Red Lips 101

Every year at Fall’s early beckoning I find myself desiring a new lip color…something drastic and spontaneous. I have always absolutely swooned over the classic firey red lip shades in old Hollywood movies. I wonder would those iconic images of Jane Mansfield or Marilyn have ever been the same had they been wearing pale pink lips? Back in the early eightes…(stop me if you’ve heard this one)… I made the mistake of wearing a bolder –than- a – fire engine shade of vermillion that in photos tragically out red-ed the red trim on my dress so much so that it became the fodder of friends and foes alike. Clearly, one of those tragic 80’s fashion moments that we all wish we could erase. Can we say…dwelling too long? Since then every red (and there have been many) always take me back to that magical mortifying moment in Kodak time. So if you too are feeling less than confident about sporting bright red lips here are a few tips and shades to guide you assuredly to our goal.

Line Lips- The perfectly defined lip line rarely happens with just the tube of lipstick, and let’s face it no one wants to be lopsided… so be sure to line lips first with a matching shade, blend with a lip brush to soften the line, then apply lipstick. Try Mac Lip liner in Cherry or Brick

Smudges – If you smudge upon application try this little trick to remove the color – first use a clean q-tip to remove most of the color, then with a fine tipped concealer brush run a bit of foundation or concealer along the line where you boo-boo’d it will clean up the smudge and having you looking brand new. Try Becca Cosmetics concealer brush and stick foundation.

Long lasting color – Who has time to touch up their lips twenty times a day? To avoid that red ring around the lip line after your latte’ line lips fully with lip liner then fill in with color. For extra staying power (and to emulate that retro-Hollywood look) apply liner, then lip color, hold a tissue over your lips then powder over the tissue with your regular face powder, remove the tissue and add just a bit more lipstick on lips. This process helps to set in the color and helps it last longer. Try Dolce And Gabbana Classic Creme Lipstick in Iconic or Illamasqua in Maneater

Yes, darling there are long lasting lip colors on the market so why go through the extra steps? A little FYI the only way to make color last it to dry out the lips – severely, which is why most formulas have a gloss to top off the color…such trickery. Dry parched red lips are not so glam so try to avoid anything that claims to last through coffee, dinner, dancing and beyond… lipstick was never meant to stay on through the apocalypse.

Lip Stains – If you need to take baby steps into the world of scarlet try a lip stain or a sheer red to start. I adore Lipstick Queens Medieval Lipstick it’s a sheer berry red stain that works on nearly every skin tone.