The Perfect Dark Red Lipstick

I want to take a quick side road from all of the holiday baking (and all of the yummy recipes I’m about to drop on you) to talk about the Perfect Dark Red Lipstick! I know that holiday parties and just daily chic-ness comes a’callin and you may want some help picking out that perfect deep, dark red shade (we’re not talking about the Santa red shade today, we’re more dabbling in “Oxblood” here) of lipstick that you can boldly wear day or night. 

 I have loved the look of a deep red lip for a few years now, but haven’t been able to find a color I truly love. And rather than wear a substitute, I chose to wear nude or a vibrant red until “the one” comes to me. Well, it certainly is here and it’s actually 3 colors!

Here’s how I found my favorite red/reds in the “deep red” category. There’s a very purple red (the Mac), a dark burnt strawberry-esque red (the Dior), and a plum red liner (also Dior). This trio makes SO many options for me and I can’t get enough.

Mac matte lipstick in shade Fashion Revival – This Mac shade, I’m told, is limited edition. Which promptly instills a panic attack within me. It is a very purpley red and it has a matte finish. The matte finish is KEY. You can thus wear it without a liner and it stays put for HOURS (I wore this shade solo while my mom was visiting, and at the end of the day my mom was shocked that it lasted all day long, even through lunch and lattes). I love this shade and I’m shocked that I adore a purple-red. It starts getting me to that “oxblood” shade that is super popular. 

How to wear it:

Solo (no liner)

With the Dior Thrilling Plum lipliner (adds a beautiful deeper yet subtle red-tone to it) {like this in bright sun or this in darker lighting}

With the Dior Thrilling Plum lipliner and blended with Dior lipstick in shade Pied-de-Poule (THIS is the oxblood shade you’re looking for. BUT because the Dior lipstick has a tad sheen to it, you will have to reapply after meals. No big deal, because the payoff is gorgeous color).

 

Dior Voluptuous Care lipstick in shade #977, Pie-de-Poule — This shade is what I describe as a “burnt strawberry” shade. It’s red but not pop red and it isn’t bland…it’s dark. And it has a slight sheen to it. You need to wear it with a liner to get it to stay and not stray (sorry ladies, that’s just how it is with all non-matte dark colors). I first saw this color when waltzing through the mall and stumbling upon the Dior counter. The lady behind the counter had winter-white skin and was wearing this shade with the lipliner I’m about to brag all about. Thus, I had to have it. Although I don’t have the same skin tone as her, I still found this color to be 100% perfect for me.
You can wear this shade with a similar, more matching lipliner and you’ll get the “true shade” of it. That’s beautiful and perfect. BUT I’ve started to play with color mixing to get the shade I WANT (I’ve found that the “perfect shade” of whatever tone you’re looking for may not exist, but by mixing colors you’ll be more likely to find it. Makes sense, right?). Thus, wear it with the Thrilling Plum lipliner (read my liner tips below!) and it becomes a rich vampy dark deep red. My husband called me Morticia yesterday because this was the combo I was wearing, and he meant it as a stellar compliment.

How to wear it:

With a matching lipliner (for a true-to-color burnt strawberry red)

With a purple-red tone lipliner, Thrilling Plum (for a vampy dark deep red)

With Thrilling Plum liner and mixed with Mac Fashion Revival (for Oxblood lips)

 

There ya go! So there are SO many options once you think outside of the “one tube” lip color or matching liner and tube set. When you start color mixing to get the shade you want, you find other shades in between that are wearable too and you also get that “one” shade you’ve been searching for. I highly recommend this trio of lip shades if Oxblood is a color you’ve been searching for!

 

A few notes on wearing dark, red-toned lip colors:

1. Prep your lips! Exfoliate your lips with a soft toothbrush or with a sugar lip scrub. Slough off all of the flakies before you put on dark lip color, or else the color will cling to the uneven patches and create dark spots.
2. If you crave moisture under your color (yes, matte colors are very drying but that helps them stay all day!), apply chapstick, wait a few moments while it soaks in, then wipe off the excess before you apply your color! You want a clean palate to start with.
3. If you’re using a liner (with non-matte shades, USE it), line the TRUE shape of your lips. Not inside, not outside. Just line your true lips. Then you’ll avoid embarrassing photos 20 years down the road. Line your lips, then FILL them in with the liner. THEN proceed to lipstick.
4. More thoughts on lipliner: you don’t have to line in one, contiguous line. I learned from a makeup pro, if you make small lines, like connect-the-dashes, connecting, you may have an easier time with less breath-holding getting a true lip line.
5. If you are craving moisture during the day with that matte lipstick, dab (don’t rub) a bit of chapstick on top of your color and then blot it away.
6. Check your color! Don’t be obsessive, but check and reapply color if-needed throughout the day. After meals or straw usage.
7. Wear neautral or subtle shades on your eyes. Don’t make an over-the-top statement (ie mistake) by doing your eyes AND your lips. Just don’t. Keep it super simple on the lids. You’ll thank me later.

 

I bought my Dior lipsticks at Sephora during their VIB sale so I could get a discount, but they’re sold in major department stores too. I bought my Mac lipstick in a department store at a Mac counter.  

Have any questions? Let me know if you go try any of them on or order any of them!

I joked with a friend recently that I hold beauty school lessons year-round. Yes, there will be booze.

 

This is not a sponsored post. I bought all product with my own pennies and the opinions are my own. Links to Amazon are affiliate links and I get a kickback from a sale, but they’re used only to show you what I’m talking about. No pressure. All love.