Red Hot Cult Favorite :: MAC Russian Red Lipstick

And with red being such a “hot” color, of course I always have to have it on hand. This is the second tube I’ve bought, and I always get asked what my favorite red color is for females and this would be my answer for medium skin toned women. The MAC website claims it’s a blue-ish toned red, but I almost disagree- is that okay to disagree with the professionals who created it?? I feel it leans more being just a true to goodness red (with no blue!).

I wore it to my kids Easter egg hunt at school (that’s me and my oldest- he was flat wore out after running around in the heat to find eggs on the playground- I obviously didn’t work as hard;-)) and paired it with simple skin, bright cheeks and simple neutral eye shadow. Luckily red lipstick makes such a statement by itself that I don’t need to do a whole lot in terms of the rest of my makeup or it looks overdone. So I just swipe it on before heading to the preschool and feel immediately more glamorous!!

Russian Red totally reminds me of the red on my Diet Coke can, so I just had to photograph it so you could see the similarity!

This red is definitely a “look at me” type color, so this is NOT for the faint of heart- it’s matte (not shiny or glossy) and rich and very opaque.

If you want to find the right red for your coloring, here are some options and guidelines:

• 1. Fair complexions: Go for reds with blue undertones like Maybelline’s color Sensational lipstick in “are you red-dy” ($5).
• 2. Medium complexions. Go for goldish, almost orangey/brick colored formulas. I think “russian red” falls into this category rather than the blue category- but what do I know! I just know I fall into the medium skin tone category and this one works for me.
• 3. Dark complexions. Go for berry rich shades like Dior’s Replenishing lipcolor in “red premiere” ($29).