Redding Your Lips

I love wearing this look. Red lips are a quick classic look that is actually really easy to pull off. Just a swipe of a neutral eyeshadow like MAC All That Glitters and Soft Brown, a few coats of extra black mascara and the lightest hint of NARS Orgasm Blush and you have a look that is simple and Classic. There are a couple of things to keep in mind when wearing red lips.


#1 Color. There are many types of reds. There are reds that have a more orange tone, true reds, blue- reds, and reds that have a warmer hue to them. You really have to actually TRY them on your lips and experiment with the colors to find what looks great on you.


#2 Finishes. For a really classic look, I wear a red lipstick with a little shine to it like MAC Red (satin finish/ bluish-red tone.) When I want to go for a more modern Pin Up look I wear something that has a Matte finish like MAC Ruby Woo or MAC Russian Red (both bluish-red tones as well.) If you aren't comfortable with wearing a look that is really bold, or you're just looking to add a little touch of color to your lips you can always do a red lip gloss instead.


#3 Base. Smooth, even toned lips are really one of the most important things to consider when wearing any bold, matte shade. I will usually slather some lip balm on, let in set in and then rub my lips with a towel or tooth brush until they are nice and smooth. I then rub a little more lip balm and then some concealer on to my lips and just to my lip line and slightly outwards (some people wear a lipstick base) to wash out the natural color of my lips making the color applied truer and more intense. It also helps to creates a nice smooth surface for the lipstick to glide on to and help with bleeding or feathering. This leads us to the other most important point.


#4 Application and Neatness. Line those lips!!! I cannot stress this enough! When wearing reds, definition and neatness is really important. You don't want to look like Courtney Love now (unless you like looking like trash.) I like to line my lips on my natural lip line and fill in my entire lip. This will help further the intensity of your lipstick color as well as give it some serious staying power. I find that with red or bold colors, it is not a good idea to line outside your natural lip line (some people do this to create a fuller looking mouth.) Doing this causes the lip color to bleed out into the little lines around your lips.


Here is the trick I learned from my cousin Carmelyn. She literally wears red lipstick and Retro Waves in her hair ever single day. So glamorous! After making sure my lips are smooth, washing out the color and applying a good base, I line my lips. Then, I apply the lip color straight from the tube all over my lips. I carefully blot my lips on to a tissue. To prevent bleeding, I sometimes do a reverse lip liner with a small lip brush and concealer. Then, I take one layer of tissue to my lips (usually there are two) and dust some loose powder on to it over my lips as well as the outer areas surrounding my lips. Last, I take a lip brush and reapply the color. I concentrate the majority of the color on the inner parts of my lips, working my way out, thinning out the amount of product as I get closer I get to my lip line. Do not over load your lips with product!! Keep the layers thin and minimal. Also, you want to keep your general lip line area on the matte side with out to much of the actual lipstick there, too much product in that area will cause bleeding. You really just want to deposit just enough color in that area. If you lined your lips properly with a shade that matches your lipstick, you shouldn't really see a difference. That's it!


#5 Check Up and Retouch! My red lips usually stay in tact for about 4 hours without touch ups and if I eat carefully LOL! Beware: When wearing red lipstick, any bleeding of color or smudge will be really obvious and take you from classy to trashy really quick. So, keep a cute little mirror compact handy and check on your lips ever now and then. Don't obsess, just check up. What you may need to retouch: Q-tips, concealer, powder, lip brush and lip stick. The best thing to do is to not over load your lips with even more product. depending on your needs, you may just need a light touch up to the inner or midsection of your lips. If your red look starts to feather, do not redo your lips. Just take your q-tip and clean up just the area outside of your natural lip line that has the color bleeding out. In that area take your CLEAN lip brush and apply just a little concealer to keep your lips looking neat, reline your lips and then use your lip brush to apply your lip color only where you need to and blot. I usually don't have to go through all this but every once in a while . . .

#6 Own it! You really have to own it and know that you look great. Confidence is the key to pulling any look off.


Red lipsticks that I wear daily : All MAC Lipsticks: Russian Red (Matte) Bright Bluish-Red tone, Ruby Woo (Matte) Bright Bluish-Red tone, Mac Red (Satin) Classic Bluish-Red tone, Diva (Matte) Intense reddish-burgundy (This color is DRAMA.)

Thanks for Reading!