LIPSTICKS - Getting Acquainted with Reds

Are you playing with the idea of introducing a little more color into your lipstick world? Many of us admire the fabulous Taylor Swift with her signature red lip, but it can be a daunting task to have a go at it yourself. Especially if you're more accustomed to sheer lip products or even just plain lip balm. A bold red can be intimidating for first timers. I know I felt this way when I first started wearing lipstick more regularly. Here are my suggestions for warming up to reds. They're a mixture of nudey reds to brick reds to sheer washes of red.

L to R: Revlon Super Lustrous 130 Rose Velvet, 445 Teak Rose, 225 Rosewine, 850 Plum Velour; Clinique Different Lipstick Black Honey

Revlon has an amazing range of subdued reds in their Super Lustrous Line. Many of their shades have been around for decades now and I can certainly see why. Even better, I can make suggestions for you that you can actually purchase. Woohoo! The Super Lustrous line tends to have very low turnover compared to a lot of their other drugstore counterparts. These shades are also very school/office-appropriate, so win-win!

L to R: Revlon Super Lustrous 130 Rose Velvet, 445 Teak Rose, 225 Rosewine, 850 Plum Velour; Clinique Different Lipstick Black Honey

These happen to work very well for my NC20 skin tone (light yellow neutral with a bit of olive undertone) so please just consider this as a point of reference. Some shades may end up looking different on you. I realize a lot of these look straight up brown in the tube, but I promise you, if you have similar coloring to me, it almost disappears.

When I first started wearing lipstick regularly, I didn't wear my first true red until much much later. It wasn't that I didn't love all the vivid colors I saw, it was more of not being accustomed to seeing my lips that bright or just different. Aside from liking it, half the battle of being able to carry yourself while wearing a red lipstick is mostly in your head. The other half is finding a shade that works with your skin tone.

I realized that there are probably many others out there who are apprehensive about wearing red lipstick but still really want to. If you're not quite ready to dive right into fire-engine reds, here are some great colors to help you make the transition. Maybe you'll be ready for that bold red lip by the time the holidays roll around! If you're already on board with bold reds, then these can also make great transition colors from Summer to Fall!

L to R: Revlon Super Lustrous 130 Rose Velvet, 445 Teak Rose, 225 Rosewine, 850 Plum Velour; Clinique Different Lipstick Black Honey

These lippies are available in many drugstores and big box stores, which is great especially if you're in a pinch. It shouldn't be too difficult to get your hands on them but I've also included links for you.

KIND OF RED LIPSTICKS

Revlon Super Lustrous 130 Rose Velvet (Creme)
This is a very warm muted nude that leans brown. I would probably call this a "gateway" color if you're just starting to get into lipstick. If you're lighter than I am, this may look be veering into vampy territory for you.

Revlon Super Lustrous 130 Rose Velvet (Creme)

This is slightly darker than my natural lip color and has a little brown in it. Not so brown that it's full-blown 90s!

Revlon Super Lustrous 445 Teak Rose (Creme)
Teak Rose is a warm brick red with a bit of brown to make it a little muted. I think this is a very "ladylike" color.

Revlon Super Lustrous 445 Teak Rose (Creme)

Revlon Super Lustrous 225 Rosewine (Creme)
If you're feeling a little bit bolder, Rosewine is a red-leaning terra cotta color. I think the name is a little misleading since I'm not picking up on any traces of wine at all in this one. Of the five I am showing you, this is the one that's closest to a true red. I like this one because you can easily use it for both daytime and nighttime if you have something going on after work and don't have time to do a whole new face of makeup.

Revlon Super Lustrous 225 Rosewine (Creme)

It's a little muted so that it's still office appropriate, but not so much that you don't have a little bit of drama for a nighttime look.

Revlon Super Lustrous 850 Plum Velour (Shine)
I love berry and plum tones! They offer something a little different from traditional reds. Plum Velour is a sheer, almost balmy type of lipstick. Since this is a shine lipstick, it won't be as opaque as the creme ones.

Revlon Super Lustrous 850 Plum Velour

This is a reddish plum color that I think would be flattering on many different skin tones. Because it's sheer, it's lower maintenance than a traditional creme lipstick. If you're just starting to experiment with lipstick, this finish would be a great one to start with.

