Red comes and red goes, but the latest take on one of beauty’s most classic looks is the prettiest (and probably the most summer-appropriate) we’ve seen in a while. Call it cherry, call it candied apple, call it Coca-Cola can (just a few of the references that rolled off the runways), it’s all shorthand for a bright, true red, worn with gleaming skin and applied with the steadiest hand you can muster. So here’s everything you need to know, from the texture we’re all talking about to the shade that suits almost everybody. Spoiler alert: if you haven’t learnt to love lip liner just yet, it’s about time you did…
Red right now
Say hello to your summer red: apple-bright, precision-applied and set against a freshly-scrubbed face. “What looks freshest at the moment is the contrast of a perfect red mouth with clean, gleaming skin – almost dewy in places,” says runway makeup artist Sharon Dowsett, who recommends as little base as you can get away with followed by something clear and glossy over eyelids and cheekbones to create “high points of shine.”
Photo: Getty
Skin matters
While the less you wear with it, the better it looks, red lips have a habit of highlighting redness elsewhere in the skin. MAC Senior Therapist Lesley Keane dusts illuminating powder over a lightweight base and then goes in with a tiny eyeliner brush to dot concealer over any blemishes. “Powder your chin, sides of your nose and forehead with a regular powder so you don’t look too shiny and you’re red-ready.”
MAC Mineralize Skinfinish Natural, £24
Photo: MAC
Learn your lines
Summer’s cartoon-perfect shape makes lip liner a must. Sharon Dowsett promises a Eureka moment with the following technique. “Outline your Cupid’s bow followed by a horizontal dash along the fullest part of your lower lip and sideways Vs in the corners of your mouth. Then join everything together with short strokes, working from the corners up to the Cupid’s bow, and from the centre of the bottom lip up to the corners.”
Photo: Courtesy of MAC
Lock it down
Or go one step further and use your liner to create a budge-proof undercoat. “Line your lips with a pencil that matches the shade of your lipstick as closely as possible, then fill them in completely,” says Sarah Reygate, makeup artist to Daisy Lowe. “Apply your lipstick from the bullet, blot, re-apply with a brush to really work the colour into the skin then blot again. It won’t move.”
Tom Ford Lip Colour Matte in Ruby Rush, £38 and Laura Mercier Lip Pencil in True Red, £19
Photo: Tom Ford
Lip service
Ever triple-decked your lip balm? It’ll make your red go on smoother, last longer and flake less, says makeup artist Kenneth Soh. “Apply a rich balm the night before then buff the next morning with a warm, damp flannel. Apply another lighter balm five minutes before doing your lip colour, then add a dab to the centre of your lower lip afterwards and purse gently to disperse without dislodging your lipstick.”
Photo: Getty
Liquid or stick?
The shade of the season might be Coca-Cola red, but the texture of the day is liquid. “I’ve been using liquid lipstick since the early noughties, when I had to bring it back from Japan,” says Kenneth Soh. “Bullets are great for a really dense colour, but liquid is so much faster, easier to apply, and more precise. I always wondered what took it so long to get here.”
Try Revlon Ultra HD Matte Lipcolour in HD Love, £8.99 or MAC Retro Matte Liquid Lipcolour in Fashion Legacy, £21
Photo: Revlon
Confidence tricks
“Like a new pair of shoes, a new shade of lipstick needs to be worn in a little if it feels uncomfortable at first,” says Poppy King of Lipstick Queen. “Get used to seeing yourself in it by wearing it at home, while you do the vacuuming or watch TV. And if you’re worried about smudging, there’s nothing wrong with checking your reflection in the blade of a knife when you’re out for dinner.”
Lipstick Queen Lipstick in Eden, £22 (available from April at Space NK)
Photo: Lipstick Queen
Dial it down
Diluting your brave new red into a stain will also make it more wearable – Sharon Dowset recommends working a lip crayon over a coat of balm for a more muted look. Or pick up one of the new sheers that’ll do the job for you. Bourjois’ new matte gives a glowing wash of marshmallow-soft red, while Lancôme’s latest launch is a barely-there dab-and-go gloss.
Lancôme Juicy Shaker in Cherry Symphony, £18
Nars Velvet Matte Lipstick in Red Square, £19
Bourjois Rouge Edition Souffle de Velvet in Coquelic’oh, £8.99
Photo: Lancome
The red that suits everyone
So what’s the ultimate red? Probably Chanel’s iconic Pirate, says Sharon Dowsett. “It’s an amazing shade – a combination of rich true red and cool blue undertones that suits almost everyone. It’s certainly the one that comes out of my kit more than any other. And if anyone says you have the wrong skin tone for a red, ignore them and try it anyway – sometimes it’s the clash that makes it work.’
Chanel Rouge Allure Luminous Intense Lip Colour in Pirate, £26
Photo: ChanelLike what you see? How about some more R29 goodness, right here?
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