RED LIPSTICK,
THE PINUPS BEST FRIEND

It makes your teeth look whiter. The red colour next to your teeth creates an optical illusion that makes your teeth look white, whereas peachy colours have the opposite effect.

It creates instant and effortless retro glam. There is no better way than red lipstick to go from everyday boring to vintage glam icon in one move.

It gives the highest level of sun protection to your lips. Your lips are very vulnerable to damage from UV rays, but are often overlooked when applying sunblock. But fear not because the darker your lipcolour the greater the sun protection.

It makes you feel sexy and more confident. Red on the lips might seem like nothing important but the colour, according to colour therapists, can make you feel increased confidence and energy. I can attest to this myself and have seen it in others on many occasions.

It will get you attention at any occasion. This is a great double benefit to go with your increased confidence.

It makes your lips look fuller if you apply it correctly

It has the best staying power of any other colour. Red outlasts other colours through a meal in my experience.

Sold on it? ...Excellent.

Skin tone is not just a matter of defining your skin as light, medium or dark... or even just warm or cool. You must really look at your skin objectively. Tonal depth is first- decide light, medium or dark. Then- decide warm or cool. Then - look deeper and ask yourself what other colours can you see within the mix? Can you see blue tones? Green tones? Pink perhaps? or gold?. It is these underlying colours that give your skin tone its unique overall appearance, and these which define what shades you should choose.

There are 3 main red zones - cherry reds, red reds (think fire trucks) and wine reds

Pinup girls with blue and pinky tones in their skin can happily wear cherry reds. Cherry reds are fruity, flirty, like the candied cherries in a cocktail

Girls with green tones, known as olive skin, can wear red-reds. These are as red as you can get and include the orange end of the spectrum. They are hot, spicy, like the flames and the fire truck combined.

Girls with very dark skin or gold tones can wear wine reds. Wine reds are rich, deep, sultry, like an expensive claret.

All the main reds have combination colours inbetween them to join up the red rainbow so don't feel confined to just one colour. Try the testers on your wrist, not the back of your hand when buying red lipstick. The inner wrist skin colour is closer to that of your face colour than the back of your hand, which tends to be a bit darker. Pure red-red lipsticks suit most everyone, but purplish wine colours look terrible on pale pinkish skin, fire orange reds look terrible on very dark skin and pink reds look terrible on olive skin.

Tip; Remember that you can actually mix two lipsticks together to get the perfect colour for you. So if you already have a colour that you don't like, try mixing it with another before you throw it out, it could surprise you. Use a lip brush for this, you don't want a squishy mess.

If you don't like the look of solid lipstick, but still want the impact of red colour, you do this by putting on a layer of good quality lip balm over your whole lips then a light touch of red lipstick over the top. You can apply it with either your finger or a small sponge-tip applicator.

Lipstick is one of the few cosmetics out there where you do get what you pay for, but don't go mad. The highest profile brands don't have a difference in quality that matches the price difference.

Afterglow, my favorite all natural cosmetics company, also have a range of lipsticks and lip gloss in a range of sweet, strong and subtle colours. They all contain organic beeswax.

Ok so you have chosen your perfect red lipstick, now you will want to wear it.

This is not the great effort or mystery it is made out to be, but there is some best practice.

Prep - Moisturize your lips with the same moisturizer you use for your face, or better a specific lip treatment. Then, once it is well absorbed, exfoliate gently with something like a clean toothbrush. This isn't going to be needed everyday, just when you really need to look your best. Then apply a thin layer of your liquid foundation or concealer to the whole lip area. This helps your lipstick to stay on for longer and makes your natural lip line look less defined if you feel you need to correct it.

Line - red lipstick is the colour most guilty of the crime of 'bleeding', when the colour makes its way along the tiny lines in your skin around your lips. If this is a big problem for you, as it can be with dry or mature skin, then try using a wax pencil around the outside edge of your lips. This will form a barrier (don't worry it doesn't look or feel weird). Now apply the liner. The liner should be ideally the exact same colour as your lipstick, or as close as possible. Make sure it is sharpened so you get a good clear line, and draw along the natural lip line. Many makeup nazis will tell you never to enlarge the look of your lips by going outside the natural line, but sometimes we need to frankly. Just don't get carried away and do follow the natural shape. If you take it too far it will be obvious from the other side of the room. Fill in the lips totally with the liner too, it helps with the long life of the colour.

Apply - All dark lipstick colours should best be applied with a lip brush, though I confess that I rarely do and when doing touch-ups in public application right from the tube is not only more convenient but also sexier!. Blot with a tissue and apply a second layer then blot again. The last step is to purse or pucker your lips around your index finger then pull it out. This will remove any excess lippy and avoid the problem of red lipstick streaked teeth.

If you want to accentuate the fullness of your lips then a touch of highlighter in the cupids bow on your top lip, and a touch of lip gloss right in the centre of the bottom lip, will do it nicely.

The general rule for strong lip colours is not to play up your eyes at the same time. And for daytime it is a good rule generally. But the pinup style does not have to follow modern ideas of fashion. So if you have great eyes and you want to make them up and wear red lipstick then go for it, it's your style don't let anyone tell you that you cant.

One of my favourite interior designers once said that red is the only colour that does not clash with its self. I choose to continue believing this and wear accents of multiple shades of red together, in my lips, nails, shoes, jewellery and even my hair. If you don't agree then just keep your nails light or natural or match them exactly from the same range and avoid red accessories and clothing near the face.

For more pinups style ideas and tips go back to the Retro Glamour main page
Or you can check out the pinup hairstyles section to find the perfect 'doo' to compliment your perfect pout.

To explore more pinups art and style info and pictures Return from red lipstick to the HOME PAGE.

*Get the betty page look to go with your scarlet pout
*Ever wondered how to get the Dita Von Teese half moon manicure look yourself? click here to find out.

* Dita Von Teese makeup guide