With Valentine’s Day in sight, you may be starting to plan your romantic night look. Our beauty expert Natalie Clue runs us through seven steps to choosing the perfect red lip colour for you.
If you are a true romantic, why not choose a classic red lip in honour of the day that we celebrate love.
I love a red lip – and so do the boys! According to recent Huffington Post piece Here’s What Guys Actually Think About Lipstick, the majority of men they polled liked seeing it on women. One respondent stated ‘no lipstick? No problem…but a painted red lip is damn sexy’!
Don’t be fooled into thinking you cannot wear red lipstick. I am always encouraging friends and family to ditch their inhibitions and embrace red lips! Finding the right red lip shade for your skin tone and undertone is the key to your selection success.
Here are my seven steps to choosing your perfect red.
Step 1. Start with your skin tone. Are you cool or warm? Cool skin tones are those with pink undertones. One way to determine if you have cool skin is by looking at the veins in your wrist. If they appear blue or have a bluish tone, you most likely have a cool undertone to your skin.
For those with warm skin tones, you will tend to have more yellow undertones.
Darker skin tones tend to have yellow, red or blue undertones and can be classified as having cool and warm skin.
Darker skin with cool tones and undertones look amazing in classic red shades reds with blue undertones.
My favourite cool reds include Russian Red by MAC or Stila’s Lipglaze in Cranberry.
Warmer tones look amazing in orange red or fire engine red shades. Opt for Ruby Woo by MAC, or Revlon’s Super Lustrous™ Lipstick in Red Lacquer.
Step 2. Before you apply your perfect red lip, you will want to prep lips by removing all dry or chapped skin. The best way to do this is by using a dry toothbrush and lightly rubbing the lips until they are smooth and soft.
Step 3. Prime your lips with a non-greasy lip balm. This step helps prepare the lips for your lip colour by adding moisture and a foundation for the colour so your lipstick won’t feather or bleed during application.
Step. Apply your favourite concealer or a dab of your foundation to your lips to help neutralise your natural lip colour and create the ideal canvas for your red lipstick. This tip really helps create a dramatic result.
Step 5. Gently line your upper and lower lip with a creamy red liner. Once you have lined your lips, take a lip brush and blend the lines into your lip for a more natural look.
Step 6. With a lip brush, apply your lip colour. Apply several layers of colour for a more saturated and full effect.
Step 7. If you want an extra luscious finish, apply a red gloss such as Haute Flash Lip Gloss by Milani.
With a killer red lip, your Valentine’s Day is sure to the most romantic night of your life!
Follow Natalie Clue on Twitter or get more beauty tips at Beauty Pulse London.
