16 Best MAC Lip Liner for Dark Skin, Black Skin & Brown Skin

Lately, I told you about the best MAC lipsticks for dark skin and the best lipstick shades for medium skin, so how about we talk about all the shades you can get if you’re looking for the best MAC lip liner for dark skin and brown skin? By brown skin, I mean light or medium brown skin with African or Latino roots, as I’ve already told you about the best MAC lip liners for Indian skin lately.

However, you know what I’m like; I like really breaking down shades perfect for each skin tone, but if you are, for instance, Indian with dark skin, Asian with tan skin, or even, say, Moroccan with dark olive skin, you’ll be able to find here lots of amazing MAC lip liners for brown skin that can work on many, many different skin tones.

I myself have a fair olive skin tone, as a reminder, I’m an NW15 to NW20 when I tan. However, from all my time spent working at MAC Cosmetics, I’ve tried and applied many different MAC brown lip liners, amazing nude brown lipsticks, and various colors on countless skin tones.

That’s how I’m able to come up with complete guides to the best MAC matte lipsticks, the best Amplified lipsticks, and other Satin lipstick shades, along with lots of different lipstick and lip liner combinations as well, like the best MAC Soar lip liner and lipstick combos, or matches with the Spice lip liner, the Cork lip liner, or the Whirl lip liner too.

Today, we’ll talk about the shades for the best MAC lip liner for dark skin and brown skin – shades that medium skin tones can use as well as many Asian and fair skin tones too!

And if you’d like to discover even more amazing MAC Cosmetics products, here are a few guides you might really enjoy:

• The Best MAC Coral Lipsticks
• The Best MAC Mauve Lipsticks
• The Best MAC Red Lipsticks
• The Best MAC Berry Lipsticks
• The Best MAC Burgundy Lipsticks

16 Best MAC Lip Liner for Dark Skin, Black Skin & Brown Skin

It’s really hard to define what ‘dark skin’ or ‘black skin’ means – anything from medium skin tones, from around NC30/35 upwards could be described as dark skin, isn’t it?

But there are so many beautiful shades of black skin, from light brown to deep brown with blue undertones, that I felt like it wouldn’t do justice to everyone if I just talked about some brown shades, and left out colors that can be worn by most brown and black skin tones.

That’s why in this guide, we’ll see most of what could also be considered the best MAC lip liners for medium skin, along with some that you might also have seen in my guide to the best MAC lip liners for fair skin as well.

In the end, you know your skin tone better than I, who have never seen you, and most importantly, you know what you like in makeup.

So what we’re going to do is I’ll give you as many tips with lipsticks to combine these lipsticks with, even if in the end, the best result for me and MAC lip liners is to wear them on their own, with the perfect Lipglass in Clear on top.

As always, makeup is supposed to be fun, so never be afraid to experiment and make mistakes along the way!

Best MAC Lip Liner for Dark Skin: Whirl

Dirty rose

The first one, and one of the best MAC lip liners for overlining, is the Whirl lip liner. There are countless lipsticks you can wear this one with, from the Twig lipstick to the eponymous Whirl lipstick, and even on its own or with Clear Lipglass on top.

The MAC Whirl lip liner is part of the matte range, which can be a tad drying if you’re prone to dry lips to start with, so I’d always recommend wearing some Prep + Prime for lips underneath.

This is a beautiful MAC lip liner for brown skin, medium skin, and black skin who want to spot the tinge of pink in the shade of the Whirl lipstick.

Read: The Best Duochrome and Multichrome Eyeshadows

Best MAC Lip Liner for Dark Skin: Plum

Potent reddened plum

Now, I feel like the Plum lip liner is one of the ultimate shades to have in your stash if you’re looking for the best MAC lip liner for dark skin and brown skin.

It wears very well, with a really full, muted plum color which goes really well whether you want to wear super light lipsticks with it like the Amplified lipstick Blankety, or something a bit darker like the Matte lipstick Soar.

A stunning color to wear on its own on black lips, with a beautiful, muted purple finish, and also really beautiful to wear with a berry lipstick or a mauve shade.

