Lipstick Masala

When it comes to undergarments, I have to admit I’m pretty lazy about matching them to my clothes. Recently, a good friend of mine visiting from Mumbai was horrified at my poor coordination and called me out for wearing a black bra under a yellow shirt… and a light pink shirt… and a white wifebeater (thank you JD, I needed that!). Sorry for revealing awkward personal info, but it’s for a good cause. When we’re in a rush, many of us convince ourselves that no one can realllllly see what color our bra is. Trust me girls, everyone can. That white bra that you wear under your lighter clothes? It’s like you put a neon sign around your chest – really, you might as well have gone shirtless. I realized this at a late point in my teenage years – wearing white bras is the worst thing one can do to oneself – yes, they are even worse than my black faux pas.

Fashion experts insist that we wear nude lingerie for daily wear. Why? Because it so closely resembles our own skin tone that it does not stand out the way black and white do under clothes. This may be true, but having one color of “skin tone” represent all women from fair to dark kind of defeats the idea behind nude lingerie. An African American woman is not going to feel like she’s “wearing her own skin” in a bra that was made for a Caucasian woman. And one amazing company has finally recognized this mistake and I just had to let you all in on what I consider to be the best thing since sliced bread.

MySkins is a lingerie company that aims to “provide the widest range of skin tone colors to match your beautiful skin.” There are 20 different nude shades in their line of bras and panties to match your particular skin tone. And what’s best is, they’re also seamless so they don’t stand out against your clothes – no visible lines! The product was test marketed amongst hundreds of women of all ethnicities so that the product could match 95% of all women in the world. Finally, someone is looking out for the Asian people! Lingerie, in my skin color, that is comfortable and undetectable under my yellow shirt? I love it. I’m sure somewhere back in Mumbai JD is proud.

Unfortunately, because the company is still relatively young, the products are only available online at myskins.com. But, they have a great return policy if you are not fully satisfied. In order to choose your color, you can either print out or have mailed to you a Skin Tone Color Card, with which you match your skin against the 20 shades listed. The bras run at $48 and panties at $12. The price is a little steep, but then again, I guess it’s nothing more than I would pay for ill-fitting bras at Victoria’s Secret.

The Color Match Card:

Before and After Photos:

DISCOUNT AVAILABLE: O Magazine is offering a 25% off on MySkins products. Simply enter the code OM25% at checkout. Offer expires 8/14/09.