My Favorite REDS For Pale Skin

Experimentation is not common place in my beauty routine; simple is the name of my game!  Sharp contour and highlight? Colorful smokey eye? Bold winged eyeliner? Probably not going to happen unless I'm awake in middle of the night with one of my insomniac children trying to pass the time...or I'm getting ready to go someplace fancy. (Haaaaa! "Someplace fancy." Now that's funny right there...) All of that isn't to say that I don't LOVE a bold lip color--I totally do!! Lipstick is a quick and easy way to dress up what would otherwise be a minimalist makeup look. 

Sometimes it can be a challenge to find the right shade of lipstick for lighter skin. We have to factor in our skin type and tone in addition to considering our lipstick color, brand and finish preferences. Phew, it's tough being a girl! ;)

My personal preference tends to be for long wearing, matte lipsticks. I would say my skin is very light/fair and neutral in tone. In theory, having more neutral tone would means I can get away with wearing a wider variety of colors suitable for light skin, but my loyalties definitely lie with shades that cooler in tone. ( Click here if you need help figuring out your skin tone.)

I've been on a major liquid lipstick kick lately, trying any and every product I can get my hands on! When experimenting with a new brand or formula I almost always grab a true red first. (For example, "American Doll" by Anastasia Beverly Hills is on its way to my front door as we speak...) EVERYONE needs a good red lipstick or five, so if the red in a product line sucks...well, things probably aren't going to work out for me. 

Enough of my rambling, lets cut to my red lip classics ... thing that you liiiikke. ;)

Ok, for real. Ready, go!

99.9% of the time, I start my red/orange-y looks with the "Cherry" lip pencil by MAC. It offers an excellent base for my lipstick, not to mention the amazing formula of MAC lip pencils enable me to achieve clean, crisp lines around the edges of my lips. I love how "Cherry" deepens the orange shades for a more custom, cool toned look. 

I wore each product on its own in these photos so you could get the truest sense of each shade.