During the beginning years of my makeup journey, I completely ruled out red lips as one of my possibilities. Why? Because it was so intimidating! I just felt like it didn't go well with my skin tone or the structures of my face...or something... Overall, It just didn't look right.
But I was desperate to get it right because it looked so edgy, sophisticated, effortless, simple, and just darn fashionable on some people! I watched so many Youtube videos on how to wear a red lip, read many many blog posts on red lip products, and studied several pictures of Asian celebrities with red lips.
I know for a fact that I am having this trouble of getting this right because I am Asian (I have very yellow skin). Both Black and White women look amazingly GORGEOUS with red lips.
But then again... many Asian women look quite good with red lips as well...
Am I just too ugly to wear red lip lipsticks? *insert my ugly face* But it was okay! I was DETERMINED to make it work!
WHAT I DO WITH MY MAKEUP WHEN WEARING A RED LIP:
It's simple actually... I tone down EVERYTHING ELSE!
2) I don't wear blush. Just bronzer. I really don't want my cheek color to compete with the bright lip.
3) I don't wing out liner. It can easily make you look like you attempted a pin-up style and that is not the style that I am looking for.
4) Matte medium brown eyeshadow to contour my eye
5) Definitely a medium to heavy coverage foundation so that I won't look too sickly.
6) Mascara is a must! (in any situations actually)
Now,
THE PRODUCTS
I wanted to go light and nothing fancy, so I started out with Soap & Glory Sexy Mother Pucker Gloss Stick in Plum Jam. Unfortunately Sephora doesn't carry this brand anymore, so you would have to purchase these products through beauty.com and drugstore.com. However the good news is that they are way cheaper than the price Sephora had. It went from being $16 to $10!! Almost a drugstore price don't you think? You can read more about this here at their website.
This crayon stick is incredibly moisturizing and glossy. It makes a great substitute for a lip balm, which means that it is absolutely easy to wear. The color is not as opaque as some of the other iconic red lip shades, but as an entry level red lip it is very comfortable. There is one downside: it does not last long. After an hour, the color fades immediately. But nonetheless, it is one of my go to's.
Second way of easily wearing a red lip is by using a cherry red lip tint. One that I have is the Aritaum Style Pop Juicy Tint in Cherry Rose. It is little bit difficult to find this particular product in the U.S., but it is very similar to Benefit Benetint. This makes your lips look like they are bleeding but in a good way. It gives your lips the color of red without making it seem like you are wearing anything. It is a very convincing way of saying "oh I naturally have these ruby red lips," and I love that! It is the most natural way of wearing a red lip.
However despite the fact that this is actually a tint, it doesn't last that long on the lips. After an hour it completely goes away. However, if you layer the product multiple times, I realized it does last a little longer than having just one layer. Even then I don't carry this around with me since it is not the most convenient or makeup bag friendly lip product.
The third way is through wearing a lip gloss. The one that I have is the NARS Lip Gloss in Sixties Fan. The NARS lip glosses in general are so comfortable on the lips without being sticky or gloopy, which is so lovely! I highly recommend trying NARS lip glosses if you are a fan of lip glosses.
If I apply this with a light hand, I get that balmy sheer look that I would get with the Soap & Glory gloss bar. If i apply with a thick layer, the color thickens up, turning into a wine/burgundy shade that is perfect for fall weather. I always wanted to imitate the way Jenn Im or clothesencounters wore her dark lip color during the fall/winter seasons. I had actually tried the exact product that she wore in her videos, but again... it looked odd on me. I just looked so wrong wearing that color. It was as if I was committing a fashion faux pas by wearing that kind of a shade. However, I can safely say that this shade, Sixties Fan, is a great entry level burgundy lip shade.
Best for last... MAC Ruby Woo. This is many beauty lover's favorite mac or red lipstick, and I sincerely understand why it is so highly touted by many: It suits variety of skin tones. Pale, light, tanned, olive, warm, cool, dark...you name it. This is truly a universal shade of red that almost everyone can wear. Hey, if I can wear it, you can wear it! Thing about this lipstick is that...it is REALLY matte, so you most definitely need a lip balm under. If you have severely dry flaky lips, I don't think this can work for you formula wise. But if you don't... TRY IT.
As you can see, I am only inching towards wearing red lips. I still don't think I have mastered the look yet, but I know for a fact that if I have the right outfit and hair... you know. *wink*
Second way of easily wearing a red lip is by using a cherry red lip tint. One that I have is the Aritaum Style Pop Juicy Tint in Cherry Rose. It is little bit difficult to find this particular product in the U.S., but it is very similar to Benefit Benetint. This makes your lips look like they are bleeding but in a good way. It gives your lips the color of red without making it seem like you are wearing anything. It is a very convincing way of saying "oh I naturally have these ruby red lips," and I love that! It is the most natural way of wearing a red lip.
However despite the fact that this is actually a tint, it doesn't last that long on the lips. After an hour it completely goes away. However, if you layer the product multiple times, I realized it does last a little longer than having just one layer. Even then I don't carry this around with me since it is not the most convenient or makeup bag friendly lip product.
The third way is through wearing a lip gloss. The one that I have is the NARS Lip Gloss in Sixties Fan. The NARS lip glosses in general are so comfortable on the lips without being sticky or gloopy, which is so lovely! I highly recommend trying NARS lip glosses if you are a fan of lip glosses.
If I apply this with a light hand, I get that balmy sheer look that I would get with the Soap & Glory gloss bar. If i apply with a thick layer, the color thickens up, turning into a wine/burgundy shade that is perfect for fall weather. I always wanted to imitate the way Jenn Im or clothesencounters wore her dark lip color during the fall/winter seasons. I had actually tried the exact product that she wore in her videos, but again... it looked odd on me. I just looked so wrong wearing that color. It was as if I was committing a fashion faux pas by wearing that kind of a shade. However, I can safely say that this shade, Sixties Fan, is a great entry level burgundy lip shade.
Best for last... MAC Ruby Woo. This is many beauty lover's favorite mac or red lipstick, and I sincerely understand why it is so highly touted by many: It suits variety of skin tones. Pale, light, tanned, olive, warm, cool, dark...you name it. This is truly a universal shade of red that almost everyone can wear. Hey, if I can wear it, you can wear it! Thing about this lipstick is that...it is REALLY matte, so you most definitely need a lip balm under. If you have severely dry flaky lips, I don't think this can work for you formula wise. But if you don't... TRY IT.
As you can see, I am only inching towards wearing red lips. I still don't think I have mastered the look yet, but I know for a fact that if I have the right outfit and hair... you know. *wink*
Best,
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