Choosing The Right Red

The key to choosing the perfect red lip color for your skin tone is to look for something that's going to complement your skin tone, bringing out the natural undertones in your skin, and making you look brighter and more radiant. 

In general, all you need to know to choose your perfect red lip color is:

• Warm skin tones suit yellow or orange reds, such as poppy red, tomato red, fire-engine red and maroon. Corals look great on warm skin tones, too.

• Cool skin tones suit blue or pink reds, such as crimson, berry, cherry red, ruby and strawberry.

The color of your skin also has a huge impact on which shade of red best suits your skin tone. 

• Those women with fair skin with a warm skin tone suit corals and brick reds that warm up the complexion, while those with fair skin and cool skin tones suit pinky corals and true red hues with a hint of blue.

• Those ladies with medium or olive skin are very lucky — they can get away with wearing hundreds of different red lip hues. Most shades will work with olive and medium skin coloring, so experiment until you find a color that you really love. True reds, cranberries, pinky reds and tomato reds can look fabulous with your coloring — but remember to always choose shades that suit your skin tone above anything else.

• Those women with darker skin tones and cooler undertones really suit deep berry reds like jam, fig and dark cherry. If you have darker skin and a warmer skin tone, bright orange reds and corals can really pop against your skin, and they're particularly beautiful in the summertime.

Applying Your Red Lipstick

Once you've chosen the perfect red lipstick for you, you still need to know how to apply it! For a stained look that's perfect for everyday wear, simply blot the lipstick onto your finger and dab it onto the lips, concentrating the color at the center of the lips. Daytime looks are understated, and it's important not to overdo it.

For a look that'll last through dinner, drinks and beyond, you will need to spend a little more time — but it'll most definitely be worth it. Exfoliate your lips using a soft toothbrush first, and then smooth on some lip balm. Let the lip balm completely sink in to your lips, and then blot with a tissue paper. Using a lip liner that matches your lipstick, line the lips and then fill them in.

Next, use a lip brush to brush the lipstick onto the lips, which will result in a much neater, more polished, look. Apply two or three times, blotting your lips on tissue paper in between each application — this'll mean that your lipstick lasts for hours and hours. Finish with a coat of lip sealant to lock in the color.