The Power of Red

So Fall is officially here which means I can start pulling out one of my fav. makeup trends - "The Red Lip".  Although, I hate to call it a "trend" b/c IMO a great red lip never goes out of style and always has it's place in Fashion.  It is the easiest and quickest way to bring your look from casual to glam in less then 30 seconds.  Everyone is always about the smokey eyes when they want to look done up but I really believe we have to give more credit to the Red Lip! 

With the popularity of shows like Mad Men on the rise I find a strong lip for Fall is even more popular.  I mean lipstick was an essential part of a woman's wardrobe back then and a well done lip can be a great accessory to any look! 

Nowadays, we don't put as much effort into getting ready like back then and I think that's often why lipstick is pushed aside for it's lighter, less formal counterpart lipgloss.  We often tend to look at lipstick...esp. Red Lipstick as a very formal thing that can only be worn out at night or on special occassions but I don't think that's true at all!  I frequently rock the Red Lip during the day and yes I do get a few glances...I think they are good glances ;).  But that's what it's all about.  You have to have confidence to wear a Red Lip b/c it does call attention to you but what's wrong w/ a little attention every now and then. 

One of the biggest things I hear all the time is women saying I want to find the perfect red or oh yeah it looks great on you but I CAN'T wear it!  I'm hear to say YES, you can WEAR red!  You just have to find the right red!  And in truth you just have to get use to yourself in it.  When I first started wearing Red I'm not going to lie I felt really self-conscious and uncomfortable like ppl were staring at me but now I feel empowered and in control...amazing what a little lipstick can do ;)

Yes a Red Lip is a little more high maintenance then say your usual gloss but that's not always a bad thing...on a positive note I eat and drink less b/c I don't want to mess up my lipstick lol!  Although, a great tip is to drink from a straw...I drink everything from a straw and it removes a lot less lipstick then drinking straight from a glass or gently lick  your lips before you take a sip from a glass it will help stop the transfer of
lipstick to the glass.

When rocking a Red Lip one of the most important things is to have CLEAN and EVEN lines!  You can use lipliner to help w/ this but another great tip I find is to define your lines and boundaries w/ a bit of concealer.  I use a square tip brush and take a bit of concealer and just mark my edges around my mouth a bit and blend...this cleans up any red that might bleed outwards and it allows you to achieve really sharp edges which I'm super anal about on set for shoots!  Another important thing to remember...always exfoliate your lips if they are dry and flakey before wearing Red Lipstick...dry, chapped, flakey lips NEVER look good esp. NOT w/ Red Matte Lips!  Plus this is a big prob for a lot of ppl in the Winter so something to watch out for...always moisturize you lips!

Here's some pics of me using the concealer technique.  Sorry I'm no model and the lighting wasn't great in my bathroom lol!  I also should have powdered a bit more before I started to remove the shine...but whatever lol!

Also you want to be very careful to not walk around w/ Red Lipstick on your teeth...which I unfortunately have done before :(  An easy trick to solve this is to put you finger in your mouth and pull it out.  It will remove access lipstick from your lips.

See all the excess lipstick!

So I also took a bunch of pictures of myself w/ a variety of Red Lipsticks...some flattering and some not so much lol!  I also took a picture of myself w/ no lipstick and one w/ a nude lipstick and gloss combo...another popular look in my repetoire.  I did this so that you can see the difference just a touch of colour and lipstick can bring to the face and how it changes everything about how I look.  There is nothing different about my makeup in any of the looks other then the lipstick.  Even if you look at the pics above you can see my foundation is pretty natural, just some mascara, touch of cream blush and my brows filled in (this is a necessity).  In fact I don't even really wear eyeliner anymore during the day and yet when I wear Red Lipstick everyone thinks I'm "done up"...no eyeliner or eyeshadow and I still look polished and fancy...wow that's impressive to me!

No Lipstick

Nude Lipstick/Lipgloss Combo

This is the FIRST Red Lipstick I EVER bought for myself and still my Go To Shade on MANY occasions!  It is also the Red Lipstick Featured in the first 3 pics!  I also used a lipliner in this pic.  It is a very Matte lipstick which can be a bit too dry for some.

MAC Viva Glam I

Without a Lipliner

Another Fav Red of mine and Featured in the Finger in the Mouth Pics lol!

MAC Cremesheen Party Line

Okay here's some other Reds

This ones a bit too much on the browny side for me personally but that doesn't mean it might not look FABULOUS on you!

Yaby LC025

The next one is a bit too bright for me...it's okay but I prefer my reds a bit more deep. 

Don't know the colour sorry.

Too orange IMO

Yaby LC020 Chilli Hot Hot

Here's a Really Deep Red...Doesn't Look Amazing here but I really like it actually w/ a Vampy Smokey Eye for Night's Out!

MAC Media

If you want to ease your way into Reds you can always start w/ a pinkier, lighter red

Yaby LC255

Another Great way to start wearing Reds is w/ a Lipstain...here are two of my Favs

Yaby LC267

OCC Lip Stain in Vanity (This product also works great as a blush in a pinch)

There are a million other shades of Red out there but that gives you an idea about how different Reds can look from person to person.  So experiment and find the Right Red for YOU!  It's only lipstick afterall...if you don't like it rub it off and start again!

Oh one final image of me Rocking the Red...this is out in the "Real World" at Dinner last wk not just my Bathroom lol...not the best quality sorry taken w/ a Blackberry Phone.