red lipstick - why cant I get it right?

[HappyHugs]

I really want to wear red lippy with a new red dress but every time I try it looks like I've got false lips on!! I usually wear a rosy pink liner and gloss and have dark hair and v pale skin. Im 40 ish. Is it really so difficult?!

Lipstick Queen do some excellent red shades, I love Deep Red Sinner though I am more of a pink complexion than you are.

It takes time to get used to how it looks with a red/bright/darker lipstick than usual. So you might feel that it looks strange when you just put it on, but after a while, you should get used to how it looks.

Instead of going for a full red mouth, how about starting with a stain? It's still red, but not as much in-your-face as a classic red lip.

Also, if you need to use a lip liner, either use one in the same colour as the lipstick or a clear one. I personally don't think it works with a pink one, nor does a nude one look right.

I always match my blush colour to the colour of my lipstick. You can even use the lipstick as a blush by applying it in thin layers with your fingers.

Depending on your skin tone, consider a warm toned red instead of the blue toned like Ruby Woo.
You can also go darker or lighter. I personally love Tom Ford's Black Orchid lipstick (I'm fair with warm undertones, medium blond hair, blue eyes). Revlon Fire & Ice is nice too - used as a stain, it looks coral on me, while used as a classic lipstick, it's a bright red.
I have MAC Absolute Power and Ronnie Red, which are similar to Ruby Woo, but less matte (and Ronnie Red is brighter). They are nice, no doubt, but they are very drying (which I find with all MAC lipsticks), to the point of my lips being very flaky. Also, they leave a very pink stain on my lips and after a couple of hours, the lipstick looks pink on me, not red.

A neutral red might be better for you - such as MAC Russian Red.

Revlon lip butter in candy apple is bloody good

Something slightly darker, such as the colour of Chanel Rouge Allure Laque in Dragon looks really good on pale skin as well.

It's been discontinued, but you can probably find dupes and pictures of it on google.

Yy to darker shades on pale skins, of course. They are less flattering on slimmer lips and smaller mouths, unless one is prepared to go for a really stylized, drawn on look.

There's plenty to think about here, thank you all. I also have green eyes with the pale skin, dark hair combo and tend to use a rose toned cream blusher for my dry skin, i probably need to change that colour too. I have tried various red lippys that end up looking orange or pink. I am now on a mission to crack this!

'Revlon lip butter in candy apple is bloody good'

Agree - I'm reallly quite scared of red lipstick but really like Candy Apple, it's a very wearable colour and texture

Another vote for Candy Apple - I find it very wearable and i'm scared of red lipstick!

Try a sheer one.
I have Candy Apple but it does nothing for me.
The red Revlon Chubby stick - which I can't read the name of, at the moment, is perfect.
Nars Gypsy is very easy as well. And sheer.

Your colouring sounds similar to mine from your description (check out my profile pic) and although it sounds like typical cool colouring it's actually neutral/warm. I too have to have a bit of glossiness in my lipstick or I just look weird/wrong/old.

I tend to wear neutral to slightly warm reds applied with my finger so it's sheer and then I put some red sheer gloss (like the lip plumping ones Soap and Glory do) in the middle.

i love red lippy but i always go for red with blue tones or it makes my teeth look yellow. (so darker reds)

i have very full lips so if i go for red (full on!) i keep eyes simple - just a smudge of eyeliner and mascara.

i always use lip liner and a brush for a full on colour, and blot it its too much.

gloss tends to make me look a bit 80;s

Try Revlon Really Red and/or the Revlon lip crayon in Romantic. Both are terrific on me - other reds go horridly pinky.

My Revlon Stick is Romantic as well.
Really nice colour.

Oh ta op-I was a make-up artist and stylist, yes.
I am similar colouring to you, but with lighter hair, and I can't wear much lipstick except for red! Nude shades do not work on me at all for instance, I look better with nothing on my mouth at all.
It isn't just about colouring, lip shape is also a big factor. Very chiselled edges to the lips, which look lovely when natural and left alone, can sometimes look very drag-queeny with red or brights. Strong features can look amazing with red, or hard, it is all just trial and error. I love hot pinks on other women, but they don't often suit me. Strangely I suited gloss much more when I was pregnant, I think my lips plumped up a bit!
I wonder if just getting a few mates round with all their lipsticks, and all of you having a play with the pool of colours and seeing what suits over cake and a glass of wine might be easier than a department store and a lot more fun. Then you will at least have narrowed it down a bit.

Red lipstick always looks good.

if you think you cant wear red lipstick, its more because of how you feel about yourself than about the shade.

Hmmm, I'm not sure that's true. I think I look pretty good. Groomed, clear skin, hair blow dried, natural glowy makeup. I look better now at 43 than I did in my 20s. I'm no super model but I'm attractive.

Whenever I try red on and show other people, not one of them likes it on me.

I'm going to go and so some trying on in town this week.

Sorry for the hijack OP!

Sheer lipsticks are a lot easier to wear. A strong red needs a certain amount of confidence. I've recently discovered Lipstick Queen in Medieval. It's a lovely sheer red which you can build up. It feels like a balm & is very easy to wear and very comfortable on my easily irritated lips. It looks just as good with a full evening face or a bare one. It reminds me a lot of the discontinued Bobbi Brown Ruby Stain which I used to wear every day.

Has anyone tried the lipsticks from Besame Cosmetics?

I have a couple of besame reds. I like the tube a lot, but the colours are not amazing on me. . They are strong and a good texture though, so might be perfect on someone else.

Sorry if this has already been suggested, but if you find Revlon Lip Butter in Candy Apple too warm, try the Red Velvet one - it's a deeper, cooler version and very wearable.

It's not quite...red enough, though, I found. I have just slicked on some more Romantic - it's a lovely clear red.

I'm now so confused about what's warm, cool etc. I need to scuttle back to the bra threads

motherinferior do you mean the Red Velvet? It's not a proper bright red, no, but v useful and goes with everything.

Sorrel I tend to go buy the rule of if it looks at all orange, peach or brown and makes me look terrible, then it's warm!

I found it a bit purply. I like a red, me. RED red.