I’d wear the Plum lip liner with some muted burgundy too, or even a MAC red lipstick like Ruby Woo, Russian Red, or Viva Glam 1 to redefine the contour of the lips.

Read: The Best MAC Spice Lip Liner and Lipstick Combinations

Best MAC Lip Liner for Dark Skin: Cork

Muted golden brown

The MAC Cork lip liner is one of my ultimate favorites; if you’ve got medium, brown or dark skin with warm undertones, this one is quickly going to become one of your favorites.

It’s the best MAC lip liner for dark skin if you don’t want to go for the all-time famous Chestnut lip liner, which is slightly darker and much cooler-toned.

With the Cork lip liner, you can add some Lipglass in Spice on top, and beautiful light brown 90s lipsticks like Mocha, Bronx, or Spirit on top, and you’ve got the perfect everyday nude lips.

One of the best MAC lip liners for overlining, with a full, warm brown color and a stunning finish coupled with lighter nude lipsticks.

Read: The Best MAC Velvet Teddy and Lip Liner Combinations

Best MAC Lip Liner for Dark Skin: Nightmoth

Blackened plum

I have lost track of how many Nightmoth lip liners I have sold customers when I was working at MAC Cosmetics, but one thing I know for sure is that it’s the best MAC lip liner for dark skin if you’re looking for pair a purple, berry, burgundy, or pink lipstick with it.

What I love about the Nightmoth lip liner is its really black plum color; it would have looked amazing with the shade Punk Couture if it hadn’t been discontinued, for one.

You can pair it with Rebel, which is one of the most beautiful winter MAC lipsticks, or with much lighter and pinker colors like the Mehr lipstick, Cosmo, Twig, or even the Creme Cup lipstick to allow both colors to mix.

Read: The Best Gold Lipsticks from Matte to Metallic

Best MAC Lip Liner For Dark Skin: Chestnut

Intense brown

When you think of the most perfect, the best MAC lip liner for dark skin and brown skin, and if you’re a little bit of a fan of MAC Cosmetics, you’d think of the Chestnut lip liner straight away.

It is incredible the number of people; from medium skin to really black skin, on whom the MAC Chestnut lip liner looks incredible.

It’s one of the very best MAC dark brown lip liners for overlining, just because it blends so well with dark skin. With it, you can literally wear almost any MAC Satin lipstick, Amplified, Cremesheen, Powder Kiss, Love Me Lipstick, and whatnot you’d like.

The thing is, the color of the Chestnut lip liner on dark skin melts so well that if you’d just like to create a nice ombre lip look with, for instance, the Whirl lipstick, the Lustreglass lipstick Hug Me or I Deserve This, or any other brown shade, it will look awesome.

But another reason that this is, in my opinion, the best MAC lip liner for dark skin and medium skin is that even with some more colorful lipsticks, like a nice mauve shade, a burgundy lipstick like Diva or Sin, Chestnut is still dark enough to create a subtle ombre lip on the corner of the lips. Absolutely stunning, and a must-have.

Read: The Best Juvia’s Place Eyeshadow Palettes

Best MAC Lip Liner For Dark Skin: Cherry

Vivid bright bluish-red

If I had to choose the best MAC lip liner for dark skin for someone after a red lip liner, I’d probably either go for Cherry or Brick.

We’ll see the Brick lip liner a bit later, but the Cherry lip liner is in my opinion one of the best picks for a bright red lip with lipsticks like Russian Red or Ruby Woo.

I like the Ruby Woo lip liner a lot; but I just think that it’s one of the best MAC lip liner shades for fair skin more than brown and black skin, simply because it’s much brighter than the Cherry lip liner.

With Cherry, you’ve got a more blue-toned red, which means it will look less bright, and much more elegant than Ruby Woo, which I feel is better suited to medium skin tones than dark skin tones to wear on a daily basis.

Read: The Best Revolution Eyeshadow Palettes

Best MAC Lip Liner for Dark Skin: Beet

Vivid reddish pink

The Beet lip liner has been one of my favorites for a long time; it goes with most of the stunning MAC berry lipsticks and raspberry shades, and it’s also perfect with some of the lighter pink colors as well.

