I Spent Years Looking for This Nude. So I Made It.

The very real story behind Nude — Cutesy Lip Filter™

Written by Shahd, Founder of SHADE BY SHAHD

I have a confession.

For years, I made my own nude lipstick every time I did my makeup.

One shade was too beige. Another was too pink. One was too light, another too dark, so I mixed two—sometimes three.

And whenever I accidentally created the colour I wanted, I thought:

Why can’t someone just put this in one bottle?

I searched everywhere: Sephora, beauty stores, different brands and different countries. I found beautiful nudes, but never the one in my head.

I wanted that perfect meeting point between beige and pink. A true nude that didn’t sit on my lips, but blended into them.

My lips, but better. The version I had imagined.

And once I believe something can exist, “close enough” becomes very difficult to accept.

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THEN MY ADHD DIAGNOSIS EXPLAINED A FEW THINGS.

I was diagnosed with ADHD later in life, and suddenly my ability to become completely absorbed in an idea made more sense.

When I know what I want and believe it’s possible, I can’t easily let it go.

If I can see it in my head, I want to know:

Why can’t I have it in real life?

That mindset is useful when creating lipstick.

Possibly less useful for everyone around you.

But Nude wasn’t born from my obsession alone. It also came from four women I love.

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IT STARTED IN MY BATHROOM.

Not in a laboratory. Not in a branding meeting. Not with a trend report.

My bathroom.

Four of my best friends and me, playing with makeup. A very glamorous beginning to a beauty brand.

I’ve always been the friend who notices what makes other women look their best—not because they need changing, but because I love seeing beauty enhanced rather than covered.

So while we were trying different colours, I looked at one of my friends and said:

“Wait. Let me mix something for you.”

I mixed a little of one shade with a little of another.

No formula. No lab. Just me being extremely specific about colour.

And then—

there it was.

We all looked at it. She looked at herself. I looked at her.

I knew immediately:

That was the Nude.

I took a picture because I knew I had to remember it.

The problem? We couldn’t buy it anywhere.

Everything else was slightly lighter, darker, pinker, browner or simply not it.

Always almost. Never it.

That little bathroom mixture stayed in my head.

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THE FOUR WOMEN BEHIND NUDE TAUGHT ME SOMETHING ELSE.

My friends don’t all look alike. They have different features, complexions and personalities. Two have more similar skin tones, while the others are different.

They weren’t selected for a beauty experiment.

They’re simply my best friends.

And somehow, the same Nude made sense on all four of them.

One friend, in particular, helped me understand something important:

SKIN TONE ISN’T THE WHOLE STORY. YOUR NATURAL LIP COLOUR MATTERS TOO.

She naturally has more pigment and depth in her lips, which made finding her perfect Nude difficult.

A shade could suit her skin but look too light on her lips. Another could look too dark. Some looked beautiful in the tube but completely different against her natural lip colour.

She needed the middle point:

Not too light. Not too dark. Not too little. Not too much.

Most importantly, she didn’t need to erase her natural lips before applying lipstick.

She needed a shade that worked with what was already there.

We talk constantly about finding lipstick for our skin tone, but lipstick isn’t applied to skin. It’s applied to lips that already have their own colour.

Even women with similar complexions can have completely different natural lip pigmentation.

So Nude had another job.

I didn’t just want it to look beautiful.

I wanted it to meet each woman where she already was.

When my friend tried the developing Nude, it balanced her natural lip colour, complexion and the shade perfectly.

She still looked like herself.

The lipstick wasn’t fighting her.

It was working with her.

And finally, she felt like she had found her Nude.

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THEN I REALISED THE FOUR OF THEM SHARED SOMETHING.

It wasn’t their faces, skin tones or personalities.

It was harder to explain.

IT WAS A MOOD.

They share something in their taste, energy and the way they move through life. Two were already best friends, but somehow all four naturally clicked.

They’re simple in the best way.

Subtle. Effortless. Never trying too hard.

But don’t confuse subtle with weak.

They’re strong, bold, gorgeous and full of opinions. They have presence. And when they love someone, they love deeply.

They show up. They care. They love their people fiercely.

There’s softness there, but strength underneath it.

And suddenly I realised:

That’s Nude.

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NUDE DOESN’T SHOUT.

It doesn’t need to.

It’s simple, but never basic. Soft, but never invisible. Subtle, but somehow noticeable.

It doesn’t enter the room before the woman wearing it.

