4 Tricks for Red Lips on Your Wedding Day

I’ve always been a fan of red lips and find nothing says glamour or sexy quite like a slick of scarlet. This fall, the red lip is back (again) and looked mighty glam on runways including Oscar de la Renta, Diane von Furstenberg and Betsy Johnson. Madonna was spotted at the Venice Film Fest last weekend wearing red (we bet it was her old favourite, MAC Russian Red) and Gwen Stefani has made the colour her beauty signature.

Now there’s always a question whether red lippy for a wedding day is much to much and to that I say no. I love the contrast of a dramatic red lip with an ethereal white dress. So. Damn. Glam. I will however say there are some rules of thumb I always caution brides to keep in mind.

1.    Make it matte. You don’t want lips to look goopy or glossy. A stain of colour looks most modern and will wear well through the day.

2.   Make lips your focus. That means keeping eyes nearly-naked (a swoop of black liquid liner on the upper lashes and mascara is enough) and cheeks lightly flushed. Keep skin matte and don’t even think of bronzer!

3.   Invest in a lip brush and lip liner. The trick to keeping red looking fresh is a meticulous, layered application. Prime lips with a hydrating but non-greasy lip balm (I love Clarins Extra-Firming Lip & Contour Balm, $45). Use a lip liner to outline and colour in lips (this will also prevent colour from bleeding). Use a lip brush to apply colour, blot, and then apply again. Use your lip brush to apply a think layer of lip balm over colour to add just a hint of moisture.

4.   Shop around to find the right red. There are many out there, and there is one to suit everyone, you just may have to hunt around to find the best one. One lippy we love that takes the guess work out of shopping is DuWop Private Red ($22), a formula that literally changes colour once applied, morphing into your perfect shade. BRILLIANT!