Winter is finally coming to a close, which means that spring trends and all its bright and vibrant colors are on their way. And while clothes are a great way to make a color statement, there is another option that is quick and easy if you want to add a burst of color to an outfit any day: lipstick.

Lipstick has been a popular way to tie together an outfit for years, but now showing your lips some love at school is becoming popular among the women of this school. Don’t be afraid, ladies, because it’s a growing trend. Trust me; I have five different lipstick colors in my backpack right now.

Wearing lipstick is straightforward and it’s so universal, anyone can do it. The problem occurs when you’re trying to pick out your lipstick, and you don’t know what color to get. It’s overwhelming; there are colors like mocha, velvety fuchsia, cocoa craving, cranberry, and then there are the ones with the cute names like “hooked on pink”—I mean, what does that even mean? How are we supposed to know what hues look good and which ones don’t?

The answer is fairly simple. It all starts with what your skin undertones are; my suggestion is to pull all your hair back and wrap a white towel around your face so your hair doesn’t interfere.  The white of the towel will then reflect a variety of undertones, which come together to complete your skin tone. If the undertone colors reflected are beige, yellow, or gold, you are warm toned. If you reflect blue, rose, pink or purple, you have a cool skin tone.  Another way to think about your skin tone is whether or not you look better in gold or silver jewelry. If silver is your main deal, then you’re cool toned. If you look good in gold jewelry, then you have a warm skin tone.

Once you know whether you’re warm or cool toned, the rest is easy. If you have a warm skin tone, your best colors are the palette on the first image. If you have a cool skin tone, your best colors are the second image.

But regardless of what your “colors” are, there are a few exceptions to every rule. I have a cool skin tone, but I can still pull off some deep reds and even mocha brown. It just depends on the brand and the specific hue they make.

And, as always, be wary of makeup brands. When buying makeup, I keep an eye out for Maybelline, L’Oreal, Revlon, and Covergirl. These makeup lines have made their mark on the beauty industry, and the quality of their makeup is always very high. Cheap, low quality lipstick will automatically kill your entire look, so watch out.

Lipstick works for everyone, which is why it’s so awesome that the trend is on the rise for spring 2013. Just remember these simple guidelines and your lips will always be making a statement—no matter what you’re saying.