How to Work a Statement Lip like a Boss

Anyone can wear a red lip if they believe they can and if you follow these simple steps, you’ll master it in no time.

To start with, blot off any excess lip balm, if your lips are too slippery your colour will bleed and won’t hold for as long.

One vital component of a strong lip is a good base which means a good lip liner. You need to match it to your lipstick colour as best you can. M.A.C Russian Red Lipstick and Cherry Lip Liner pencil work really well together. It also helps to look for matte textured lipsticks as they have more staying power than sheer glossy textures.

For full pouty lips, you need to draw in an upward motion (refer to diagram). Start at the cupids bow and get both points matching before moving on the centre of your lower lip.

Once you’ve got the centre right, move back to your top lip and draw in an upward motion from the outside in. Match up the other side.

Then do the same for your lower lip, but draw downward for fullness.

Once you’ve got the outline perfected continue with the lip liner by filling in your lips – this will give your colour much more staying power and prevent that dreaded outline from showing through after a few hours.

The secret to a really clean, sharp bright coloured lip is to use a lip brush. The catch is that what you typically find to be a lip brush from cosmetic companies isn’t that good. You need something wider and flatter like the one to the left. These can be purchased from art stores for around $10. The fuller your lips, the larger the brush.

Load the brush up with plenty of lipstick and holding the brush flat to your lip, slowly follow the shape created by the liner.

You can finish off by applying a small amount of gloss to the centre of your lips and blending it in with your brush.

Last but not least, the trick of powdering your lips in between pencil and lipstick layers is only suitable if you want dry, tight and over loaded lips. Re-applying occasionally is much more effective!

As for the rest of your makeup; Don’t go too heavy. Red lips work well with a good coverage foundation so that any naturally occurring red pigmentation around your nose or cheeks can be concealed rather than accentuated by the bold lip colour. To find your foundation match, head here to find your foundation shade!

Throw on some black eye liner, thickening mascara, your favourite set of lashes and you’re done!

It’s hard to say what tones will work for different people, it’s just a matter of trusting your makeup artist or if you’re on your own - stay tuned for our upcoming lipstick recommendation tool!

Two of our favourite red lipsticks are Nars Jungle Red and M.A.C Russian Red - what are yours? Hit us up on our socials to let us know!