Monday, September 1, 2014

Red Lippy, How To Do It Right.



If you’re like me you’ve been out and about and ran into sisters trying to rock a red lippy and you’re like dang, something’s off with that look. Do you love the deep vampy reds, orangey bright reds and pretty much every red in between? Stop sister, not every shade of red works for everyone. 


1.Undertones
-First step to doing it right is to get that skin assessed at a makeup counter by an experienced artist. I say experienced because those buzzwords cool/warm/neutral undertones are very ambiguous/debateable for a lot of us and takes experience to figure out. I’ll try to break it down some. 
We all have different undertones and so do the products. Find the ones with the right undertones and start rocking the right red for you. Note that being dark skinned doesn’t automatically make you warm undertoned. Some very dark chocolate people have been said to have cool undertones, Alec Wek is one of those. 

Warm/Cool/Neutral
In my understanding, if the veins on the inside of your wrist are green your have warm undertones and if they are blue your have cool undertones and a little bit of both means you’re neutral. 

What do you look better in silver/gold jewelry regardless of your preference? If you look better in silver you have cool undertones and gold means you have warm undertones, equally good in both places you in neutral.

If you have warm undertones warm shadows in gold and earthy colors look best on you and an orangey red lippy will look forgiving on you. Some great ones are Lancome Rouge in Love 170, Mac Fashion Trip, Mac Lady Danger, Estee Lauder Impassioned and Defiant Coral, RD553 and RD320 Both by Shiseido. Chanel Incandescent and Coromandel too. Some of these reds are definitely not for the faint hearted so try them on before writing that check. 

If you have cool undertones then silver red pink and jewel tones work best on you and your red lippy should be blue based to compliment your skin tone. The warmer bright reds are not your forte. Ruby Woo by Mac is a winner. Viva Glam 1 is another good one. Red Ego by Estee Lauder, Red Haute by Lancome and Shiseido RD514 are some great ones out there.


There is always that gray area and some of us tend to fall there. I say lucky, you can go both ways. I always thought I had warm undertones because: 
- Draped in a white towel my skin looks yellowish(warm) not bluish (cool) and not greenish (neutral).
-The veins on the inside of my wrist are green not blue.
- I look better in gold jewelry as against silver.

However, I also wear purple/pink eye make up that are supposed to be best on cool undertones very well and look awful in gold/bronzy eye shadows, supposed to be best on warm undertones. So I just changed my classification to you guessed it, neutral.

2.Using a concealer around your lips will give you clean lines and make the red lippy pop more. Be sure to use a small brush for precision. Mac 212 is a flat definer. It’s thin, firm and great for this. Also remember this is your lip line not your eye brow so don’t go with a lighter concealer.

3.A red lippy is sexy, chic and classic. Make it the statement piece and keep everything else on your face downplayed.

4.Feathering and fading take away from the look we were going for. Reapp is needed to keep it classy not sloppy. You can also use a long wear lipstick for the staying power it offers. 

5.A little foundation on your lips act as a base and will make your red truer and last longer. 


Do you red? Will you red? If you’re like me you might be thinking ummmmm, probs not. But you don’t have to be Gwen Stephani to wear red lippy. You can dress it up or dress it down. The best thing about it is that it works with all skin types for that instant pick-me-up. So whether you are a lippy virgin or a lippy whore, as soon as you figure out the right undertones because that is an integral part of your beauty regimen, you are well on your way to finding the perfect red lippy. I found mine. Heat Wave By Nars it is. Ruby Woo will always have a place in my heart tho. Find yours, brave up and have fun with it. Feel free to tag me pics of that perfect red pout.


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5 comments:

  1. Am a lippy whore and it ruby woo all the way,tanks geoguos for the tip xxx. Keep it coming and we loving Mondays

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    1. We both share the love for Ruby Woo, its a great one. Try Heat Wave and let me know. Glad I'm curing Monday Blues :-)...

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  2. I love Chanel Coromandel. It is very bright but looks good on me. Great article as always.

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  3. This must have been a hard write , but you tackled it very knowledgeably. Great tips! I always shy away from red lipstick but I love it on others. I'll definitely follow these tips. I hope I get it right.

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