Really not a MAC lip liner for overlining in my opinion, but really something to wear with lipstick of the same color.

However, if I had to do it my way, I’d really only apply the MAC Beet lip liner on dark lips on its own, with maybe some of the Chestnut lip liner or Nightmoth on the edges, and gloss the whole thing over with the Lipglass in Clear.

Read: The Best MAC Lip Liners for Indian Skin

Best MAC Lip Liner for Dark Skin: Burgundy

Brownish burgundy

Burgundy, like the Chestnut lip liner, is the best MAC lip liner for dark skin if you want to find a true burgundy shade for lipsticks like Viva Glam 1, Russian Red, or Dubonnet.

It’s one of my favorite MAC lip liners because it offers a true dark red color which looks amazing with lots of the amazing MAC maroon lipsticks.

On fair skin, the MAC Burgundy lip liner gives that elegant, vamp look, while on brown and dark skin tones, it gives off that even more sophisticated vibe than what you’d have with a brighter red – perfect to pair with a bridal lipstick, for instance.

Isn’t it part of why we wear burgundy lipsticks and lip liners in the first place, anyway? A stunning MAC lip liner for brown skin and black skin, especially for overlining lighter lipsticks.

Read: The Best Max and More Eyeshadow Palettes

Best MAC Lip Liner for Brown Skin: Mahogany

Intense reddish brown

Mahogany is one of the best brown MAC lip liners, and it goes with some of the most interesting brown and reddish MAC lipsticks, from Chili to Marrakesh, and from Mocha to Creme d’Nude.

The Mahogany lip liner is another one of the best MAC lip liners for overlining if you’ve got brown or dark skin, especially if you’re looking for something really redder than the Cork or the Chestnut lip liners.

One of my go-to shades, and perfect if you’re looking for the best MAC lip liner for dark skin but really don’t want something too dark or too brown.

Later on in this guide, we’ll also see its little brother, the Auburn lip liner, which you should definitely check out if you’re into that reddish brown vibe.

Read: The Best Delanci Eyeshadow Palettes

Best MAC Lip Liner for Dark Skin: Vino

Intense violet purple

I sold a lot of the MAC Vino lip liners back when I was working at MAC Cosmetics; it’s one of the best shades of MAC lip liner for dark skin, especially for people who love wearing shades like Heroine and Rebel.

It’s incredible on black skin and really gives off a stylish, trendy purple vibe on dark lips which can be combined with some shimmery olive eyeshadow to complete the look.

I love Vino, and I have personally worn it quite a lot during the fall and winter time. Some of the best MAC lipstick and Vino lip liner combos would include Rebel and Heroine.

Yet, if you want to go a bit further, try Creme Cup, Violetta, Myth, or even Fast Play, one of the most hydrating MAC lipstick shades for medium to dark skin.

Read: The Best Yankee Candle Scents for All Year

Best MAC Lip Liner for Dark Skin: Soar

Mid-tone cool mauve

The Soar lip liner has been a famous shade ever since I can remember, and very probably way before that as well. It’s known for being one of the best MAC lip liners for overlining all sorts of matte lipsticks like Soar, Mehr, or You Wouldn’t Get It, or shades like Twig.

There are lots of amazing combos to create with MAC lipsticks and the Soar lip liner, and on dark lips, it’s one of the most beautiful mauve lipsticks from the brand.

Perfect if you’d like to go a little bit statement, as on dark skin, you’ll get much more of a mauve, muted greyish color than a true pink with the Soar lip liner.

Perfect to wear under the Lipglass in Clear, once again – there’s nothing this gem of a lipgloss can’t do, anyway.

Read: The Strongest Bath and Body Works Candles

Best MAC Lip Liner For Dark Skin: Cyber World

Intense blackish-purple

I love the Cyber World lip liner, on black skin, it looks powerful and otherworldly.

If you like the Nightmoth lip liner but would like to go for something even cooler-toned, you’re going to love it – this is the best MAC lip liner for dark skin and brown skin who want to pair some really blue lipsticks.

