Fall is in the air, is it not?

Well, it isn’t actually here where I live yet.  But, that has never stoppped makeup trends, and a hot one this fall is red lips.

I won’t lie, red lips are hard to pull off well.  You really do have to have the perfect color for your skin tone, or it just looks really bad.  And unfortunately, the best way to pick that perfect red is to try it on.  Use any other method, and you are likely to end up making a return trip to the store.

Some general guidelines are if you have fair skin, choose a red with a blue undertone. If you have a bit of color, you could spring for something with some orange undertones.  If you are tan or have quite a bit of color, rust overtones look good.  A true, London-bus red looks good on everyone, but they are hard to find.

So what I will do is give you tips on how to make your red lips look fab:

1. Use lip liner to give the color something to grab onto, because “bleeding” red lipstick is a horrible, horrible thing.  A liner that matches exactly is best, since manufacturers often offer liners in the same color as the lipstick. If you can’t find one, a liner that matches your natural lip color as closely as possible will also work.

2. Always use a lip brush to apply red lipstick, using the longest strokes possible. 

3. Make sure that you cover your lips entirely with the lipstick, including the corners.

4. Also key to keeping that color on your lips is blending concealer, preferably with a brush, around the edges of your mouth after the lipstick has been applied.

5. Gloss is optional, using it will soften the impact of the red.

6. Keep your eyes light.  A heavy, smoky eye competing with red lipstick is going to have people thinking you are off to a Halloween party.

And there you go! Now that wasn’t so bad, was it?

One lipstick to try in a nice, true red like the one I mentioned above is Christian Dior Premiere.