How to Customize a Killer New Lip Color Without Spending Any Money

By Emily Orofino

Updated on 9/28/2015 at 7:00 PM

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As we get older and life gets busier, it's easy to forget makeup for what it really is: fun! Even if you don't realize it, you're creating a little work of art every single day by mixing pigments, contouring and highlighting, and buffing to perfection. But while blending several eye shadows to achieve the perfect smoky eye is second nature for many, creating custom lip shades can seem a little bit more daunting.

You don't need to blend colors on the back of your hand and apply them with a lip brush like a makeup artist (though you're certainly welcome to!): just pair a lip liner and a lipstick to get the new color you want. Whether you're new to the world of popping pouts and haven't fleshed out your pretty inventory yet or have put yourself on a no-buy list until the holidays, this is a great way to try something different without spending a single dollar. Keep reading for some gorgeous celebrities modeling our favorite colors to create with product suggestions as part of your art project.

Mauve
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Mauve

Almost everyone has a brown lip pencil like Sephora's waterproof pencil in Natural ($13) lying around . . . especially if they survived the '90s. Fill in your lips with it, and then try a blue-based rose lipstick on top like Bobbi Brown Tea Rose ($26) to get mauve, a color that gets a bad rap for being dated but is surprisingly flattering on all skin tones — just look at Beyoncé!

Coral
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Coral

Coral is a popular shade in Spring and Summer, but it can be hard to find a suitable coral lipstick for your skin tone (or one that isn’t frosty à la 1974). To get a pretty pout like Emma Stone's, use an orange-red lip liner like NYX Orange ($4) as your base shade, then apply a pale pink like Revlon’s Pink Pout ($8) and rub your lips together to blend the colors.

Vampy Red
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Vampy Red

While it sounds scary or goth, it's actually pretty: you can easily use a black eye pencil to line a red lip. Line first using Benefit’s Bad Gal Waterproof liner ($20), filling in your lips about halfway, and then apply Maybelline’s Red Revival ($7) on top. The result is a subtle ombré pout like Gwen Stefani's that takes almost zero effort.

Pepto-Bismol Pink
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Pepto-Bismol Pink

If only we had known this trick in the heyday of Proenza Pink, a limited-edition pastel Lancome lipstick that sold out in mere hours. Mixing a white pencil with a glossy pink lip formula can get you the same candy color Rihanna's rocking without shelling out insane amounts of money on eBay. Try Wet n Wild Icon Liner in White ($9) and Urban Decay Supersaturated Lip Color in Crush ($20).

Nude
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Nude

The quest for the perfect shade of nude lipstick for your skin tone can take years (though it doesn't seem like Kim Kardashian knows that struggle). Transform one of the lippies you've bought and deemed the wrong shade into something great! Line and fill your lips with a brown pencil like Motives Lip Crayon in Pecan ($15), and apply a nude lipstick like Nars Cosmetics Pure Matte Lipstick in Madere ($26) on top, blending to get your perfect hue.

Berry
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Berry

While this hue is often overlooked in favor of red, make no mistake — a berry lip is powerful, sexy, and appropriate for every occasion. Mix your own shade to get a lip like Emma Watson's with MAC Nightmoth lip pencil ($16) and CoverGirl Lip Perfection lipstick in Bombshell ($8).

Purple
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Purple

We won't be surprised if you don't have this shade in tube form already — the unique blueness of this particular purple on Joan Smalls makes it hard to replicate. That is, if you don't try our trick: blue eyeliner as a lip pencil. Use L'Oréal Silkissime in Cobalt Blue ($9) on the entire lip, blending Milani Rose Hip ($5) on top to get a head-turning pucker.