Red Hot!

A bright, red lip trend started last Winter at many of the Spring '11 runways.  The summery shades ranged from corally-orange to a brick terra cotta.  A bold, red lip has continued to be a hot trend this Winter, as many of us saw last Sunday night at the Golden Globes. But, as some of us are paler than 6 months ago, a blueish-red works well for the next few months. Here, Kim K wears it perfectly:

I don't latch on to all make up trends, but this one I definitely love. It's actually very easy to incorporate this pop of color in much of your wardrobe.  Black and denim pieces are go-to's when you want to wear red lipstick.  The jewel tones; emerald green, cobalt blue, bright purple also compliment a bold color on your lips.  And the old rule still applies: don't mix pink and red- in an outfit OR with your makeup!

The golden ticket to wearing a red lip well is to not over-do the eye makeup.  For so long, the smoky eye has been everywhere, making an intense statement at the top of the face, balanced by a pale, glossy lip.  Wearing a bold, red lip, you want to do the opposite and soften the eye with brown or bronzey colors. 

Here's a couple luxurious reds that I absolutely love:

For the orangy-red tones, try NARS' Velvet Matte Lip pencil in Red Square or Stiletto by Kat Von D.

For a more wintery, blue red, M.A.C.'s M.A.C. Red is perfect and for the perfect bricky, tomato-y lipstick, get Rouge Artist Intense, #41, by Make Up For Ever- It's my new fave for the Fall and Winter!

I've also found that less expensive, all-day cream lipsticks work well. Maybelline Color Stay in All Day Cherry is a great color, but it can be drying- just use a lip primer or the clear gloss coat over, to help keep your lips moisturized.

Another key is that a lip liner (one that matches the lipstick) is more important with a bright lipstick, than when you just throw on a lip gloss.  Because the red is so bold, lining the lip to help define the mouth and keep the lipstick from bleeding.