Even if you're not the nocturnal and/or Victorian type (and we're doubting Beyonce is either), a dark vampy lip is a fun way to put an edgy spin on your classic red. To get that deep, black-cherry hue, look for products with purple tones.
Begin by lining your lips with a black-violet liner, but don't fill in with the pencil. Apply your deep purple-red lipstick (try Lipstick Queen Bete Noire Lipstick in Possessed Intense, $40), and use a lip brush to thoroughly blend the area where the two colors meet. (Tip: Believe it or not, deep colors like this work well across complexions, from those with fair skin and blue eyes to darker skin tones).
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Romantic Flush
Red lips don't always have to look daring -- you can achieve a delicate, more glowing look with red lipstick as well.
The key to getting your lips to look like they are radiating color from within is to forgo liner. Makeup artist Dwight Allen O'Neal says to dot color in the middle of your lips and use your fingers to blend outward instead. You can do this with a stain, a lipstick, or both. O'Neal likes to apply the stain first (like a primer), do a second dab-and-spread with lipstick, then a third round with a tinted lip gloss or colored balm to help seal in your color.
To achieve a romantic, feminine aesthetic a la Sofia Vergara, opt for a red lipstick with soft pink tones. This slightly glossy, no-liner look is a little less precision-perfect than some, but hey, so is romance itself. (Try Maybelline New York Color Sensational Lipcolor in Red Revolution, $7.49.)
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Patent Finish
Want red lips that shine like vinyl? Today, luster of that caliber requires just one thing: a highly pigmented gloss. We're talking a product that has the application, texture, and glistening finish of a lip gloss, but the rich color of a lipstick. Don't believe it's possible? (Try NARS Lip Gloss in Eternal Red, $26).
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Stained Canvas
If your aversion to red lipstick stems from the worry that it'll smudge all over your face or come off on everything your lips touch, we feel you. But one of the newest and most creative ways to avoid such disasters comes from the beauty masterminds of Korea (in the form of Memebox 24H Magic Lip Tattoo in Sweet Wine, $18). They call this natural, long-lasting product a "lip tattoo" stain. Here's how it works: Apply the product like a regular gloss, then wait ten minutes until a waxy top layer forms. Peel the layer off, and voila -- behold radiant, stay-put color that won't find its way onto your teeth, your champagne glass, or anyone else's lips.
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Prep Your Perfect Red
Red lips look best when your pout is moisturized and flake-free, so before you apply any color, give your lips a good scrub. After exfoliating, smear on a rich moisture treatment or lip mask (such as Bite Beauty Agave Lip Mask in Champagne, $26) to give your lips a serious dose of hydration.
Tip: When applying your red lipstick, the secret to making it last is to layer the color and then keep it hydrated throughout the day. Starting off with a generous supply of lip liner and a red-tinted lip balm can help you to avoid the madness of constant reapplication.
Now, you're ready. Go. Fly from the nest of muted nudes and frosty pinks. It's time to debut your dazzling red lips.
Red lips are the little black dress of beauty -- glamorous, feminine, timeless. So timeless in fact that the use of red lipstick dates back to ancient Egypt, when Mesopotamian women would decorate their pouts in crushed semi-precious stones.
All that effort makes sense when you consider the facts. Lips are the body's most exposed erogenous zone, and even the softest brush against their sensitive nerve endings sends a wave of information to the brain telling us, that feels good.
So, like a good push-up bra, red lipstick only serves to enhance our goods. In fact (despite the rumors), men systematically prefer red lips on women. Get this -- in 2010, scientists from Manchester University showed groups of men a series of random images of women, and concluded that ladies with red lips received "the most prolonged gaze."
All things considered, you'd think red lips would be every woman's go-to look. But it takes Cleopatra-sized confidence to pull them off.
Here, your be-all-end-all guide to finding your perfect red -- the one that will give you the confidence and allure of a modern-day queen.
