Red lipstick is intimidating, especially if you’re used to wearing lighter shades. The bright, bold color attracts all attention to your face, making you feel self-conscious of your every facial expression.
When you wear red lipstick the right way, you don’t have to feel uncomfortable. Follow these rules for wearing red lipstick, and you can wear your red lips with confidence!
1. Don’t Overdo Your Eye Makeup
When rocking such a bold lip, you’ll want to tone down the rest of your look. Put your vibrant eyeshadow aside, and pick up your favorite nude eyeshadow palette instead. It’s best to stick with neutral shades that mesh with your skin.
As for your mascara, eyeliner, and blush, a light layer of each is more than enough. You want all the attention drawn to your gorgeous lips!
2. Pick the Right Shade of Red
Different skin tones look better with certain shades of red. Before you buy your first tube of red lipstick, make sure you know how to pick the right lipstick color for your skin tone first.
Some red lipstick shades, like L’Oréal’s Matte-Ly in Love, look universally amazing on all skin tones. It’s a great place to start if you’re new to red lipstick.
3. Exfoliate Your Lips
Want to eliminate chapped lips and flakiness once and for all? Use a lip scrub once a week to keep extra dry lips at bay. Hanalei’s Sugar Lip Scrub contains granules of sugar that gently buffs away dead skin, while its kukui oil and shea butter work to hydrate your lips.
4. Moisturize Your Lips
Putting lipstick on dry lips is a terrible decision, no matter what color the lipstick is. It only makes your chapped lips’ unflattering creases and cracks even more noticeable. Not to mention that lipstick won’t stick to dry lips all day—dry lips cause your lipstick to bleed and flake away, making for a dull, uneven color.
To avoid this, restore some moisture to those parched lips. Apply lip balm the night before you plan on wearing lipstick to get the most hydrated lips possible. You should then reapply lip balm right before you put lipstick on to keep your red lips looking soft and plump. As for lip balm, we recommend Eos Super Soft Shea Sphere Lip Balm for long-lasting hydration.
5. Prep Your Lips With Lip Liner
While you don’t necessarily need to use lip liner, it’s highly recommended when wearing red lipstick. Lip liner is a bit like eyeshadow primer—you can wear lipstick without liner, but it definitely won’t look as good or last as long.
Lip liner seals in the color, preventing it from bleeding or flaking. It also comes in handy if you want to enhance your cupid’s bow or make your lips appear plumper. Make sure to apply lip liner over your entire lip (not just the edges), so it can act as a base for the lipstick.
Your lip liner doesn’t have to be the same shade as your lipstick. Go for a lip liner that matches your natural lip color, or even try a transparent lip liner.
6. Use a Lip Brush for Precise Application
Applying red lipstick directly from the tube can get messy, and this is especially true if you’re in a rush. You can easily avoid smudges by taking the time to use a lip brush. To get perfect red lips, all you have to do is dab your brush on the tube of lipstick, and carefully brush it onto your lips.
7. Define Your Lips With Concealer
You can make the outline of your lips even crisper by lining it with concealer. After you apply your lipstick, use your lip brush to paint concealer around your lips. This cleans up any smudges and creates stunning definition.
8. Wear a Matching Outfit
Red lipstick doesn’t look good with every outfit. For the most classic look, pair red lipstick with a little black dress or a stylish black pantsuit. If you want to rock a more casual outfit, try red lipstick with a white t-shirt and jeans. Simple is better!
Make Your Red Lips Pop
Feeling bold? Now that you know how to achieve the perfect red lips, don’t hesitate to amp up your look with some red lipstick.
You can’t rock red lipstick without a flawless foundation. Find out how to pick out the perfect foundation for your skin.
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