Three high-pigment products to blend the perfect lip colour

Sarah Fisher writes: Finding the perfect hue for your skin-tone is hard enough when you're sleuthing for the right foundation. But when it comes to selecting a wardrobe of lip colours to complement your look without washing you out or risking a resemblance to Coco the Clown, the difficultly level goes up a notch.

For the ultimate creative control, why not try mixing your own? By blending high-pigment glosses, you can create a shade as unique as your own colouring. Follow the jump to see us explore ranges from Illamasqua, MAC and OCC (Obsessive Compulsive Cosmetics) to bring out the artist in you.

MAC's Lip Mix is a range of brightly-hued lacquers designed to offer makeup artists a palette of lip colour that can be customised to fit the occasion. Availble from MAC Pro stores, Lip Mix comes in a squeezy tube in 16 shades, from Black and Blue to Crimson and Burgundy. The colour has a metallic shiny finish, is non-sticky and can be sheered out by mixing with clear gloss. Check them out at the MAC Pro website (under "Lipstick").

A similar idea with an equally riotous rainbow of shades, Lip Tar by Obsessive Compulsive Cosmetics offers a spectrum of primary coloured glosses with "an unprecedented amount of pigment, so a little goes a very, very long way. An intense yet featherweight layer of color." Sounds good to me. You may have seen beauty oracle Temptalia swatching the raw materials and blending some custom shades of her very own. You can buy these online from the OCC site, although shipping to the UK may mean it's better to buy in bulk!

Finally an offering from our own shores - Illamasqua's Intense glosses can be mixed or diluted, or you can wear them alone for a stand-out signature pout. There are teal, green, and icy lilac shades, monochrome black, white and grey, and the riot of reds, pinks and oranges you might expect from this vampy, ultra-glam brand. They're very shiny, non-sticky and long-lasting. You can pick them up at Illamasqua.com, or drop in to one of the Illamasqua counters in Selfridges.

Happy blending!