Your shade was discontinued. What to look for
The name is gone. The color is still describable.
By Ximena · 3 min read · Updated Oct 29, 2026
When a shade is discontinued, describe it instead of chasing its name. Write the old shade as depth, temperature and clarity, then add its finish and coverage.
The rest of the answer
Search by those words, pick two or three finalists, and swatch them side by side on a fingertip by a window. Stay within one step of the old depth, change one thing at a time, and stop when one passes.
Shade discontinued; mourners asked to bring swatches
The memorial will be held by a window.
You lost a name, not a color. Describe the color and the search can start again.
Describe the shade you lost
- Depth
- Clarity
- Temperature
Write it as depth, temperature and clarity, then add the finish.
Tradition
Why, and how solid
Hold what is left of the old tube, or a swatch card you kept, and say it in plain words: mid-deep, cool, a little muted, satin, medium coverage. That one line is what you search for, in a store, on a shade page or when you ask a counter.
Write your old shade as depth, temperature, clarity, finish and coverage in one line before you search.
Why: a name belongs to one brand and one year, while a line like that can be matched by any brand.
Tradition Makeup practice. I found no study of how people replace a discontinued shade.
Write the shade as one line, and any brand can match it.
Check depth before anything else
- 1
- 2
- 3
- 4
- old shade5
- 6
- 7
- 8
- 9
Stay within one step of the old depth.
Tradition
Why, and how solid
Depth is the hardest thing to fix later. Hold the finalists against the gray strip from the kit, or swatch them side by side, and drop any that sit clearly lighter or deeper than the old one. Then check temperature, then clarity.
Drop any finalist that sits more than one step lighter or deeper than the old shade, then compare temperature and clarity.
Why: depth changes how loud a lip reads and whether it fades into your skin, so it matters most for a swap.
Tradition A rule of thumb from makeup practice. Why a shade fades is in the lipstick article.
Compare the finalists in one row
Swatch the finalists side by side, on a fingertip, by a window.
Tradition
Why, and how solid
Store lights tint everything, and a swatch on the back of your hand is not your lips. Put two or three finalists in a row on a fingertip, look by a window, then try the best one on your lips. If you adjust, change one thing at a time.
Swatch two or three finalists in a row on a fingertip, look by a window, and test the best one on your lips.
Why: light changes color, and a row lets you see differences you would forget between single swatches. One change at a time shows which one did the work.
Tradition Changing one thing at a time is standard measurement. The fingertip swatch is makeup practice.
Judge the finalists by a window, not the store light.
it is gone. we describe.
and then we find its cousin.
Questions people ask
Where do I find the words to search?
Your season's makeup page lists the families and the words to look for in a shade name, such as berry, wine or plum. Makeup by season has them.
Are dupe lists reliable?
They are a starting point. A list is written from someone's screen and light, so check any name against your own window. That goes for any list, this site's included.
What if the finish is different?
Finish changes how light and your own lip color show. If the color passes depth, temperature and clarity, give it a try. If it fails, no finish will fix it. Love the shade, not the formula covers the formula side.
Should I buy a spare of a shade I still love?
That is your call, and the palette does not make it. If it still works for you and you like having a spare, it is a fair choice.
Sources
- Palette Girlies season tables and makeup pages, for the lip families, the three readings and the gray strip. Makeup by season
I found no study of how people replace a discontinued shade. The one-step depth rule, the fingertip row and the one-line description are makeup practice and my own method. How the evidence seals work
Already know your season? Jump to its lip colors.
The free test finds your season, so you search the right family from the start.
