Why Every Woman Should Wear Red Lipstick at Least Once

Even though I've worn hot pink, deep plum, and bright coral lipsticks, there was something about red that was intimidating to me. When perusing the makeup aisles, I always admired the ruby shades,  but shied away every time. Luckily, a beautiful red lip color made its way to me in my Birchbox last year. I immediately tried it on in the privacy of my bathroom. BAM. I was taken aback by the way it transformed me. No. I'm not being dramatic. Red lipstick will transform you. I fell in love with the way it instantly made me feel glamorous, elegant, and fierce. Red lipstick gives you a confidence you won't understand until you try it for yourself. Even after my moment of discovery, I was still hesitant to wear this beautiful color outside my own home. It was just so...red. Christmas came around, and I figured it was the perfect time to try it out.

Christmas Day! Finally brave enough to wear red lips out of the house :)

 



If you are like me and are reluctant to attempt red lips, try out these tips:

Essentials:

 

• Stila Stay All Day Liquid Lipstick in Beso (or your favorite red lipstick)
• Urban Decay 24/7 Concealer Pencil (or your favorite concealer)

 

What to do:
1. Outline your lips with concealer.
2. Blend this line out very well. This helps keep the color from bleeding and makes a cleaner line for the color.
3. Fill it in! Take your time and do your best to follow your natural lip lines. If you get a little out of the lines, use a Qtip to clean it up, and add a tiny bit more concealer where it was rubbed off.
4. Finish the look. Here, I only wore mascara and a natural blush. It's super important to keep blush and other makeup fairly neutral so that the lips don't compete with your other features. Check out the other suggestions below if you want to do a little more than mascara.

Other options:

(Click the image to make it larger!)

 Far left: Use a liquid liner to create a subtle winged out line a la Marilyn Monroe.
Middle: Create a little definition. I used MAC's Naked Lunch all over the lid and Scene only on the outer corner and blended this out. Again, a subtle winged line works well with the shadows. This is how I did my eyes in the picture from Christmas.
Far right: Use a creamy pencil liner such as Rimmel Scandaleyes eyeliner pencil in black to draw a line along the upper lash line and smudge it out with your finger or Qtip. You can also use the Maybelline Eye Studio Master Smoky Longwearing Shadow-Pencil I talked about here.

A word about the Stila Liquid Lipstick: I was very happy with this product! It didn't fade or bleed outside the lines. It looks glossy when first applied, but it dries to a matte finish. Despite the matte quality, it didn't make my lips feel dry or uncomfortable. Only downside: it will wear off when you eat or drink, so you will have to reapply a couple times to keep the color true. I definitely recommend giving these a try! I will be trying more colors from this line soon.

I hope this has been helpful for those of you who have been waiting to try it out for yourself! Now go pick up a red lipstick and see what you've been missing!