IF YOU DON’T KNOW THIS, YOU MIGHT BE CHOOSING THE WRONG RED LIPSTICK

October 24, 2022

1,2, MANY RED LIPSTICKS! You ever wiped off a red lipstick so quickly off your lips because at that moment, you felt like the worst thing that could happen to you was if someone saw you with an un-flattering red color on your lips? If your answer is YES, you are not alone. I have been there, and so many others too! I fell in love with red lipstick at a very young age. There was this lipstick called ‘Magic’ back in the day, it goes on clear and gradually turns into this very beautiful vibrant red that looked good on every woman.

As I grew older, I wanted to try other kinds of reds, or should I say brands. You know, as one grows older, there are things you outgrow, naturally, and I outgrew the ‘Magic’ red lipstick. Let’s just say my first try looked horrible, and caused me to panic, hence, I immediately wiped it off! And that was when I had my first loss-loss experience. First loss was outgrowing the ‘Magic’ lipstick, second loss was thinking no red lipstick would ever look good on me, and I soon gave up on trying!

Now here is the thing, if 19-year-old me knew what true tones or under tones were, trust me, many of us, especially me, would have been saved the first bad impression. I’m finally comfortable with red lipsticks again. It’s true when you know better you do better.
I have learned that the one and only rule to finding a perfect shade for every beauty product that involves colors is knowing your true tone or undertone. In the world of beauty, there are 3 tones that serves as a guide to making the right choice, these are:

Cool Undertones – if your veins appear bluish, pinkish or purplish
Neutral Undertones – if your veins blend well into your skin
Warm Undertone – if your veins appear to be greenish or olive

Once you understand this concept, you will be able to easily pick out the right shades of red lipstick for you, by merely looking at the lipstick.

Here is a mini guide on how to find you’re classic-go-to red lipstick just by looking at the description.

Cool tone red lipsticks may have blue, purplish, pink or berry color hues to them.
Neutral tone red lipstick is well balanced and will always appear very vibrant, bright red. A neutral red lipstick will look good on an individual that is either cool tone or warm tone.
A warm tone red lipstick is suitable for individuals with warm/olive undertone and contain more of orange or warm brown hues to it.

As a brown, dark skinned woman, we know the struggle is real finding the right products with the right amount of pigment. To play it safe, and lessen the challenge, go for a neutral red lipstick. It’ll balance its pigment against your skin tone and make it more flattering to your shade of Melanin. It will elevate your look, either on a good workday or a casual outing, and can be used every day! Don’t forget a must-have for your classic red lipstick is one that aligns with your skin’s undertones. This lipstick will be your showstopper, because it is bold, vibrant and complementary to your entire look. It will stand out, and also earn you compliments.

Once you get comfortable with making your own choices, you can have 1 or 2 classic red lipsticks, and soon enough you’ll be on your way to having as MANY red lipsticks as you desire! To get you started on your first classic red lipstick, check out AJ Crimson’s S&M Sultry and Matte Red Lipstick Crimson Rose.