Red lips. Bold. Daring. Captivating. And so many choices that your head may spin trying to choose one. The level of comfort when wearing a red lip varies from person to person, some feeling confident in a full coverage, matte, fire engine red shade, while others prefer a sheer wine-colored hue that can simply give the look of subtle elegance.
To help ease some of this red lip anxiety I have rounded up a variety of shades that run the gamut from intense and bold to delicate and sheer. For hard core makeup lovers out there, consider this an exercise in a red lip wardrobe – with something for everyone and for all occasions.
Red Lipsticks with Slight Blue Undertones
Shades such as these often look great on cooler skin tones. Note that you can have a cool skin tone even if you have darker skin. A sure fire way to figure out if you are a cooler skin tone is if you look good in silver jewelry. The geeky science side of me also suggests looking at your veins, and if they have a blue-ish cast, you are a cool skin tone. If you burn easily when in the sun, you have a cool skin tone. Simple! Celebs that have a slightly cooler skin tone: Madonna, Drew Barrymore and Reese Witherspoon. Consider trying the following:
Red Lipsticks with Orange Undertones
With colors that have a strong orange base, women who have a warmer based skintone often wear these the best. A warmer skintone has a golden or more yellow undertone and typically looks great in gold jewelry. If you tan when out in the sun then you have a warm skin tone. Another way to determine is again to look at your veins and they should have a more green cast to them – beauty is a science, see?! If you have this skin tone, you are in good company with Jennifer Lopez, Megan Fox and Beyonce. Here are some great choices:
Burgundy Red Shades of Lipstick
These shades are often a great option for warmer skin tones to wear in an effort to lessen the intensity of a red lip. Shades with a slightly brown undertone, can often be a great choice for easing your way into a bolder lip. Below are some great options to achieve a beautiful burgundy pout for Fall:
Nars Lipstick in Autumn Leaves
Berry and Wine Shades of Lipstick
For those ladies who have a cooler undertone, and want to tone it down from a serious red lip, a nice bordeaux or berry shade is a perfect way to add some color to your look without feeling over the top. Perfect for the office or an evening out, there are so many different finishes and textures for everyone to find their perfect berry lip. I have rounded up a few winners from this category:
Stila Lip and Cheek Stain in Cherry Crush
Dior Addict Extreme in Paparazzi
Bobbi Brown Creme Matte in Razzberry
A bolder lip is best complimented with a neutral eye and natural cheek, allowing for the color to stand out and not compete with anything else. Since wearing more intense shades often means more maintenance, my advice is always to line the lips first around the outer edges, and then use the liner to lightly fill in the rest of the lip. Apply your preferred red hue with a lip brush so there is more control and finish with a quick blot on a tissue to remove any excess. I sometimes dust my lips with a bit of translucent loose powder to provide even more staying power, but only when wearing matte lipsticks. For a step by step tutorial, read Felicia’s post here to see how the beauty glamazon herself applies a red lip.
Fall is in full swing and the holidays are fastly approaching, so the time is now to get your red lip game going!