It lets you notice her first.

Her face. Her eyes. Her skin. Her.

She could be wearing jeans and a white T-shirt, no makeup at all, dressed for a meeting or in full glam at midnight.

She could be fair, light or deeper in complexion. Her lips could be naturally light or highly pigmented.

Nude isn’t one face. It’s a mood.

Simple, but never basic.

Subtle, but never invisible.

Soft, but never weak.

Beautiful, but so much more than beautiful.

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THEN I DECIDED TO ACTUALLY MAKE IT.

This is where the cute bathroom story became much less cute.

Creating the colour professionally was far harder than mixing two lipsticks at home.

I searched for the right laboratory and factory. I tested, changed, rejected, questioned and tested again. Eventually, I began working on samples from Italy.

But finding the right product was only part of the challenge. I also needed people who understood my standards and were willing to keep working through every detail with me.

Then I discovered another challenge:

Bringing a beauty product into my own country is not simple.

There were laws, regulations, approvals, paperwork and processes to navigate. When I started SHADE BY SHAHD, there was still very little knowledge around locally made makeup.

There weren’t many people in the industry, established resources or an obvious path to follow.

So I wasn’t only developing lipstick. I was learning an entire industry while building the product.

I had to search, ask questions, find the right partners, understand what was possible and keep going when everything took longer than expected.

There were also periods when life had to come first. Life-changing events stopped me for months at a time from working, travelling or focusing on formulas, packaging and production.

Sometimes the brand had to wait.

So when I say this took years, I don’t mean I spent every day developing lipstick.

I mean the dream stayed with me through the pauses, delays, difficult seasons and moments when I had to step away.

Every time I returned, I still cared about getting it right.

I didn’t want to release something just because I had already spent years on it.

I wanted something I could proudly put my name on—something I could sell without secretly thinking:

“I wish this part were better.”

That mattered more than launching quickly.

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I LOVED THE IDEA OF LONGWEAR. I JUST DIDN’T LOVE WEARING IT.

As the colour began to take shape, I realised I had another problem to solve: the formula.

I wanted lipstick that could survive coffee, conversations, laughter, food, work and a full day out.

But many longwear formulas gave me something I couldn’t ignore:

I could feel them.

The tightness. The dryness. The constant awareness that I was wearing lipstick.

Sometimes the colour stayed for hours, but I still wanted to remove it.

That made me question what longwear should actually mean.

What’s the point of lipstick lasting all day if your lips spend all day waiting to be rescued?

I wanted the staying power.

I didn’t want the longwear feeling.

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AND IT ALWAYS FELT LIKE I HAD TO CHOOSE.

I’d find a colour I loved but dislike the formula.

I’d find serious longwear but not the right shade.

I’d find a beautiful matte that left my lips uncomfortable.

Or something creamy and comfortable that didn’t last.

It always felt like lipstick was asking me to choose:

Great colour OR great formula.

Longwear OR comfort.

Matte OR moisture.

Eventually, I thought:

WHY AM I CHOOSING?

Why can’t I have all of it?

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I DIDN’T WANT TO RECREATE A LIPSTICK I COULD ALREADY BUY.

There are thousands of lipsticks in the world.

Putting my name on another one wasn’t enough.

The way women use makeup is changing. We mix shades, contour our lips, brighten the centre, layer colours and create combinations.

We want makeup that looks natural but perfected—products that work with our real features instead of covering everything underneath.

Trends change. Techniques change. Women’s relationship with makeup changes.

So why shouldn’t the product evolve too?

I didn’t want to ask:

“What lipstick can we sell?”

I wanted to ask:

“WHAT DO I WISH EXISTED IN MY MAKEUP BAG?”

And:

“WHAT DO THE WOMEN AROUND ME ACTUALLY NEED?”

Those questions are harder.

They’re also why SHADE BY SHAHD exists.

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I WANTED MY LIPS TO STILL FEEL LIKE LIPS.

This became one of my biggest non-negotiables while developing Lip App™.

I didn’t want a heavy layer sitting on my lips. I didn’t want stiffness, stickiness or constant awareness of the product.

And I didn’t want matte to mean sacrificing comfort.

I wanted creamy mousse when it went on, a lightweight feel while wearing it, a soft matte finish and serious staying power.

Most importantly:

I wanted to enjoy wearing it—not tolerate it because it lasted.