Clinique Almost Lipstick Black Honey
I have one lippie from Clinique because I can't ignore this one. It's a cult-classic and people need to know about it! It's one of those shades that look beautiful on anybody. It might be magic! It's this sheer wash of cranberry that just looks so lovely. You can build it up for a darker color but it won't become super opaque like a regular lipstick.  It feels a little bit more solid than the Revlon Super Lustrous line. I guess that's why Clinique calls this line "Almost Lipstick". This has more of a lip balm texture and is quite moisturizing. This is a great option if you are apprehensive about the texture of lipstick and want to use something closer to a tinted lip balm.

Clinique Different Lipstick Black Honey

I received this one in a free gift with purchase for Clinique and I'm finally getting to try it again! I remember I received a tiny little sample size years ago but the darn bullet broke from the base and I had to throw the whole thing out. I was still too young to know how to salvage makeup!

LIP LINERS

I don't think you need a bunch of exactly matchy matchy lip liners to go with your lipsticks. Unless you want your bolder and darker colors to stand out more, you only really need two liners to get the job done most of the time.

Natural Lip Liner
Unfortunately, the CoverGirl lip liner shown above has been discontinued. A great alternative is Revlon's ColorStay Lip Liner in Natural. It's a natural beigey pink that can be paired with lighter and darker colors. Just make sure everything looks blended at the end.

Milani Anti-Feathering Lipliner, Transparent
This stuff is amazing and I highly encourage you to add this to your collection. I didn't even know transparent lip liner existed until last year. I tried looking for the Milani Anti-Feather Lip Liner at CVS but they were always out of stock. I've tried it out with a fuchsia lipstick this week and it performs just as well as Urban Decay's Ultimate Ozone ($16) for a fraction of the price! I bought all three that were on the Milani display when CVS had all of their lipsticks and lip pencils on sale for $2.99 last time. Seriously, if you can find it at CVS, hustle and buy what you can! CVS often has promotions for Buy 1 Get 1 50% Off.

Milani Anti-Feathering Lipliner, Transparent

A transparent lip liner takes all the guess work out of choosing one to match your lipstick. Rimmel also has a transparent lip liner that doesn't require sharpening but I haven't tried it. Honestly, I can probably just use this transparent lip liner for all of my lipsticks, but I have a bunch of mauve, nude, and reddish browns to go through so I can't let those go to waste! Had I known about transparent lipliners before, I would've put my money towards other makeup...like more lipstick :)

Formula:
The Super Lustrous formula is quite creamy and moisturizing. They have a few matte shades, too, but I haven't had the chance to try them yet. The creme finish ones are so pigmented and that's a fantastic feature for a drugstore lippie to have. I highly recommend that you throw on some lipliner whenever you wear lipstick. I don't know about you, but my lipstick tends to feather and bleed on the outline of my lips if I'm without a lip liner.

Because the SL line is so moisturizing, they're by no means long-wearing lipsticks. Expect to reapply every three hours or so and definitely check a mirror if you've been eating or drinking.

Packaging:
I love Revlon's classic black and gold packaging. The clear window on the cap is a nice touch, too. For a drugstore brand, these feel pretty solid and pretty luxurious. I wouldn't mind if they kept the same packaging for decades to come.

Favorites:
I like how Revlon Teak Rose gives me a healthy glow. It's an easy color for me to incorporate into almost any makeup look.
Perhaps it's because I love berry tones, I'm really digging Revlon Plum Velour. The sheerness of it is great so you can build up to the opacity that you'd like. You also don't have to be super careful of how you apply it as you would with a darker and more opaque shade.

Is It Worth Your While?:
YES! I highly recommend that you have at least two shades from Revlon's Super Lustrous line of lipsticks. It's great to have some moisturizing options for lipsticks that are super pigmented.

I hope these are good starting points for those of you wanting to venture out into the red lipstick world. After a while, you may become even more daring with your color choices. It really is whatever you're comfortable with. Just a few years ago, I wasn't used to seeing my lips with a pop of color. Now I think they're a fun way to add a twist to my makeup routine.

I think a natural segway would be to do a post on my favorite really red lipsticks. Stay tuned for that! I previously did a post on MLBBs (My Lips But Better) that you can check out here.

Have you tried Revlon's Super Lustrous line of lipsticks before? Are you considering trying red lipstick for the first time? Let me know in the comments below!

Other products used in today's look:

Face:
Maybelline FitMe! Foundation 120
Clinique Transluscent Powder
Muji Concealer
Essence Silky Touch Blush in Babydoll

Eyes:
Too Faced Chocolate Bon Bons: Pecan Praline, Café au Lait, Black Currant, Molasses Chip, Divinity
Maybelline Volum'Express Cat Eyes Waterproof in Glam Black