curled lashes, clean brow, light bronze shadow) is the classic red hair evening look. Keep the eye minimal when the lip is bold — the hair is already providing drama, so restraint elsewhere makes the whole look cohesive.
Foundation and concealer undertones
Most red hair accompanies fair to light skin with pink or neutral undertones. Choose foundation in the neutral-to-cool undertone family rather than warm yellow-based formulas, which can look sallow against red hair's warmth. A foundation with a slight pink or neutral cast creates a clean, luminous base. Avoid warm yellow-beige foundations, which create an unresolved warm clash between face and hair.
Makeup Shades That Clash With Red Hair
Orange-red lips
Orange-red lip color sits in exactly the same color family as red hair — it creates a monochromatic warm overload where the makeup competes with rather than complements the hair. There's no contrast or harmony, just repetition that makes the overall look feel overwhelming and unintentional. If you want warmth in your lip, choose the deeper, more brown-based version: terracotta or warm brick rather than pure orange-red.
Warm golden yellow shadows
Pale golden yellow or warm canary yellow eye shadow creates a sallow, washed-out effect near the warm-toned skin common with red hair. It also lacks the contrast to stand out near vivid red hair — the warmth blends rather than defines. Choose bronzes and coppers if you want warm metallic shadow, or greens for contrast.
Cool fuchsia-pink blush
Cool, bright fuchsia-pink blush fights the warm quality of red hair without creating the beautiful warm-cool tension that deeper berry shades provide. The harsh cool-pink next to warm red hair creates an unresolved color clash. Choose warm peach-rose or terracotta instead, which complement red hair's warmth while adding appropriate definition.
Your Makeup Bag, Upgraded
These swaps replace shades that compete with or disappear beside red hair with ones that create vivid, intentional contrast.
Coral orange competes with red hair's warm-orange quality. Raspberry creates beautiful cool-warm contrast that makes both the lip and hair look more vivid.
Warm red creates color overload with red hair. Plum and wine have cool-blue depth that contrasts beautifully, creating a striking rather than competing effect.
Fuchsia-pink clashes with red hair's warmth. Terracotta echoes the warmth harmoniously; peach-rose adds brightness without fighting the hair's color.
Pale yellow washes out near red hair. Bronze has the warmth and depth to create a resonant, defined look that complements red hair beautifully.
Blue fights red hair without creating beautiful contrast. Green is red's complement — it makes red hair appear more vivid while defining the eye area.
Yellow-beige foundation creates a sallow, warm-overload look against red hair. Neutral or slightly pink foundations create a clean, luminous base.
Which Palette Might Be Yours?
Red hair typically fits warm seasonal palettes — Warm Autumn, Deep Autumn, and Warm Spring — with makeup palette reflecting the specific depth and quality of your coloring.
Warm Autumn
Learn moreIf your red hair is deep and richly warm (auburn to deep copper-red), your skin has warm or neutral undertones, and your coloring has a muted, earthy quality, Warm Autumn is likely your season. Your makeup palette is warm, earthy, and muted: terracotta lips, bronze shadows, warm blush. Avoid anything too vivid or cool.
Warm Spring
Learn moreIf your red hair is brighter and lighter (bright copper, strawberry-red, red-gold), your skin is fair with peachy undertones, and your eyes are clear and vivid, Warm Spring may be your season. Your makeup is warmer and brighter: peach-coral blush, warm gold shadow, peachy-warm lips rather than deep plums.
Deep Autumn
Learn moreIf your red hair is very deep and richly pigmented (deep auburn-red to mahogany), your coloring has high contrast and depth, Deep Autumn may suit you. Your makeup is the deepest and richest: dark wine lips, deep bronze-brown shadow, rich terracotta blush.
Find Your Exact Shades
Red hair is one of the most responsive feature types in makeup — the right shades make the combination look radiantly intentional, while the wrong ones either compete or disappear. The exact shades depend on the specific quality of your red hair (copper, auburn, bright red), your skin's undertone, and your eye color. A personalized color analysis identifies the precise makeup palette that makes your red hair look its most vivid and beautiful.
Get Your Color AnalysisRelated Color Guides
Explore more personalized color advice based on your features.
Frequently Asked Questions
What lip color looks best with red hair?
Berry, raspberry, plum, and wine shades are universally flattering for red hair. These blue-red tones create complementary contrast with red hair's orange-red warmth, making both the lip and hair appear more vivid. Avoid orange-red and coral, which compete with the hair's color rather than contrasting it.
What eye shadow should redheads wear?
Green and khaki-olive shadows create stunning complementary contrast with red hair. Bronze and copper shadows create warm resonance. Both approaches work — greens make red hair appear more luminously red; bronzes create a warm, harmonious look. Avoid pale yellow and warm golden shadows, which wash out near red hair.
What blush looks good on redheads?
Warm terracotta, peach-rose, and copper-rose blushes complement red hair beautifully. They echo the hair's warmth in a muted, harmonious way. Avoid cool fuchsia-pink blush, which clashes with red hair's warmth. The goal is a blush that reads as a natural warm flush rather than a competing color element.
Can redheads wear red lipstick?
Yes, but choose the right red. Cool blue-reds (raspberry, wine, cherry) look striking on red hair by creating complementary contrast. Pure orange-red and warm red lipstick creates color overload that competes with the hair. A berry-toned red rather than a warm-orange red is the key distinction.
What foundation undertone should redheads use?
Most redheads have fair to light skin with neutral to pink undertones. Choose foundation in the neutral or slightly pink-neutral family — not warm yellow-beige, which looks sallow against the overall warm context of red hair. A clean neutral or cool-neutral base creates a luminous, balanced look.