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LONGWEAR SHOULDN’T BE SOMETHING YOU HAVE TO ENDURE.

It should be something you can almost forget about.

So the idea became simple:

KEEP THE WEAR. LOSE THE FEELING.

Give me the colour, matte finish and staying power—but let my lips stay comfortable.

My wish list became slightly ridiculous:

Long-lasting.

Comfortable.

Moisturizing.

Mousse-soft.

Lightweight.

Non-sticky.

Matte.

Natural-looking.

Soft-focus.

Beautifully pigmented.

And obviously—

in my very specific colours.

All in one product.

That’s when I learned that saying “I want everything” is much easier than formulating everything.

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COLOUR AND FORMULA HAD TO WORK TOGETHER.

I didn’t want five beautiful colours in whatever longwear formula was available.

And I didn’t want an incredible formula in colours that were only close enough.

What good is my perfect Nude if I don’t enjoy wearing it?

And what good is an amazing formula if I open it and think:

I already own this colour.

The formula and shades had to meet each other.

That meant trials, changes, samples, more trials, more changes and a lot of patience.

Sometimes fixing one thing affected another.

This is where my obsessive side became useful—and probably annoying.

I wasn’t trying to tick boxes so someone could say:

“Okay, Shahd. We have a lipstick. Launch it.”

I was trying to solve the lipstick problem I’d had for years.

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I WANTED A MATTE THAT STILL FELT LIKE IT CARED ABOUT MY LIPS.

I love the look of matte. It feels modern, natural and effortless.

I just don’t believe it should feel like punishment.

Our developing formula incorporated Sunflower Oil, Rosehip Oil and Vitamin E as part of its skincare-inspired approach to lip comfort.

I wanted the mousse to glide on beautifully, feel lightweight and leave a velvety matte finish.

Then I became obsessed with the blur.

The way it softened the appearance of little lip lines and creases. The way lips looked smoother, softer and almost filtered.

Once you notice it, you can’t unsee it.

That’s where Lip Filter began to make perfect sense.

It looks like someone quietly turned on a filter.

Except—

it’s not on your screen.

It’s on your lips.

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I TESTED IT THROUGH REAL LIFE.

Once the formula and colour felt close, I wore them constantly.

Morning. Afternoon. Evening. Late at night.

With jeans, work outfits, white T-shirts, full glam and everything in between.

I tested it with no makeup, soft makeup, full coverage, smoky eyes, fresh skin, different blushes and different lip combinations.

I wore it in natural daylight, indoor lighting, evening lighting and the kind of lighting that makes every product look different.

I wore it while working, talking, eating, drinking coffee and living normal days.

I watched the colour, finish, comfort and how it settled over time.

I didn’t want to love it only for the first ten minutes.

I wanted to know if I would still love it after wearing it all day.

I also shared it with respected, well-known makeup artists who had tried countless products and formulas.

Their reactions surprised me.

They weren’t politely impressed. They were genuinely stunned by the texture, finish and colour.

They applied it, looked again and immediately asked about the other shades.

They wanted to try them, wear them and keep using them.

They weren’t reacting to my story.

They were reacting to what they could see and feel on their lips.

That’s when I knew:

This wasn’t only something I wanted. It was real.

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MY BEST FRIENDS BECAME MY WORST SAMPLE TESTERS.

By “worst,” I mean they refused to give anything back.

I gave them samples to try.

They heard:

“This belongs to you now.”

They took them, wore them, finished them and asked:

“Do you have another one?”

That meant more to me than simply hearing:

“Shahd, I love it.”

My friends aren’t the:

“OMG, everything you do is amazing!”

kind of friends.

Thank God.

They tell me the truth, even when I didn’t ask for it.

If they didn’t like the lipstick, they wouldn’t wear it.

If it wasn’t comfortable, it would disappear into a drawer.

If the colour wasn’t useful in real life, they wouldn’t finish it.

I never had to ask:

“Please wear my lipstick.”

I gave it to them.

THE LIPSTICK DID THE REST.

Before launch numbers, sales or anyone else knew SHADE BY SHAHD, that felt like success.

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THREE YEARS SOUNDS LIKE A LONG TIME FOR LIPSTICK.

It is.

But I wasn’t racing anyone.

I’ve worked on SHADE BY SHAHD for around three years, but those years were not a straight line.

There were life-changing events that stopped me for months from working, travelling or giving the brand the attention it needed.

There were times when I couldn’t meet factories, review samples or move the project forward.

