How to Wear Red Lipstick tips to wear a red lipstick where and when to wear a red lipstick

It spells power, seduction, confidence, allure and is famously hard to get right. But find the right shade of red lipstick and you will wear it again and again. Make-up magician Ruxana Karanjia of Psalm 23 banishes all doubts of not being to wear the colour by bringing the right shade for every complexion and lip shape.

Formal Greeting
Red matte lips warrant a presiding seat at the conference table.
- Make sure your clothes are not too busy — white, nude, beige or navy blue are harmonious with strong lips. Black is not.
- Choose a matte colour that is more on the blood red or orange side than maroon or purple.
- To ease into red territory, start with using a lip-liner instead of lipstick. Or use a pink lipstick overlaid with red gloss.
- If you are coffee complexioned, mix a speck of your favourite brown shade with red to see if it works for you.
- If you have thin lips, dab on some gloss.
- Sweep your eye lids with matte or pale gold or beige eye-shadow. Pink clashes with red, so stay away.
- Flick out the eyeliner to make wings or subtly define your shape with a thin line in dark brown or black.
- Apply copious amounts of mascara and a hint of peach or rose blush.

Party Hello
Ruby lips are as much a statement accessory as monogrammed bags » If you have plump lips, stay away from gloss. Matte is your friend.
- Apply lipstick, blot, re-apply.
- Darker complexions should mingle with richer hues of red that have a bit of black or blue in them. Think Aishwarya Rai in Guzaarish.
- Instead of applying colour with a brush, 'stain' your lips by dabbing on colour using your little finger. This leaves a more natural colour, as if you have just eaten berries. Start from the centre of the lips and work outwards.
- If you like gloss, get a chapstick with a bit of red in it for sheer colour. You can also get a lip stain that is water-based to get through the day.
- Keep the clothes simple and of one print to play up the lips. A loose mini dress in animal print that falls off the shoulder only needs heels and an armful of bangles.
- Try bronze or metallic grey eye-shadow, and some bronzer on your cheeks. Just red lips without supporting make-up makes your face look unfinished.
- Instead of a hard liner, emphasize your eyes with a soft outline of grey or brown shadow.

Tips
Several shades of red could be right for you. Invest in or borrow a make-up artist's pallete and mix some shades that will help you find the one for you. Now head to the store armed with this reference. If your lips have dual tones, invest in a lip primer. This evens out and readies your lips for lipstick just as a face primer does. The red pigment in red lipsticks makes it bleed. So always apply a foundation or primer under it and blot it. Red also dries your lips, so start with a basecoat of vaseline, and then layer the foundation/primer and lipstick. Once you establish an easy friendship with the colour, move on to bright orange or fuschia.