I love a red lip and I thought this was an appropriate time of the year to talk about my top 5, with Valentine’s Day only around the corner. I am not a romantic soul, but any excuse to wear a red lipstick and I am all over it, so keep reading to see what are my favourite red lipsticks are from my stash 🙂

First up is Lime Crime’s Velvetine. This is a bizarrely wonderful product. It is so opaque and creamy in texture. The colour is nearly over whelming when you first use it as it has so much colour pay off in lipgloss form, but once you get used to it it’s a fab product. It is a beautiful rich red with the blue undertone we want so our teeth look whiter:

The finish of it is in the name it definitely. It has a matte velvet look once it dries and once it dries it is not budging. It is on your lips to stay, so you can kiss all you want (bleh) :). I’ll admit, I bought this because of the hype around it and have to say I’m glad I did, it is a welcome product to my ever expanding make up collection.

My next red love is Mac’s Ririwoo.

This is basically Rubywoo in rose gold packaging for an extra 4 euro, but I just couldn’t resist, I am drawn to shiny things. Ririoo has a “retro matte” finish according to Mac. I construe this as being a matte lipstick but not so matte your lips crack from the dryness so it is easy to wear as it doesn’t have a complete matte finsh:

This is a very similar red to the Velvetine, rich and pigmented with a blue undertone that I think would be suitable for all skin tones. With this lipstick however, you have the choice of how deep you want the colour in accordance to how much you add, if you use a lip liner underneath and if you if you diffuse it with your finger or a brush for a lighter  day appropriate application. Mac really do make fab lipsticks and this is probably one of their most popular ones and with owning it I can see why.

Third up on my list is a red for the people who aren’t really a fan of the traditional bright red. This is Nars’ Joyous Red.

This is a hybrid of colours, which I know does not look very appealing in the tube, although it does have the lovely smooth black packaging to compensate :). This is an unusual lipstick, it is semi-matte with a satin/glossy finish. The colour reminds me of Autumn, it borders on brown and red which I think is a great option for a day time lip. Again can be worn full on:

Or muted down with a just s few dabs added and using your finger to work the colour into the lips. I think this is a lipstick that looks fab on pale skin and older ladies who still want to rock a bold lip with out going full on Marilyn with it. I wear this lippie quite alot to brighten up my makeup without having to put too much effort in and the formulation is beautiful, it fades away really nicely so is great for wearing to work. Not a traditional choice I know, but I thought not everyone likes bold red so why not mix it up a bit.

Next on the list is my very loved Revlon Lip Butter in Candy Apple. I was obsessed with these when they first came out and have quite a few.

I love the packaging as much as I love the product inside (I am a sucker I know). These are like a lip gloss, lipstick and lip balm in one:

They are so nourishing and easy to apply but are quite pigmented and long lasting to boot. Candy Apple is a lovely,youthful, vibrant glossy red that is not too over the top. I think this would be great for anyone really, particularly anyone who is scared of red lipstick but really wants to experiment. The lip butters in general and their colour range are a great place to start incorporating colour into your makeup routine as they are easy to maintain on the go, can be worn sheer or full on and are very mistake forgiving. I would recommend them to anyone.

Last on my voyage of reds is a bit of a special one, but I could not talk about my collection without adding this one in for good measure 🙂

This was actually a Christmas pressie from the boyfriend along with the gorgeous eyeshadow quad mentioned here This is Tom Ford’s lip colour in “Cherry Lush”. The name say it all, this is a opaque, not too glossy cherry red colour but again with a slight blue undertone, that will lasts a long time and fades beautifully throughout the day (or night):

The packaging is so luxurious too. Black, gold and sleek that feels heavy in your hand. Can that justify paying 46Euro for a lipstick? Absolutely not. But will I do it again? Probably! I adore this lipstick, I love the colour, I think anyone could wear it and I think for a treat or present (hint hint Valentine’s Day present), this is a fab lipstick that really is pretty amazing. Well done Tom!

To maintain your lovely red pout, make sure to always give your lips a good ex foliate and add a slick of lip balm while doing the rest of your makeup. Line the lips with a similar colour of lipliner, this gets your lip line just right and you can even it out if it’s a bit wonky like mine, although I didn’t use one for the pics as I did not want to compromise the colours. Also do the blot, repeat step. Use a lip brush to fill in your lips with the lipstick, use one layer of a tissue, put it up yo your mouth and with a brush and some translucent powder blot lightly over the lips with the tissue on top, taking up the excess product. Then, apply another layer of lipstick out of the bullet and you’ll be good to go.

So there you have it, some red goodies to get you in the festive mood for this coming February the 14th whether you are celebrating with your other half, your friends or family, why not rock a red lip and get into the spirit of things. It is a Friday after all, I think Friday is worth celebrating even if Valentine’s Day isn’t 😛

Thanks for reading

Gemma

xxx