Reader Question: How To Rock Red Lipstick For the Holidays (or any day)

Reader Question:

Hi ANMJ,
Do I ask a lot of questions? I need a lot of help 🙂

This question is probably geared toward Scotti, since she is the make up guru. I would like to wear red lipstick for Christmas. My guy saw it on an actress in a movie we were watching and said “You would look good in red lipstick” Hint taken! Spice it up already.

What colors are best? And I’d like to do nail polish, too? Obviously they can’t match, (Can they?!?!?!) but should I go bright red on the nails, too?

I’m not going to be spending beau-coup bucks on either item since it will probably get busted out for Christmas and NYE and then pushed to the back of the drawer.

Thanks!
Your adoring fan

Answer:

What a great question!  Not only are red lips perfect for holiday parties, but they are completely on-trend for Winter 2010/2011…and I’m seeing more and more gals rocking the red lip for day.  As the picture at left proves (photo credit: Caroline’s Mode) the red lip makes any outfit look a bit glamorous.

Scotti is in the midst of her first year of teaching high school…and as any teacher will tell you, the first year is hell.  The poor girl is crazy-swamped.  HOWEVER….since she is my sister, I was able to harass her  catch up with her to discuss the best ways for moms to rock red lipstick.

Scotti recommended two different ways to rock a red lip:  The traditional, high-impact, Hollywood style matte red lip (with a decently high level of difficulty), vs. a glossier, softer version.

Traditional Matte Red Lip

This is Scotti’s preferred way to rock red lips, but keep in mind that it’s fairly labor-intensive.  “This is not an everyday lip” Scotti reminded me.  “It’s like a really smoky eye – it takes a long time, but is totally worth it for a night out.” The process is:

1. Start with clean, exfoliated lips.  If your lips are chapped and flaky…don’t bother.  Matte red lipstick needs smooth lips.
2. Apply a thin layer of balm.  Scotti uses traditional Chapstick, but you can use your favorite.  Apply thinly to lips.
3. Line your lips with a very sharp pencil liner.  Fill in lips completely with liner.  (NOTE:  YOUR LIPS SHOULD BE COMPLETELY COVERED WITH LINER)
4. Apply red lipstick.
5. Finish with a sealer (if included – see below) or small touch of gloss (optional)

Pitfall #1:  Tempted to skip the liner?  Think again.  Red lipstick can fade and feather in strange ways…and skipping the liner might look OK at first, but catch a glimpse of yourself an hour or so into the party and you’re in for a scary, kool-aid mouth sight.  Liner is key.

Pitfall #2:  Trying to match the liner to the lipstick.  Well intended, of course.  But as Scotti pointed out, red lipstick is bright.  And in her experience, bright liner + bright lipstick always equals a hot pink mouth.  Her solution?  Make sure your liner is a darker red than your lipstick.  Scotti actually uses a wine colored liner.

Scotti’s Favorite Products

Scotti swears by the long-wearing Infallible lip compact, but if you hate the feel of the long-wear lipstick, Scotti also recommends Maybelline’s Sensational Lipcolor in Red Revival (currently the best selling red in the US), Flirt’s Plushcious Liquid Velvet Lipcolor in Flirt Alert (sold only at Kohls), or MAC’s Ruby Woo lipstick (voted best red by realbeauty.com, with pics to prove it).  No matter which red lipstick you choose, the process remains the same: balm, liner, lipstick.

A Softer, Glossier, and Easier Red Lip

If the above process is above your skill level, or you don’t want the full impact of the Hollywood red lip, try this one on for size:

In this case, you skip the liner and lipstick completely, and just go with glossy red lips.  Scotti punches the color up a bit by layering a vibrant red gloss (her fav is Clinique’s Juicy Apple) over a stain.  A thin layer of balm is always a good idea in winter, but Scotti warns that the stain must go on before the balm.  Her favorite stains are theBalm’s Staniac (pictured above) in Beauty Queen, and Sephora’s Lush Flush Lip and Cheek stain in Pinot.

Hope that helps!  I know I’m feeling a bit inspired…thanks, Scotti!  For more makeup tips and tricks, head on over to our Beauty section!!

And thanks for writing in!  Great question!

xo,

S

ps.  Hmmmm….just realized that we haven’t addressed the nail polish question.  I’m not a matching nails and lips kind of girl…but that might just be me.  I’d probably keep my nails short and go with something dark….like OPI’s Lincoln Park After Dark or We’ll Always Have Paris.  Or maybe a taupe like Tickle Me France-y.  Readers – care to weigh in?