Finding the right product, factory and path to bring it into my country also took time.

When I started, there was very little knowledge around locally made makeup, few people in the industry and not many established resources to follow.

The laws and regulations were also complicated.

I had to learn the process while building the product: find the right factory, understand what was possible, work through regulations and find a way to make the product available in my own country.

That made everything slower.

But it also made the dream bigger.

I don’t only want to bring products into my country.

I plan to create my own formula here and eventually send it to women and girls around the world.

I want to build something that begins here but reaches far beyond here.

Something made with care, from a place people may not expect to become a beauty manufacturing destination.

That’s part of what makes SHADE BY SHAHD meaningful to me.

I’m not only creating a lipstick.

I’m creating a path, a formula and a beauty story that can travel from my country to women everywhere.

So yes, three years is a long time for lipstick.

But I wasn’t just making lipstick.

I was building something I could genuinely be proud of.

Something I could confidently put my name on.

Something I would choose even if nobody knew it was mine.

That’s the question I kept coming back to:

WOULD I CHOOSE THIS IF NOBODY KNEW IT WAS MINE?

Because SHADE BY SHAHD couldn’t only be something I was proud to sell.

It had to be something I genuinely wanted to wear.

And something funny happened while developing these shades:

I stopped searching for the lipsticks I had spent years trying to find.

Because I was finally wearing them.

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AND YES, NOW WE’RE PUTTING THE FILTER ON YOUR SCREEN TOO.

We’re working on a way for you to virtually try all five SHADE BY SHAHD colours on your own face.

Try them. Switch between them. Compare them. Screenshot them.

Send them to your best friend and ask:

“Which one is my SHADE?”

Apparently, mixing lipstick with your girlfriends in a bathroom can become a business model.

And if you’re still unsure?

Ask me.

I want to help women in the SHADE BY SHAHD community find the shade that genuinely suits them.

I’m not going to tell you every colour is your perfect colour just because they’re all mine.

That’s not how I am.

And it’s definitely not how my friends are.

If I think another shade suits you better—

I’ll tell you.

Honestly. Directly. Like the friend standing beside you while you get ready.

Because sometimes the best beauty advice isn’t:

“That colour is beautiful.”

It’s:

“THAT ONE. THAT’S YOUR SHADE.”

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SO WHO IS THE CUTESY GIRL?

She’s not one skin tone, age or face.

She doesn’t have to look like my four best friends.

CUTESY IS AN ENERGY.

Effortless but particular.

Soft but strong.

Simple but never boring.

Subtle but never invisible.

She loves beauty, but doesn’t need makeup to turn her into someone else.

She loves her people deeply. She knows what she likes. And maybe she’s a little obsessive about finding exactly what she wants.

I can relate.

She might wear Nude with no makeup, to work, with jeans and a white T-shirt, or with sunglasses and messy hair.

Or she might contour it with Dark Brown Nude — Star Lip Filter™, go full glam and wear the same Nude at midnight.

The lipstick doesn’t decide who she is.

She does.

Nude simply goes with her.

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NUDE — CUTESY LIP FILTER™

This colour started as something I couldn’t find.

Then it became a bathroom mixture.

Then a picture on my phone.

Then four women I love.

Then one friend’s struggle with her natural lip pigmentation.

Then a problem I wanted to solve.

Then a search for the right formula, factory and way to bring it into my country.

Then days of testing it in every light, at every time of day, with every outfit and makeup look.

Then testing it with makeup artists whose reactions showed me that other people could see and feel what I was trying to create.

Then years of developing, wearing, questioning and testing.

There were pauses, delays, life-changing events and months when the brand had to wait.

But the idea never left me.

And finally—

it became one shade.

My Nude.

Their Nude.

And hopefully—

YOUR NUDE.

Because the perfect Nude shouldn’t erase what’s already beautiful about you.

It should understand it.

And the perfect longwear shouldn’t make you spend the day thinking about taking it off.

It should let you forget you’re wearing it.

One day, I hope this formula—and the formulas that come after it—can be made here in my country and sent to women and girls all over the world.

NUDE — CUTESY LIP FILTER™

One of the three Hero Shades of SHADE BY SHAHD.

Four women. Different beauty. One energy. One Nude.

These shades didn’t begin with a colour chart.

They began with real women.

And this one began with four of mine.

Written by Shahd, Founder of SHADE BY SHAHD.