The Makeup Box

MAC Ruby Woo: Matte Red Lipstick with Glasses and Nothing Else

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Swatches are:

1. Revlon Really Red (matte) - classic deep crimson; this is like Ruby Woo toasted until it’s a little more golden brown.
2. Wet n Wild Cherry Picking (matte) - goes on maraschino-cherry cool red on liht skins, fuchsia on dark skins.
3. MAC Ruby Woo (retro matte) - red-red; no other way to describ it. Zero shine on the lips.
4. MAC Russian Red (matte) - deep red with a base-tone of brown/plum.

Lips in a shade of rich crimson are a perfect accessory for those days when you don’t want to do much else on your face. For days you’re wearing glasses, it’s also great fun to pop on a super-strong lip to brighten up your face without doing anything to your eyes.

This might not be a look for everyone but give it a shot before you say nay.

Some other tips:

• Just apply a bit of concealer where needed, blot your skin (if you like the matte look).
• Groom or fill in your brows if yours are sparse. You don’t want a very strong lip and then barely-there brows. The lower half of your face will look done, and your upper half undone.
• If your glasses are quite big and statement-ey, go easy on the blush and eye shadow (light, neutral tones), or dispense with them entirely if you can get away with it. It will all look a bit too 80’s to have big glasses with colorful shadow, strong blush AND red lips. (You’d just need to throw in shoulder pads and teased hair to complete the look.)

Best Red for You?

There are a few different categories for reds.

There are neutrals (red-reds like Ruby Woo, or deeper tones like Russian Red), cools (cherry or burgundy tones like Cherry Picking or Diva), warms (Lady Danger, NYX Pure Red), and this alone confuses tons of people. The one thing you need to remember is that reds appear different on different people, which is why some people find the shade “Russian Red” looks fuchsia-toned on them, and some people find it looks orange/brown-toned. 

Also, don’t just take it as is when you read or hear about how “warm reds” look good on “warm or yellow toned skin” and “cool reds” only look good on “cool or pink toned skin”. I have very yellow-toned skin but I love both warm and cool reds equally. It all depends on the effect you are going for and what makeup you are wearing on the rest of your face.

Like the most-popular question I get, “I have xx colored eyes; what eye shadow would look good on me?”, I’m going to tell you again - NOBODY can give you a prescribed formula for a perfect red lipstick for you, because you need to factor in your “entire self”, including differences in hair tones, eye colors, blusher/cheek tones, natural lip tone, skin tone changes over the year, clothing, and your personal taste. The best way to understand what tones look good on you is to go to a counter with minimal makeup and neutral clothing (white, black, grey) and apply it right to your lips.

Try it sheer as a stain, and try it opaque like a pin-up lip. If you have very dark and pigmented lips, remember the lipstick will appear different from how it looks in the tube.

In general, if you’re starting out with red, I suggest going for something that is a bit deeper than true red, as true reds can tend to pull a bit orange/pink against different skin tones whereas a deeper red can stand its ground better against various skin tones.

Spring 2012 Trend Run-down #1: Red Lips!

[Photo source: elle.com]

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Seen at Anna Sui, Dior, Jason Wu, John Paul Gaultier, Temperley London and YSL, lips were a true scarlet (neither blue nor orange) and the standout texture for a true-true red was matte, though there were some creamy finishes as well.

Red is not really hard to wear. In fact it can be incredibly flattering if you make sure to even out your skin, apply just a touch of light blush, and go easy on the rest of your makeup.

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Good True reds: (light to medium skins)

• NYX Matte Lipstick in Pure Red (matte) *5% coupon code alert! Type MAKEUPBOX in coupon box when checking out.
• MAC Ruby Woo (matte)
• Lime Crime Retrofuturist (Creme)

• NYX Matte Lipstick in Perfect Red (matte) This is a good one that won’t go on too orange-looking, unlike many true reds worn on darker skins *10% coupon code alert!
• MAC Russian Red (matte)
• NYX Chic Red (creme)

Glossier, Sheerer Red (Steal of the Moment)

• Benefit Silky Finish Lipstick in Frenched (bargain alert April 2012: available for $9.99 $18.00! Don’t forget coupon code MAKEUPBOX for another 10% off!)

