Bold Red Lips

A bold, red lip is the ultimate minimal-effort, maximal-impact move, which can switch your look from casual to dramatic in one sweep, and has the added bonus of making your skin look brighter (thus making you look more refreshed and put-together). 

Matte, cream or high-shine, the secret to a perfect red lip is to find the right tone of red to suit the undertone of your skin, as an unsuitable shade runs the risk of making one's skin look sallow or vampiric. The basic rule is that warmer skin tones suit reds with a coral / orangey undertone; where as cooler skin tones suit red with a blueish undertone. Having said that, I'm a firm believer of "if you love it, rock it," so the above comment is only intended to provide a rough starting point.

It is often difficult to tell the undertone of a particular lip colour on its own, so when I shop I always pick out a few reds which catch my eye and swatch them side-by-side. Once placed next to one another, the undertones of the lip colours become more apparent. To illustrate, in the photo below, due to lighting, some of the swatches look pink, and others berry-toned. However, in person, all of these would be considered reds. 

From L to R: 999, Fiery, Russian Red, Fire & Ice, MAT6, Ruby Ripple, Napa Vineyard

To showcase the lip products as they are, I applied all the lip colours on bare lips with nothing but the product discussed, despite the fact that I would recommend a lip liner with any bold colours to prevent colour-bleeding (especially around the corners of the lips - something I struggled with by applying them free-hand in this post) and to create a sharper, more precise shape. 

Dior 999

One of the most famous red lipsticks is Dior 999: its predecessor, the original Dior No 9, was rumoured to be the colour worn during Dior's very first fashion show. While it is considered a quintessential red lipstick, when viewed in day light, the red leans more towards the warm side: it has a distinctly orangey tone. The texture of this lipstick is very creamy and ever so slightly glossy (though not high-shine). 

Tone: warm-leaning

Finish: cream

Staying Power: make sure you apply, blot, reapply, blot - otherwise it is not a very long-lasting lipstick and it does transfer the minute you take a bite of anything. 

Price: * * * * 

Also Try: YSL Rouge Pur Couture No 1 Le Rouge (for something cooler) 

Stila Fiery 

The biggest game-changer in recent years for me is the advent of the liquid lipstick. In the past, red lipsticks have always made me slightly wary because while a bold red lip looks wonderful, bold red teeth look a lot less wonderful. Liquid lipsticks, for the most part, does away with that problem. 

Stila has a range of light-as-feather liquid lipsticks in almost every shade you could wish for (unless you want to be more adventurous by playing with blacks and blues and other bold colours, as I have seen being introduced by a number of brands recently). Once these babies dry down, you can barely feel their existence - so they are high impact yet low maintenance: really the best of both worlds.

Tone: neutral, slightly cool

Finish: matte

Staying Power: these babies do not budge - but even they won't survive a greasy fried chicken, in which case you might end up looking like a blood-drinking monster if you're not careful - definitely not speaking from experience. Not. 

Price: * * * 

Also Try: Smashbox Always On Liquid Lipstick in Bang Bang (for something warmer)

MAC Russian Red

Russian Red is said to be one of Madonna's favourite lipsticks, thus propelling it to international fame and since then, it has gathered a cult following. Although it is matte and thus erring on the dry side, Russian Red is still comfortable enough to wear all day and all night long. 

Tone: often described as cool leaning, I would argue it is a neutral red in day light

Finish: matte

Staying Power: pretty good, made better by the apply - blot - apply trick. 

Price: * * * 

Also Try: MAC Ruby Woo (for something warmer and of equal cult status) 

Revlon Fire & Ice 

Lip colour is definitely one of the items (along with mascara) where you don't have to spend big bucks to get beautiful results. Many drugstore options are just as great as their pricier counterparts, with the big names bringing out collections of affordable and quality lip colours every season. 

Among the drugstore favourites, Revlon's Fire & Ice is one that has (what I consider) the biggest cult-status. A somewhat controversial colour - you either love it or hate it. In the tube, Fire & Ice looks alarmingly orange; in some lights it looks like a fuchsia; and on some skin tones it applies almost neon - I happen to like it, but this is one you should definitely try on your lips before you buy (if you are able to do so in a hygienic manner). 

A trick I recently discovered: you can tone the neon / orange down into a warm, dusty pink if you apply a full-coverage nude lipstick underneath. I recommend Clinique Matte Suede. 

Tone: no surprise that this is a warm-leaning red

Finish: cream

Staying Power: not bad

Price: * * 

Also Try: I haven't found anything quite like Fire & Ice

Maybelline MAT6

We're back on the cool side of red with Maybelline MAT6. Maybelline is well-known for the quality of their lip products, and this red lipstick is no exception. It has a creamy-matte finish and applies smoothly, without tugging on the lips. Given the price, the only complaint I have for this lipstick (and Maybelline lipsticks in general) is the packaging - I really dislike the semi-transparent plastic caps which do not match the shades, making it cheap-looking and impractical. For example, this cool red came in a warm coral tube - if you have a few of these lip sticks things can get very confusing very quickly. 

Tone: cool-leaning

Finish: matte

Staying Power: not bad

Price: * 

Also Try: L'Oreal Color Riche Collection Exclusive Reds in Eva's Red (for something warmer)

Burt's Bees Ruby Ripple

I am quite a fan of Burt's Bees skin care products - especially their lip balms (not so much their banana cream - I simply cannot stand that smell! It kills me) so when I found out they came out with a range of lipsticks, I thought I had found the perfect product for the lazy me: something to  give colour and moisture at the same time. 

This product, unfortunately, disappointed me. While it lived up to my expectations at first, something weird happened after about a month: the lipstick started to sweat and small hard beads formed on top of the lipstick, making even application impossible. I haven't subjected it to any different conditions to my other lip products, so I know it's a case of 'it's not me, it's you'. So despite its lovely colour, I'd have to give this a pass.

Tone: slightly cool-leaning

Finish: creamy

Staying Power: too moisturising to have real staying power

Price: * 

Also Try: something that doesn't get all weird after a month or two

Burt's Bees Lip Crayon in Napa Vineyard 

All is not lost! Burt's Bees' version of the Clinique Chubby Stick does live up to expectations. It is moisturising but still pigmented, and applies as smoothly as a dream. It also has a little bit of the sweating problem (perhaps it's something to do with the use of natural wax or the absence of some ingredients used by other brands? I'm not sure) but so far, it has not started to produce those weird hard beads so it does not affect use in any way. 

Tone: slightly cool-leaning

Finish: creamy

Staying Power: too moisturising to have real staying power

Price: * 

Also Try: the original, unbeatable Clinique Chubby Sticks in the Intense range

What is your go-to red lip? I would love to know - comment below and I'll try to find it!