The Rules of Red Lipstick

I had a very dear friend of mine ask me recently if I thought she could pull off red lipstick, and I told her that of course, anyone can pull off red lipstick as long as they do it right. And the ensuing conversation is what led her to the decision that I needed a blog, which is undoubtedly how and why she became my first follower within ten minutes of creating this blog. (Love you!) So, in her honor, it seemed only appropriate that I use my first post to share with the world the rules of red lipstick.

Rule #1: Fire engine red is not the only shade of red lipstick out there.
I'm serious about this one. Yes, it is what you're thinking of when you think to yourself, "I could never wear red lipstick", and that's exactly the reason you think that! There is a very select group of the population that can walk around with lips the color of the red crayon in the Crayola 8-pack and actually look good. We all know there are a gazillion shades of red in the world (otherwise the Crayola 96-pack would've been a bust), so I don't know why women have such a hard time applying this concept to their lipstick. There IS an appropriate red shade out there for you! It's just probably not the one you're thinking of. Which leads me to...

Rule #2: Try before you buy.
Take it from someone who spent most of her high school years attempting (for reasons I can no longer remember or fathom) to find the perfect shade of lip-liner. Every time we went to Wal-Mart or CVS, I would find some new $1 lip pencil I hadn't tried yet and think, "This is the one!" and it never was. If I had taken all those one dollar bills and combined them to get one really good lip-liner, I might have actually worn lip-liner at some point in my life. So the lesson here is don't buy red lipsticks and try them at home, because you are not only wasting money, but now you have all these red lipsticks you will never wear, which is kind of perpetuating the myth that red lipstick is impossible to wear, now isn't it? Any department store makeup clerk will try out different shades on you, but if you are on more of a budget and/or don't like the pressure of salespeople (I'm definitely an and in this case!), I recommend Kohl's or Ulta, both of which have do-it-yourself trial areas.

Rule #3: Don't make anything else compete with your lipstick.
This is a tricky one, because it's not like you're putting on this fabulous shade of lip color to go to the gym. (Although if you are, props!) Odds are, you're going somewhere fairly fancy. So in general, this rule isn't applicable to your clothing. Hopefully for this swanky party, you've got a dress that deserves your red lipstick, and vice versa. I'm mostly talking about makeup. If you do a bright red lip, you need to go easy on the rest of your face; if you don't, you'll look like Mimi from The Drew Carey Show, but don't completely discard the rest of your makeup for the night. Think of it this way: your red lipstick is the star, and everyone else is the supporting cast. Your lipstick should look great, but it doesn't need to be a one-woman show. Having makeup that complements your lipstick will make it look even better. Same goes for hair. Go with something that looks good, but not like you spent a ton of time on it. The style I recommended to my friend was a low, loose side bun.

Rule #4: YOU should be the one shining, not your lips.
Sorry, that was a really cheesy rule, but I'm not saying it isn't true. When you're doing a red lip, you don't need the glossy shine on top of it; that goes back to Rule #3. A matte finish is going to look more elegantly understated than smearing an extra layer of gloss on. And a good lip color won't need it anyway (and will have a little bit of that glossy shine to it itself, without needing a separate clear gloss).

This last rule is the most important, so you should prepare yourself. I'll wait. ...... Okay, we good?

Rule #5: Work it, girlfriend!
If you're attempting the red lip, this rule is probably redundant, but it needs to be said anyway. The one thing red lipstick goes best with is a big dose of confidence. If you've followed all the other rules, you look good, I promise. But what will make you look even better is knowing yourself that you look good. So flash those pearly whites and make an entrance! And make other women say, "I wish I could make red lipstick look as good as she does!" But of course, if anyone does say this to you, just tell them how you did it! The best part about being Fabulous is sharing Fabulous!

Enjoy those holiday parties, ladies!