It seems everyone these days is talking about red lipstick - and justifiably so as red lipstick can pretty much make or break an outfit. I tend to wear a lighter, more coral shade of red to work (though I work in a free thinking museum, I'm still an office worker), but at night and on weekends it's bright red all the way. It's gotten to the point where I feel blah and washed out without it. So here's my recommendations and tips for red lipstick...
First: Make sure your lips are moisturized and clean. You don't want residue or flakiness to ruin your perfect pout!
Second: you must line your lips!! I've used a variety of lip liners, most recently Besame's until it slid out of the tube and got mushed in the cap(!), and I've found the brand really makes little to no difference. Some people just line the outside, some completely fill in, I'm a little bit in between myself. Again, not a huge deal eitehr way, as long as you use it to begin with!
Third: Apply your lipstick in one even movement on top and bottom lips. Blot with a tissue and apply another coat
Fourth: Reline the outside of your lips. This will give you a crisp outer line and make sure your lipstick doesn't run into the creases on the edges of your lips
Fifth: I almost always top off my lip stick with sealant. No matter your lipstick, they usually aren't designed to stay against eating, drinking, talking, etc. This stuff will hold any lipstick in place for numerous hours more than it's normal lasting time. I've even had it hold lipstick on overnight while sleeping when I was a very bad girl and didn't wash my face before bed after a night out! My favorite by far is Make up Forever Lip Seal - which scarily enough I can't find a picture of online. If they discontinued it I might cry because it is the greatest thing ever created!
As for lipstick colors, I'm very very pale but I have olive undertones. For me red lipstick can get too pink really quickly so I usually need a bit of a blue tone.
One of my favorite matte lipsticks is Make up Forever. I use Blue Red 205, but Cherry Red 207 and Red 206 are equally wonderful!
I'm a huge fan also of Besame's lipsticks. They're matte, smooth and they don't dry out my lips. I've noticed they have a tendency sometimes to bleed at the edges, and wear off in the centers, which is where lip liner and sealer come in. Don't forget your new friends! Besame truly has some of the best colors and consistencies, and how can you beat the super cute little gold container! I also love the smell of their makeup. I'm such a sucker.
I usually always use their "Classic Enchanting Lipsticks" but now I'm really curious about their "Voluptuous Lip Color Set". Unfortunately $35.00 isn't something I can spend on lipstick right now, so I'll just have to hold out until I can't take it anymore.
Now the best news of all... I just recently was gifted some of the new L'Oreal Infallible Never Fail Lip Color
This stuff is GOD SEND!! I don't know what this stuff is made out of - I'm almost convinced it's part super glue - but it DOES NOT MOVE. I can't vouch for the new colors, but I have the Target special edition red, and it's a miracle in a bottle. You can spot this one as it's the only one instead of having the silver shiny case, it's bright red and only sold in Target stores. It's so bright red and really truly doesn't come off. I even tried to scrub with soap and water because I was gob smacked, and still couldn't get it off. Only good quality make up remover is getting that stuff to go anywhere. Seriously - go by the stuff now! You won't be sorry!
So that's it - simple and easy. I won't talk about MAC's lipstick colors, because frankly, I don't really like them. They're way too shiny for my tastes and maybe I talk too much, but I can't get them to last more than 30 minutes on me. To each their own I always say.
No matter what color you choose, remember, it's the manner in which you carry yourself while wearing it. Red lipstick isn't for the timid, but it isn't only for the bad girls either ;)
