Find The Perfect Red Lipstick For You

On a bad day there is always red lipstick

Posted on

17 October 2016

Posted by

Editor

A red lipstick is the makeup equivalent of an LBD – it makes you feel sexy instantly. However, wearing a shade of red that clashes with your skin tone can make you look clownish (not too fond of that look). And even though the rules of makeup are meant to be broken, here is a guide on how to find the right red lipstick for your skin tone:

1. Determine your skin’s undertone

Don’t worry if you don’t know what undertone means – it is simply the layer underneath your skin. A simple way to determine your undertone is to check the colour of your veins. If your veins are blue – you have a pink undertone if your veins are green – you have a yellow undertone and if you can’t tell – you have a neutral undertone. Most fair and pale complexions usually have pink undertones and most medium and dark complexions have yellow undertones. If you have a neutral undertone you can rock almost any shade of red (lucky you!).

2. If you have a pale complexion

Blue based red lipsticks should be your go to because blue has a neutralising effect on red—in other words, even though it's bold it's not too obnoxious.
Recommendations: MAC Cosmetics Lipstick in Everyday Diva, Dior Rouge Dior Couture Lip Colour in Rouge Favori.

M.A.C. - Mineralize Rich Lipstick in Everyday Diva (image credit: M.A.C.)

3. If you have a medium/olive complexion

Orange based reds are beautiful on medium/olive complexion. To make sure you don’t enter tangerine land - line your lips with a blue based red lip liner (like NYX Slim Pencil in Plush Red) and fill in with the orange-based red lipstick (like Yves Saint Laurent Rouge Pur Couture Satin Radiance Lipstick in Le Orange).

Yves Saint Laurent - Rouge Pur Couture Satin Radiance Lipstick Le Orange (image credit: YSL Beauty)

4. If you have a dark complexion

Opt for oxblood, berry or plum reds. Even though the lipstick may not look red in the tube, it manifests as a red shade when applied on dark skin. We recommend Givenchy Le Rouge in Grenat Initié and Lancôme L'Absolu Rouge Définition Lipstick in Le Carmin.