OneTaskBy Tim King · Updated
Lipstick Shade Name Generator
Playful Lipstick Shade Names, From Velvet Nudes to Bold Reds and Pinks
OneTask is free, with no sign-up, and built by one person.
If this tool saved you time, a coffee helps keep new ones coming.
How the Lipstick Shade Name Generator works
This lipstick shade name generator gives a fresh list with every click. Generate lipstick shade names in the conventions makeup brands use: Ruby Woo as a colour plus a made-up word, Velvet Teddy as a texture plus a soft noun, Lady Danger as a persona, Rouge 999 as a numbered rouge, Pillow Talk as a whispered phrase, Cherry Bomb as a fruit, and Heroine as a one-word attitude. Pick a shade, choose a convention and generate up to a hundred.
Lipstick shade name generator: how the names are built
A lipstick shade name is printed on the base of a bullet and said across a beauty counter, and unlike a paint colour it is meant to describe the wearer rather than the pigment, so the conventions are moods, personas and whispers rather than materials, which is why the Convention select is the main control and the Shade select changes the colour words, fruits and attitudes inside it. The colour-plus-word form, Ruby Woo in the famous case, Cherry Bomb, Pink Fizz, Coral Crush, is the big-brand convention, a colour and a short punchy word that is often invented or borrowed, and it is the shape the best-known reds take. The texture-plus-soft-noun form, Velvet Teddy in the famous case, Satin Kiss, Matte Whisper, Cream Blush, is the same brand's nude convention, the finish named and something soft beside it, and it makes a brown sound like a cuddle. The persona name, Lady Danger in the famous case, Heroine, Miss Coral, Femme Fatale, Dusty Starlet, is the classic Hollywood convention, the shade named for the woman who wears it, and a range of them reads like a cast list. The numbered rouge, Rouge 999 in the famous case, No. 44, Matte 11, is the French house convention, the shade as a catalogue reference, which reads as a laboratory and a heritage at once. The whispered phrase, Pillow Talk in the famous case, Kiss Me Softly, Almost Nude, Hush and Sigh, is the modern prestige convention, two or three intimate words that describe the moment rather than the colour, and it is the shape of the last decade's bestsellers. The fruit or spice, Cherry, Raspberry Kiss, Honey, Cinnamon, Blackberry, is the mass-market convention, something edible that is the colour, which makes the shade legible from the name alone. And the one-word attitude, Heroine, Fearless, Vamp, Bare, Glow, is the indie convention, a single word for how the wearer feels, with no colour in it.
The words are colours, fruits, textures and ordinary English, so a result is a new combination rather than a real shade by design, though lipstick names are trademarked heavily by the brands and the colour-plus-word and persona conventions are crowded, so search a name before printing a real bullet and treat a coincidence as likely. A shade name also has to fit the base of a bullet and a counter conversation, so the shapes here are one to four words.
For the brand on the bullet, the Business section; for the nail polish in the same collection, the Nail polish name page; for the perfume in the same campaign, the Perfume name page; for the paint colour of the packaging, the Paint colour name page; for the model in the campaign, the Stage name page in the People section; and for a colour name worked out from an actual hex value, the Colour name page.
FAQ
Why are lipstick shades named after moods rather than colours?
Because a lipstick is bought for how it makes the wearer feel and a colour word would not distinguish forty reds. A persona, a whisper or an attitude gives the shade a character the customer can try on; the colour is on the swatch. The Fruit or spice convention is the exception, and it is the mass-market register where legibility matters more than glamour.
What convention should a range use?
One throughout, and the biggest brands mix by sub-line rather than within one. A classic-red line takes colour-plus-word or numbered rouge; a nude line takes texture-plus-soft-noun or whispered phrase; a bold line takes personas and attitudes. Pick a convention here and generate the whole line in it.
What does the number in a numbered shade mean?
The brand's catalogue order, sometimes with a house significance: a famous 999 is a mark of a flagship red. A numbered range reads as French and archival, and a fictional house can choose its numbers for how they look on the bullet; repeated digits and round hundreds read as flagships.
Are lipstick shade names trademarked?
Yes, heavily, in the cosmetics class, and the big brands defend their bestsellers. Before printing a real bullet, search the trademark register and the major brands' shade lists; the colour-plus-word and persona conventions are crowded and a coincidence is likely. For a mock-up or a fictional brand, none of that matters.
Can I use these names for fiction or test data?
Yes. The names are colours, fruits, textures and ordinary English in the conventions makeup brands use, and they belong to no one until a brand registers them; coincidence with a real shade is likely, so search before a real range. For a fictional brand, a mock-up bullet, a beauty app's demo catalogue, a magazine layout or a story, use them freely.
See also: all Places & Things tools, People, Fantasy & RPG, Sci-fi, Culture & Language, Online & Social, Business & Brand.
Related tools
Aircraft / Plane Name Generator
Aircraft names like Lucky Lady, Spirit of Northgate, Silver Arrow and Old Reliable.
Airship Name Generator
Zeppelins and sky ships, captains, routes and fates.
Album Name Generator
Album names like Hollow Cathedral, Songs for the Long Drive and Static Bloom.
Art / Painting Title Generator
Art titles like Untitled (Blue Kitchen), Study for a Harbour and Composition No. 7.
Asylum Name Generator
Abandoned asylums and sanatoriums, wings, histories and rumours.