Red Lipstick...

I have always been intrigued by red lips a la Marilyn Monroe, but never thought I could pull the look off myself.  But lately, for some reason, I had been feeling aesthetically adventurous and went on a lipstick shopping spree.  I'm talking various shades of purple, pink, nude and red- all of which I'll be sharing here but first we'll start with red.

If there's one thing I know about this bold hue, it's that liner is an absolute must and so I started with a lip liner by NYX in Cabaret.  It's kind of a brick red color, far deeper than the red hue I was going for but that's perfectly fine as I ended up blending it towards my inner lip.  Next I coated my lips entirely in Sephora's Cream Lip Stain in Always Red.  The finish with this product is matte which was fine but for a little extra pizazz I finished the look with Urban Decay Stardust lip gloss in Andromeda.

Wish a lip this bold I kept the rest of my make up fairly toned down.  Eye shadow was Bare Minerals Glimmer in True Gold (sheer but shimmery and pretty), a little liner and mascara and highlighter under the eyes.  I wore this look out to my best friend's birthday/bowling party and kind of fell in love with it.  So much so that I found myself in a one woman late night photo shoot after.   Et voila...

So, the verdict is yes, I love it!  Will red lips be in heavy rotation?  Probably not any time soon but no longer will I be intimidated by the intensity of the vampy red lip.  It absolutely has a time and a place.