For instance, you can wear the Cyber World lip liner on dark skin with Heroine and Rebel.

Yet, if you’d really like to change and contrast the color of the lipstick even more, try the Faux lipstick on top, Fanfare from the Cremesheen range, or why not Succumb to Plum from the Lustreglass range?

The latter has almost the same color, and together, they look beautiful on brown and black skin.

Read: The Best Makeup Revolution MAC Lipstick Dupes

Best MAC Lip Liner for Dark Skin: Brick

Intense golden red

We talked about the Cherry lip liner at the beginning of this post, and I told you we’d talk about the Brick lip liner as well. On brown and dark skin, you can really see the warm undertone of the Brick lip liner much more than what you’d notice on fair and Asian skin tones.

This is a beautiful red lip liner on dark skin, perfect with some warmer red lipsticks like Cockney or Ladybug and some gold eyeshadow.

When you wear the MAC Brick lip liner under that kind of lipstick, you’ll get a much fuller color, and the colors will only mix a little bit to make the result a tad warmer.

If what you’re looking for is a MAC lip liner for dark skin to overline a lighter lipstick, then some interesting options could be Lady Danger, Red Rock, So Chaud, or Morange, which all have an orange tone.

Read: The Best MAC Lip Liners for Taupe, Honeylove and Kinda Sexy

Best MAC Lip Liner for Dark Skin: Half Red

Soft burgundy

Half Red is one of my favorite lip liners from MAC Cosmetics; like Plum that I love comparing it to, it’s much more muted than colors like Vino or Burgundy.

That makes that kind of lip liner perfect for medium, brown, and dark skin, especially if you’re looking for a kind of red MAC lip liner to wear on its own on a daily basis.

Half Red is the best MAC lip liner for dark skin to wear on its own, or you can try to mix some muted lipstick shades like Twig with it, or even Whirl to get a reddish brown result.

Read: The Best DW Home Candles

Best MAC Lip Liner for Dark Skin: Stone

Muted greyish-taupe brown

I remember the first time I bought the MAC Stone lip liner; the color was scaring me out of my guts, but I loved it so much that I wore it again and again – even with my fair olive skin.

It’s probably one of the best choices if you’re looking for the best MAC lip liner for dark skin and brown skin, especially if you’re looking to go really cool-toned, and really statement with some desaturated lipstick shades like the Retro Matte Bronx shade.

It looks really beautiful, really out there on its own, so if you’d like to tone down the greyish taupe color, wear it with lipstick like Honeylove on top, Myth, or Spirit, or even Coffee & Cigs from the Love Me Lipstick range.

Read: The Best Chocolate Scented Candles

Best MAC Lip Liner For Dark Skin: Auburn

Intense orange-reddish brown

I have always loved applying the Auburn lip liner on dark skin; it’s one of the most interesting shades if you like the Mahogany lip liner.

Where Mahogany is much more brown, Auburn has a more red color, with just a tinge of brown. It looks perfect with lipsticks like Marrakesh-mere from the Powder Kiss range, or the matte lipsticks Chili and Marrakesh.

Even with my olive skin, I can wear the Auburn lip liner without it looking too orange, but I’d definitely mostly recommend it for medium, brown, and dark skin with warm undertones.

To contrast that color, I’d probably also apply some dark blue eyeshadow, maybe blended with a mixing medium to create a sharp blue eyeliner.

Read: The Best Coffee Scented Candles

16 Best MAC Lip Liner for Dark Skin, Black Skin & Brown Skin

There you have them, all the best options if you’re looking for the best MAC lip liner for dark skin! I’ve tried to include as many of the lip liners I would use most on black skin, brown skin, and medium skin tones.

As I said at the beginning, whether you’re looking for the best MAC lip liners for overlining a nude lipstick or something to wear on its own, you know your skin tone best, and you know what you like in makeup.

See if you’re down to try new mixes with some brighter shades like the Beet lip liner and the Cherry lip liner, or if you’d just like to find a new MAC lip liner shade to wear on a daily basis like Vino, Nightmoth, or Chestnut!

Until next time!

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