Wearing a red lipstick can be intimidating. When I was younger and felt more confident and bold about life, I used to wear red lipstick a lot. I felt sexy. It instantly boosted my mood, especially as I felt more noticed. As I have gotten older, things have changed. I shy away from wearing such bold lipstick shades now, and opt for a more natural or neutral lip look. I plan to change that and spice it up a bit for the holidays. Yes, I am going to start wearing red lipstick again.

How to wear red lipstick

Choosing the correct shade of red can be tricky. You don't want someone to just see your lips. You want them to see you! Choosing the right shade of red that complements your skintone is important. I reached out to Celebrity Makeup Artist Beau Nelson for some advice.

Beau explains, "To me red lipstick looks best if it works with the person wearing it. Anyone can wear a red lipstick, it’s just got to be the right texture, opacity and application to suit your own personality or your look that day." I believe that this is so important. You cannot simply walk up to a lip display and look for a shade that says "red" and think you can pull it off.

Beau goes on to give up some tips. "For beginners with red, try a stain or a sheer lipstick, but more experienced users might want to experiment with a lipliner lipstick combo to get that crisp polished lip, or maybe a matte lipstick applied with a finger to get more of a romantic look. My favorite red of the moment is COVERGIRL LipPerfection Lipcolor in Hot." I wore the shade Hot as part of my COVERGIRL Fashion Week LipPerfection Challenge, and it is definitely one of my favorites.

Beau continues, "More often than not red lips look best with groomed brows, and perfect skin. Going overboard with blush/bronzer and eyeshadows if not done very well can make a red lip look a little cheap, instead of beautiful and expensive.

When choosing a red lipstick you need to take into account 3 things: color, texture, and opacity. Choosing the right shade is the hardest part. If possible try on a few and determine what makes you feel best (there are no hard rules, its more about how you feel when wearing a color) but as a guideline blue reds tend to look best on pale skin, neutral reds look good on most skin tones, and orange based reds tend to look better on tanned or darker skin, brick and deeper reds and burgundies look good on medium skins and darker and brighter pink based reds look great on pale to medium skins. Once you have the tone you want in your mind you can go about finding several variations in texture and opacity to suit every mood. Matte and full coverage lipsticks look sophisticated and sexy but can be applied with a finger to sheer them out and make them more of a stain, sheer lipsticks tend to be glossier and more youthful looking, and red glosses have more of a sexy vibe. Experiment with what you think suits your look best and don’t be afraid to try a lot of different reds before settling on one, or several."

One thing I have learned when applying a bold lip, especially with a shade you might not be comfortable with, is that it is also important to be careful with your lipstick application. I use a lip brush to get the perfect amount of color for. Open the lipstick tube, sweep a lip brush across the top of the lipstick, and apply gently and evenly to your lips. I start from the center of my lips and blend it outward. I like to finish up with a bit of pearly gloss applied to the center of my lips. This may soften the look just a bit, but it not only makes my lips look a bit pouty, it helps me feel that I can pull off my red lip look best.

Thank you to Beau Nelson for his wonderful tips. Hopefully we can put them to good use and wear a beautiful red lip.

Tips on choosing the best red lipstick.

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How to Wear Red Lipstick.