Juicy Red Lips (Revlon Really Red Lipstick and Lime Crime Candy Apple Gloss)

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Wearing an intense red, glossy lip requires that you layer. You want it to be as intense and opaque as possible, so wearing a gloss alone is nice, but layering it over a deep red lipstick gives you that pleather lips effect which I love.

Having a matte lipstick below also means you don’t need to apply your gloss right to the edges of your lips, so you are much less likely to get bleeding and feathering into lines around your mouth.

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The Rest of the Face:

This almost begs for the rest of the face to remain simple and neutral in contrast.

I’m using POP Beauty’s Eye Trio in No. 3 Park Avenue, and black gel liner for the simple eye.

Step 1: Using a flat angled brush, run matte black shadow along the upper lash line, extending up past the outer corners slightly.

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Step 2: Run bronze brown shadow over the entire lid, layering over the black liner so that you soften the black.

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Step 3: For some contouring, apply a pale ivory-pink highlight shade over the brow bone and also down the center of the lid.

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Step 4: Apply black gel liner over where the black powder liner was earlier. Then finish with a pale matte liner along the waterline and black mascara on the lashes.

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Step 5: Apply a deep red lipstick, do any cleaning-up you need around the edges to get it looking perfect, BEFORE you layer an intense red, sparkly gloss over it. If you don’t like sparkle, look for a creme finish such as MAC Russian Red Lipglass.

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Step 6: On the cheeks, I applied a soft iridescent satin pink shadow as a blush (Bourjois Ombre a Paupieres Eyeshadow #15 is a gorgeous fresh pink.

MAC Diva Matte Lipstick: A Love Affair (Swatches and Review)

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I still remember being 11 and obsessing in secret over the first-ever specific shade of lipstick I ever wanted to own.

“Deep-dark”, I described emphatically as I envisioned drama, sophistication and sensual feminity, and passed my precious $6 over to the family-friend making the illicit run for the contraband.

The kind smuggler returned a day later with Cover Girl Remarkable Lipstick in “Really Red”, much to my chagrin, and I realized that scarlet was plenty dark for her. I doubt she, or any of my peers would have been able to understand what it was about the shade that was so alluring for me.

I went through my phases of brown lipsticks, red lipsticks, nude lipsticks, pink lipsticks, and no lipsticks through the years, and then only recently decided in a moment of absolute random-ness to buy Diva without even trying it on in the store.

Every time I put it on, it’s like stepping into high, high heels. I feel instantly more sophisticated, more womanly, sexier, and more dangerous. (I swear I feel my IQ going up 30 points too.) It’s an extra bonus that my SO actually likes it when I wear dark lips.

Diva is a deep-dark red that is a little more burgundy than dried-blood, but not quite purple enough to be called “wine”. (The hand swatch is probably the most accurate representation of how it would look on your lips as the red seems to keep showing up stronger on camera.) It’s not quite as black and dramatic as Prince Noir, which is the quintessential vamp shade, but it’s a heck of a lot more wearable as well.

This is a classic MAC Matte along the veins of Russian Red, so it still has a hint of creaminess, as opposed to a Retro Matte like Ruby Woo (ultra matte, powdery finish, zero shine). It’s also not like the newer generation of mattes (a la Candy Yum Yum, Force of Love) which are softer, more slippery, and more comfortable to wear, but can look uneven and wear off faster than the traditional mattes. Diva sticks around.

It’s not hard to explain why this lipstick was love at first swipe. The love affair really began almost 20 years ago. Diva does what I’ve wanted a lipstick to do since I was 11. To have an individualistic and assertive presence, without ever sacrificing femininity.