5 Days, 5 Ways: How to Wear Red Lipstick

Classic crimson lips to wear all week

By Erika Stalder Apr 10, 2015 4:10 PMTags
ESC, 5 Ways 5 Days Red LipKailey Strachan for E! Online

There's perhaps no beauty look as enduring as the classic red lip. And with stars like Taylor Swift following in the lineage of women who make the look their signature (see: Gwen Stefani, Marilyn Monroe, Dita Von Teese), there's no better time than now to adopt the look for yourself.

Committing to an all-day, everyday red lip doesn't mean blotting on color from the same tube of lipstick all week. Here's how to go red all week without repeating the same look.

One of the greatest beauty breakthroughs of the decade? Glossy stains. These lip hybrids deposit bright pigment and last like a stain, but with a high-shine finish. On manic Mondays, make like Elisabeth Moss, swipe on a glossy stain and get out the door fast.

Kick things up a notch by giving your red lip a twist—try an orange-tinged shade, like Kate Bosworth. If you don't have such a shade in your makeup bag, don't fret. Try making your own bespoke take on standard red by layering a few shades instead.

E! Style Collective member Tina Turnbow suggested starting with a matte shade as the base color, then layering with a satin-finish lipstick or gloss on top. Looking for a winning color combination? "Try layering a hot pink gloss on top of a matte true red," she said.

Now that you've had a few days to ease out of weekend mode, step up your red lip look by going for a full Swiftian pout. Like many aspects of Taylor Swift's style, nothing about her lipstick game is sloppy.

Replicate the style by using a liner to outline the lips. Top lips with a classic red shade and commit to sipping through straws all day to help prevent fading and bleeding. To ensure color stays put, Turnbow recommended blotting the lips with a tissue lightly dusted with translucent powder, then adding a final layer of pigment on top.

The work week is almost over. Add a little edge to your lip look by lining lips in a shade ever-so-slightly darker than the crimson you choose to wear on the rest of your lips. After using a shade one gradient lighter to fill in your lips, you'll have achieved a look with added dimension like Gwen Stefani's.

To gear up for the freakin' weekend, amp up the edge of your lip look by going ombe, like Jessica Alba, Emily Blunt and Rihanna all have done for recent red carpet appearances.

Just like with foundation application, the key to creating a beautiful ombre lip is blending away any hard lines. "Start by outlining lips in a pencil, then blur the edge with your fingertip," Turnbow instructed. "Use a shade lighter or a sheer, shinier shade to color the center of the lip. After blending shades at the edge, finish the look by applying a shiny gloss to the center of the lips."