How-To Choose Your Perfect Red Lipstick

Finding a red lipstick can be challenging. To make it easier for you, this guide has five different ways you can find your perfect red lipstick easily based on either your complexion, your base lip color, teeth, skin condition, and comfort zone.

Based On Complexion: Look at the ladies below for the complexion that is most similar to your own and see our suggestions for which red lipstick would be best for you.

If your look is similar to Monique try: Appley Ever After or Gypsy Soul

If your look is similar to Kheana try: Love My Kiss or Risqué!

If your look is similar to Nnenna try: Barcelona or Gypsy Soul

If your look is similar to Ashleigh try: Hibiscus or Rebel!

If your look is similar to Ashley try: Firecracker or Strawberry Lips

If your look is similar to Brigette try: Risqué! or Hibiscus

Based On Base Lip Color: Take a moment to look at your lips in natural lighting and write down or take a mental note of what your natural lip color is, then take a look at our suggestions below for your best matches.

Nude: If your natural lip color is nude chances are you might not venture into reds very often and that is 100% ok. An easy way to start wearing a little more color would be to choose a sheer red such as Strawberry Lips or a gloss like Razzberry. These will give you a wash of color that isn’t overpowering.

Pink: If your natural lip color is pink you can stick with a pinkish-red like Hibiscus or Love My Kiss OR if you want to go full out red Rebel! would be a great choice since it has a pink base.

Brown: If you have brown based lips try a brown or brick based red like Gypsy Soul or Barcelona. A neutral red such as Strawberry Lips or Appley Ever After would be great options as well.

Purple: If you have purple based lips start by trying Plum Sexy Crazy or Mauve Me and then venture into a cool toned red like Rebel!

Based on Teeth: One of the common struggles when choosing red lipstick or really any lipstick for that matter is based on teeth discoloration. See the breakdown below for how to choose a red lipstick that won’t enhance staining.

Yellow: Yellow staining can be from foods, coffee/tea, nicotine, and a lack of oral hygiene. To combat this choose a red lipstick with a purple or blue base such as Plum Sexy Crazy, Mauve Me, or Rebel!

Brown: Brown staining is a more severe type of stain that can come from tooth decay as well as coffee, tea, nicotine, and red wine when these products have been left to sit on the enamel for longer periods of time. Similar to yellow stained teeth choosing a red lipstick that has a cooler tone is best. Just avoid the reds that have a brown undertone as they could potentially enhance this type of staining.

Gray or Blue: Gray staining can be caused by certain medications most common being the use of Tetracycline while the tooth buds were forming. This type of staining is intrinsic which means it can’t be mechanically removed. To create balance, you’ll want to use a red lipstick that is either brown or orange based while avoiding the purple or blue based reds. We suggest looking at Barcelona, Risqué!, Strawberry Lips, Firecracker and/or Gypsy Soul.

Based On Skin Condition: Acne and Rosacea are common skin conditions that often deter people from wearing red lipstick. Having Rosacea myself, I totally get it. The last thing you want to do is make your skin look redder or draw attention to a pimple. Don’t worry though you can absolutely still wear a red lipstick. The trick here is to not enhance the redness or pinkness in your complexion so you’ll want a brown, orange or neutral red. I highly, recommend trying Appley Ever After, Barcelona, Strawberry Lips, Risqué! and Firecracker.

Based On Comfort Zone: No matter what your comfort zone is there’s a red lipstick for you!

“Bold lipsticks make me nervous”: If this statement is true for you try the lipsticks in Plum Sexy Crazy, Strawberry Lips, Love My Kiss and Mauve Me. These lipsticks are sheerer than our other reds and due to their formulation, you will have much more control over the depth and intensity of the lipstick. Dab them on to start and then build them up to your desire. Then after trying one of these, you could step things up by trying Appley Ever After. Appley Ever After is a neutral red so it tends to look great on most everyone and it’s not overly dark or bright. It’s actually very similar to Strawberry Lips but with more pigmentation.

“I’m not afraid to play or experiment with color”: If this statement is more true for you then try the lipsticks in Barcelona, Rebel!, Risqué!, Firecracker, Gypsy Soul, and Hibiscus. All of these lipsticks are super pretty and fun to play around with. You can create looks that range from bright and bold to deep and dramatic.

Hopefully, this guide helps you find the perfect red lipstick for you. If you have any questions or feel like you need more assistance in choosing a lipstick please feel free to leave a comment below.