The Flawless Red Lip: An Easy How-To

"Beauty, to me, is about being comfortable in your own skin. That, or kick-ass red lipstick."

-Gwyneth Paltrow

                                                           Source: drugstoreprincess.com via Amber on Pinterest

Red Lips. 

A timeless look that looks wonderful on any woman.

any age, any size.

It shows class, elegance, style.

However, it also can be one of the hardest makeup looks to achieve.

Let's be honest, it's not the color you can apply while one hand's holding the steering wheel and you're looking through the mirror on your car's visor. 

It's bold and has to be precise.

So, I am going to show you a step-by-step process on how to I achieve a perfect, flawless red lip.

Here is what I use:
Lush: Sweet Lips
Urban Decay Lip Primer Potion
Covergirl Lip Perfection Lip Liner-In color Passion
Maybelline Color Sensational Lip Color: In color Very Cherry


Now, the tricky part is finding the right shade of red for your skin tone.
I'm very pale, so I find that blue-tone reds look better on me than more orangey-tone reds.
Here is a great guide:

After you find your perfect shade,
your first step is to exfoliate your lips. You want to remove all the dead skin off your lips, so there is a smooth surface for your lipstick.

I use Lush's Sweet Lips. It works great, although I hear there are some homemade versions of this.

Next, prime your lips. Like I said, I use Urban Decay's primer and I like it. It is pricey though.
This step isn't necessary, but it really helps.

I have very pigmented lips on their own, so I use this to neutralize the color so I get the true shade of red I'm going for. It also helps the lipstick to stay on a lot longer. If you don't want to fork over $20, you can use your concealer to do the same job.

Then, I line my lips. This step is crucial.

please ignore this extremely awkward and cheesy facial expression.

This is very important because it helps your lipstick to 'stay in the lines' in a sense. 

It also helps so your lipstick wont bleed all over the place. This the key to make your lipstick look flawless.
Go from the very inner corner on each side. Make sure you line your cupid's bow!

After, you can either use your liner to fill in your lips, or you can use a lipstick.

I chose to use a lipstick. (Maybelline Very Cherry)

You'll notice that my lipstick and lip liner aren't the exact same shade.

It really doesn't matter because you can't tell a difference,

 and it may even add some 'demension' to your lips.

Finally, the secret every woman should know:

how to prevent lipstick from getting on your teeth

There is nothing worse than flaunting your gorgeous lipstick all day only to realize you had some on your teeth. 

Yeah. it stinks.

but...

all you have to do is this:

and you'll never have any on your teeth again. 

I know it looks awkward, but trust me it works!

Just stick your finger in your mouth, and pull it out.

It grabs all that lipstick that's inside your mouth,

so it doesn't end up on your teeth. 

and that's it!

You'll never have to feel this way again:

Source: younggandbeautifulandfree.tumblr.com via Jenna on Pinterest

So, try the red lip, even if you think it won't flatter you!
I can guarantee you it will.
I dare ya...