BEAUTY: HOW TO WEAR RED LIPSTICK

I've always been a girl who loves makeup and when I turned 18, I started paying regular visits to the MAC counter at Nordstrom. I've spent years acquiring brushes, shadows and glosses and getting my makeup done periodically when I wanted a change in my day-to-day look. But it wasn't until last year that I finally decided I wanted to take the plunge and start wearing red lipstick on occasion, particularly for the holidays. I knew it would be impossible to select the right shade for my skin tone by myself, so I did what I always do when I'm in need of color advice. I paid a visit to my local MAC counter.

I ended up with a shade of red I really liked, wore it to a holiday party and then quickly realized how high maintenance it was to wear. I felt like I was constantly needing to check a mirror to make sure it still looked right and constantly having to reapply it. Not to mention having to worry it was on my teeth or looking too cakey because I reapplied one too many times. I've since learned a few tricks of the trade about how to make it last longer than 20 minutes and how to keep it from looking too dry. And that's exactly what I'm sharing with you today, just in case you want to take the plunge and feel extra festive for the holidays this year.

Here are the steps I go through when applying red lipstick:

1. Make sure your lips are properly exfoliated so your lipstick goes on smooth. I do this by lightly brushing my lips with a clean toothbrush from time to time. 

2. Always start with a lip primer. I apply the primer outside my lip line as well and allow it to dry for a few seconds.

3. Line your lips with a nude colored liner and once you've lined the outside, fill in the inside of your lips as well, just like you would a lipstick. Nude liner is the one tool I was missing when I first started wearing red lipstick and it has made all the difference!

4. Now it's time to apply your go-to shade of red lipstick!

5. The finishing application step that I didn't learn until recently is that it's always good to apply a bit of lip balm after you've applied your lipstick. It adds a bit of shine and keeps it from getting too dry and cakey. I usually apply it right in the center.

6. Lastly, and this is going to sound so weird, but trust me on this one. To avoid having lipstick end up on my teeth, I use a trick I learned about years and years ago. After your lipstick is on, put two fingers in your mouth and just like you would when eating a popsicle, pull them out. You'll probably notice lipstick your fingers when you do this. This is what would've ended up on your teeth. You're welcome. I've always heard that putting vaseline on your teeth prevents lipstick from ending up on them but I have yet to try it. 

So if you're sold on the idea of wearing red lipstick, here is a list of the products I use. #1 and #4 are universal when it comes to skin tone, but be sure to ask your local makeup professional for a recommendation when it comes the actual shade of red you as your skin tone determines what shade will compliment you the best. For example, women with fair skin tend to look best in reds with blue tones and those with olive skin tones benefit from orange or tomato colored reds.

1. MAC Prep + Prime Lip

2. MAC Lip Pencil in Subculture

3. MAC Viva Glam Lipstick IV

4. Vaseline Lip Therapy 

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