The right way to wear red lipstick

There’s few of us who wear red lipstick as casually as Taylor Swift does. Photo / Getty Images

Painting lips red is the quickest way to spark joy and elevate your outfit. So why do so many women over 40 find it so hard to get right?

What a difference an awards ceremony can make. At the Baftas, there was barely a hint of colour on the faces of the VIP attendees, by last weekend’s SAG (Screen Actors Guild) and PGA (Producers Guild of America) awards, red lipstick was on the mouths of the most stylish women in attendance, including Emily Blunt, Cara Delevingne and Michelle Williams, whose scarlet lips had such presence they stole the focus from the diamonds draped around her neck. And so begins a return to the ultimate affordable luxury, red lipstick.

Michelle Williams opted for a dramatic scarlet lip at the 34th annual PGA Awards. Photo / AP

There are some for whom red lipstick is such an integral part of their style identity (Taylor Swift for instance) that without it, they’re almost unrecognisable. And yet, for a primary colour, there’s few of us who wear red as casually as Swift does.

It can be a tricky shade to get right for a number of reasons not least of which includes the myriad of connotations it bestows upon the wearer, depending on its tone, texture and what else you put with it. Marilyn Monroe’s red was provocative; Carolyn Bessette-Kennedy’s classic; Rihanna’s Super Bowl red, all fashion.

Rihanna's Super Bowl red lipstick. Photo / Getty Images

Red lipstick has the power to spark joy, instil confidence and seduce a suitor – if you have the chutzpah to pull it off. You see, it’s not only a matter of shade, but one of taste. Pair red lipstick with scraped-back hair, a bare complexion and naturally groomed eyebrows and you’re in safe, workwear territory. Combine it with smoky eyes and voluminous hair and you might as well be naked.

Cara Delevingne rocked a red lip at the 29th SAG Awards. Photo / AP

For the make-up shy, shade is the easiest conundrum to solve. Warm reds (toasty orange-red hues) will unsurprisingly suit skin with warm undertones; blue reds (plums) flatter cool skin tones; neutral complexions (those with an equal distribution of both) should veer towards a true pillarbox red. This is paint by numbers stuff. The difficulty comes when you bring hair and teeth into the equation.

Sandra Oh's dark-red lip made a dramatic contrast against her yellow dress at the 2023 Producers Guild Awards. Photo / AP

For instance, I suit make-up with warm undertones, despite the fact that I’m pale, but an orange-y red lipstick accentuates the yellow tones in my teeth, which for anyone whose smile isn’t Colgate-white is easily abated with a blue-toned cherry shade, so becoming a trade-off between turning up a sallow complexion or yellowing teeth.

Make-up artists will tell you that having the conviction to go for what you’re naturally drawn to is what matters most, as an element of “who cares” goes a long way in dismantling ageist preconceptions, something Helen Mirren, 77, does with impeccable ease.

Margot Robbie matched a bright-red lip with a red dress at the UK Premiere of Babylon. Photo / AP

There are some hints worth noting down, such as adjusting formulations and application methods as you get older. Julianne Moore, 62, recently told Vogue that, for evening, she teams a soft brown mascara with Hourglass’s Unlocked Satin Crème Lipstick in Red 0, a neutral-toned red that contains conditioning mango-seed butter, avocado oil and argan oil to keep lips plump and moisturised. Moore videos herself applying her lipstick from the bullet and smudging the edges with her finger for a thrown-on look.

However, lip liner can help tremendously with lipstick bleeding, one of the side effects of ageing. What’s apparent from watching pros like Kim Kardashian’s make-up artist Mario Dedivanovic is that outlining lips with a matching red liner then taking it on to the body of the lip, leaving a small gap in the centre, is the key to mastering a full symmetrical shape that lasts longer.

Emily Blunt coordinated a red lip with a red dress at last weekend's SAG Awards. Photo / AP

If you don’t have a steady hand, try a clear liner, which helps you trace your lips invisibly, thus keeping the colour in place (Chanel Longwear Lip Pencil in Clear is the best). Otherwise try a liquid lipstick that dries to a grown-up matte stain and won’t come off on your teeth or, for that matter, your partner’s lips.

Matte, in my opinion, is the chicest texture to experiment with, so long as lips are primed to a melamine-smooth finish before you approach them. The easiest way to do this is with a warm damp flannel to exfoliate surface dryness, followed by a lip mask or balm 20 minutes beforehand.

As far as perceptions go, adding a slick of red to a bare face with simple hair never fails. But then again, there’s no safer way to flex your rebellious side than with a full face of make-up finished off with bold and bright lips.