Hey Guys!
So I was itching to add a dash of vamp to my makeup arsenal, and nothing seemed more fun than a bright red lip. I’m usually a very classic girl when it comes to makeup–I keep my Oh Baby! and Explicit brown sparkly lipglosses on tap and don’t tend to diverge much from light champagnes or the occasional dark plum. I asked a few of my twitter peeps what bright reds typically work for brown skinned babes, and they recommended everything from Lancome’s Berry Noir to MAC’s Ruby Woo, Russian Red, or Spice It Up.
With so many options, I thought it best to drop by my local MAC store…
…to try out a few colors for myself. Of course I had to bring along my friends Rachel and Helene for honest second (and third) opinions.
When I walked in, I was a bit overwhelmed by the choices:
…so had my friend Helene go first!
Our wonderful makeup artist started her off with Russian Red:
…it was perfect! She didn’t need a pencil at all, and it worked well with her skin tone.
Feeling more sure of myself, I decided to put Ruby Woo on my friend Rachel:
Rachel isn’t much of a makeup girl, and rarely wears anything on her lips, so the color was a bit much for her:
She wasn’t in love.
She took back the wheel and tested the Russian Red that worked for Helene…
…and voila! The color looked great on her!
I was up next, but left the lipstick application to the professionals. Since Russian Red was working for my friends, I tried it first…
Honestly, not bad…but it didn’t quite set it off for me as it did for my friends! I wasn’t convinced, so my makeup artist applied a bit of Lady Danger:
Not bad! A little bright, but I think I can work it!
The budget fashionista that I am, of course I remembered MAC’s Back2Mac program, where you can bring in 6 empty containers in exchange for a free lipstick! I brought in all those old empty tubes of Oh Baby!, and traded them in for my new hot Lady Danger!
Rachel ended up passing on purchasing, but Helene was all about her Russian Red:
What’s your go-to bright lipstick?
Smootches!
No MAC store near you? Purchase a few of our picks here:
Great post! I am currently in the process of finding a new red lipstick. Everything I try has either too much or not enough redness.
Hmmm you’ve inspired me! My mother who is a chocolate diva, like myself, has rocked red lipstick since b4 i was born. I’ve always thought she looked BEAUTIFUL in red lipstick, but i was too chicken to follow her lead. But today is a new day and now imma try. She’ll be so proud! Great post!
My go to red lip is MAC Ruby Woo…..I’m darker than you
Claire and it works! Next time give it a try.
The “red” looks great on all 3 of you ladies. I tried a red lipstick out for the first time over the weekend and loved it. I happened to find red MAC lipstick in my stash that I never used.
Great post Claire, I must say I admire your determination to find the right shade, I felt your pain because I’m also dark skinned and even though I love bright red lips, I didn’t always feel so confident wearing it myself. However I did find a color that works great, it’s by HIP Color called Red Turbulence. I highly recommend it to any fashionista and you can find in your local drug store.
Love red lipstick! It’s my favorite fall/winter accessory! And, it looks so much better without the shine of lip gloss, if done right! : )
Claire I like the Russian Red, I on a lunch whem, went into my local Mac store and tried on the Russian Red, I didn’t even want eat lunch that day, I looked HOT..I love love it. It was very dramatic, though a bit much for the office..
Claire – Dare You (cremesheen) by MAC is to die! Not only does it have it’s own shimmer, but it is silky smooth; a must have! Look for it at your local MAC. If you are unable to get it let me know, and I will ship you one.
I agree totally with Shoefetish. That Russian red on you Claire is really nice.
I have the ruby woo lip gloss and the russian red lipstick which i like. but the best, absolute best shade of red i have found is the Cruella satin lip pencil from NOIR, it’s 25 so I have to save up for that splurge, but it is FABULOUS!
I meant it’s from Nars :)
Sephora has some great colors also..chic red (made my the sephora brand) is one I have recently found (I’m new to the world of red myself) and they have a few other great ones for different skin tones. I am enjoying my new found boldness..lol. Just thought I would give another option to MAC.
Forget the lipstick; Claire, are you wearing a Grace Jones tee and if so, where did you get it???
Love the lip color and the shades!
Hey Dolls!
Thanks for the comments;)
@Georgia Maude Yep, that’s a Grace Jones Tee, I got it at Zara in Paris. They may have ’em in the states!
And @Couture Trash, Thanks! My shades are actually by Samantha Smikle of Odd & Even NYC, I wrote about the shades on the site here:
http://fashionbombdaily.com/2009/07/steal-of-the-day-chain-shades-by-odd-even-nyc/
Only $20!
Yikes! I cringed, please don’t put the tester makeup directly on your lips! Germs for days, swine flu.. hello!
Claire! I love your sunnies!
I love this!
I have the same Grace Jones shirt in white–got it from Zara in DC while on a short vacay.
But if you really want to knock ’em dead in red—check out Chanel’s Rougue Laque in Dragon #75. It’s a HOT and bold but extremely wearable red that works on dozens of skin tones. I also love MAC Dubbonet.
I love love Russian Red! Its so pretty and makes me feel extra fierce when I wear it.
@ Melissa LOL. We dipped all the lipsticks in alcohol and wiped them off before trying.
You’ve gotta sample to see what works! Thankfully we survived;)
C
That’s my favorite MAC store. I love the team over there.