Find Your Perfect Red Lip Shade

find the right red lipstick

The red lip.  She’s classic, timeless and makes a statement all on her own.  In my opinion, every woman should have a red lipstick in her beauty drawer! I picked up this red lipstick from Nordstrom last year, and it’s my front-contender for a fall red lip.  MAC has always been a leader in the bold lip color game, and you can’t go wrong with their lipstick.

Today I thought we could take a deep dive in to the red lip and how you can find the perfect shade to make you feel like your ultra femme self.

Skin Tone Breakdown:

Fair | Fair skinned ladies tend to have a naturally pink undertone. You can complement that by using cool-toned red lipsticks with hints of blue or coral shades. These kinds of colors not only make fair skin look brighter without washing it out and they also make teeth look whiter. Helloooo Ruby Woo!

Light | These gals typically have more of a yellow undertone, so an orange-y red picks up the golden undertones to brighten their complexion. Loving this in Mangrove for my fair ladies!

Medium | These ladies gain and lose sun color easily, so an orangey-red works for summer (emphasizes the bronzed skin… enter Lady Danger) and blue-red is perfect for fall and winter (I love this in Russian Red).

Olive | Olive skin tends to have yellow-green undertones, so they look best in orange-y red when they’re sunkissed (like this in Le Orange) and a rust/brick red in cooler months (try this in Rouge Vinyle).

Deep | On dark complexions, a deep, bright, matte red really pops. As in true, candy-apple reds, cherry shade like this one in “Cherry Lush.”  They mimic the richness and depth of deeper complexions!

striped wrap dressornate gold mirrormac russian red lipstickmac red lipstickgold coin necklacesred and blue striped dressperfect red lipfinding the right red lipstick

photos by Christian Barnes

lip in Russian Red, more picks below! | similar striped dresses here, here and here | love this coin necklace and how cool is this one?

I dance on the line of medium and olive skin, so I usually stick to orangey-reds and blue-reds.  I’d love to hear your go-to red shade! I’m sharing some of my picks below.

And before I wrap up today’s post, another product I’ve been wanting to try is La Mer. I’ve almost purchased it when shopping at Nordstrom (literally had it in my cart last week!), but have yet to try this magical product I hear so much about.  The Mysteries of La Mer campaign launched earlier this month, and I think fall might be the perfect time to give my skin some luxe TLC.  If you’re a La Mer lover, I’d love to hear your thoughts and experience!

Thanks so much for reading and sharing – XO –

brought to you by Nordstrom

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14 thoughts on “Find Your Perfect Red Lip Shade”

  3. There’s nothing better than a red lip!
    Also while I love La Mer, I’m not sure it’s 100% worth the price tag. It definitely leaves my skin smooth, but I feel like I have other products that also do the same.

    The Champagne Edit

  4. I clicked on this post way too fast haha, but I love a red lip. I never shy away from them at all. It’s funny because anytime I’m going through a hard time and just need a confidence boost, I’ll throw on a red lip. It’s like my armor. I have medium/olive skin tone as well and I love your recommendations. My current go-to lip shade is the Velvet Matte in Desire by Victoria’s Secret. It’s amazing. Also I love the formula of the YSL oil in stick so I’m so happy you included it. Such great picks Kathleen!

    And I love that you have the UD Gwen Stefani lip pencils on your vanity. That was one of my fave collabs so love seeing it!!

    http://www.livelaughlinda.com

  6. I’d been wanting to try La Mer products for so long! But I have combination/oily skin and have been very hesitant to drop lots of money on the golden child Creme de La Mer, so I stuck my toe in with the Oil Absorbing Tonic. I’m only a couple weeks in and I do like it so far – I can tell when I don’t use it – so I think I want to try the matte moisturizing lotion for more of a core product test.

    Let us know if/when you do try it! Would love to hear your thoughts.

    Lindsey xx

  10. I wish I could wear lipstick again but my lips are so dry now that it will not stay on for long. Would love to hear you recommendations on long-wear lipstick that will not stain your lips. Also, when you are back down south (I live in Alabama), you can go to certain Belk store and they will give you a sample size of La Mer to try. I would definitely say to try it out first to see if you like it.

  11. Thank you so much for breaking down the red lip. As a fair skinned redhead, I never know where to start with a red lip so I just stay away. Now I have a starting point. Love the ring on you index finger! Where did you find it?

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