Sheer, cool toned red lipstick for those who hate the feeling of lipstick.

[sunshinechaser]

I’m 50 and feel my lips have got thinner over the years. I’m blonde and cool toned and have struggled to find a red lipstick that I suit. Matte lipstick looks awful on me and I kind of hate the feeling of lipstick but I would love to wear more red colours so I thought a light, sheer lipstick might work. Any recommendations?

I use a lip pencil over all my lips, which gives me a good base / outline and colour without lipstick feel. A tip from Barbara Daly (think I've spelled her name correctly), famous make-up artist from the 80s. I then use the shea lip tint from the Boots 17 range to finish.

Thanks @YYURYYUCICYYUR4ME I’m sure I’ve tried that in the past but rubbed it off immediately as it was completely matte and made my lips look flat. It was probably my application method!

Revlon glass shine in Cherry lustre might be worth a look.

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Dior 999 is my go to red lipstick. It was recommended on here as one that suits everyone so I gave it a try and they weren't wrong.

Have you tried any lip stains? I look much better with sheer reds. The ELF Glossy Lip Stains might be a good place to start if you want a cheap tryout. And if you like those, there is a Korean brand called Romand (you can get them on Amazon and various other places online) that do really great lip stains that arent that much more expensive.

I find anything light and sheer has very poor staying power.
You could look at a lip stain or lip tint, there are lots available now. Or a liquid lip colour like Max Factor Lipfinity or similar which last well.
A few suggestions:
Benefit Benetint is a pinky red stain.
Avon do a lip balm stylo in about 6 colours including red which is quite a vivid red.
Clinique do a lip balm/tint in Black Honey which is supposed to be a universal lip colour. I haven’t tried it but do have the Boots 17 version mentioned above which is ok and very cheap if you wanted to try out the colour.

Thanks all-I’ll check these suggestions out. Chat GPT suggested Clinique Black Honey to me so I tried the No 17 dupe but it looked brown on me. I’m honestly ghostly white so it probably looks good on other skin tones.

I have similar colouring to you, and am a similar age. I have tried reds, organges, pinks, stains, glosses, lipsticks, you name it. But the best one I have found, hands down, is a Laura Geller. And v important - it doesn't feather! Just stays within my lip outline, and is light but colourful.

Brick House is the colour - it's redder than it looks on the website. And it's more like a lipstick than a balm. In fact this post has reminded me to buy a few more!

Jelly Balm Hydrating Lip Color | Shiny & Sheer Moisturizing Tinted Lip Balm – Laura Geller Beauty

Oh that’s looks pretty perfect @Charabanc thanks

I've recently started buying the Nivea tinted lip balms as I was fed up of lipstick. They have a selection of shades and cost very little. Good colour pay off too.

Try a Clinique chubby stick or try Kiko Milano’s tinted lip balms.

I’ll check these out-thanks!

Nivea lip balm in cherry is fab.

I like Elizabeth eight hour cream lip protectant in berry. It is very sheer, has an SPF of 15 and isn't drying and I picked mine up on Amazon.

You need Lisa Eldridge’s Baume Embrace melting lip colour in red curve. All the colours in this range are fabulous, you won’t feel like you’re wearing lipstick. It’s not sticky feeling on your lips and has good staying power.

@BettyBeauty that looks like the perfect lipstick formulation but the description says it’s warm. It looks a bit orange maybe? I can’t tell you how awful that would look on me 😂 shame as the formula looks perfect.

oof how did I miss that? It’s in the title! So if you can get hold of it you may get on well with lipstick queen medieval? It’s sheer application. Failing that and a high street bargain would be Rimmel who are good for cool tones, I don’t have a specific one to recommend though. Good luck!

Elizabeth Arden 8 hour lipstick- it’s not really a lipstick, more a lip balm but gives a beautiful sheen AND moisturised lips!! Best thing ever. If you’ve ever tried their 8 hour miracle cream you’ll know (yes, the Prince Harry todger one….! )

I would also give Clinique black honey a strong vote - lovely cool red (with blues not orange), great staying power and so so so light and moisturising! Apparently it’s what they used on Liv Tyler as Arwen in Lord of the Rings, so maybe I’m a bit biased but I love it

Im similar colouring and thoroughly recommend Black Honey. Im not a fan of lip balm, hate the greasiness and generally not actually moisturising my lips thing and don't bother with lipstick these days but I love this. Im always surprised when I see my lips have colour because it just feels...soft. I've not found a decent dupe for it, but Burts Bees in Dahlia isn't bad. Do not bother with the lip oil though. It's pants.

Black Honey is lovely, but it’s not red.

I’ve got a Chanel one _ Rouge Coco Flash in Flame 164 - which is lovely and light.

Contrary to advertising Black Honey doesn't suit everyone, it's very brown on me so worth testing before buying, I much prefer the Pink Honey version.

Black Honey is completely brown on me too. I would
like to try the Pink Honey one-thanks for reminding me about that!

Elf lip gloss in a tube in the red colour. It's lovely. Im 59.