The Classic Red Lip: A New Way To Wear It

by | Nov 12, 2018

grown up bright red lip

Here’s the classic red lip but with a new way to wear it. Which makes it the un-classic red lip, I suppose. It’s soft and diffused, the edges are patted down and blurry – it’s easier and more wearable than the traditional hard-edged, punchy red lip but still vibrant enough to make it a total show-stopper.

A bonus fact; this look is great for people who can’t ever get their lip-line right. You blur out those edges ever so slightly and suddenly the fact that you can’t even see the edge of your bottom lip, never mind put lip-liner on it, seems to matter that bit less.

clarins joli rouge spicy chilli

I’ve used a marvellous matte lipstick, here – it’s the Joli Rouge Velvet in Spicy Chilli from Clarins. An orange-red that’s fiery enough to look modern and punchy but not so yellow in undertone that it makes your teeth look like they’ve been stolen from the Natural History Museum.

The Joli Rouge Velvet lipsticks are very well pigmented and – as the name suggests – velvety matte in finish. But they really come into their own when you start patting at them – the smooth, creamy formula becomes almost powder-like and soft, but without any of the obvious problems that applying a powder to your lips might present.

grown up bright red lip

Talking about pressing powders to your lips; do you remember the Chanel Poudres a Levres from the Neapolis collection? That had a balm and then a pigment powder to press on over the top – I loved it for the novelty and the ritual and the beautiful kissed-off finish, though I must admit that I barely used it after my initial testing spate.

This patted-down powder lip has a bolder, more striking finish – it’s proper lipstick, distressed at the edges. It’s perfection made imperfect. Wilful destruction. Takes ten seconds but – I think, at least – gives everything a bit of a relaxed vibe.

grown up bright red lip

(links marked * are affiliate links, for more info see disclaimer below post)

How to do it? I’m almost embarrassed to write it out, because it’ll highlight the fact that I’ve just done a whole post on patting your finger over your lipstick, but that really is about it. I line (Max Factor liner in Red Rush is excellent, find it here*) and then I pat over the line to smudge it in.

Then I apply the lipstick straight from the bullet, usually – a lip brush seems to lay it on too precisely. (Although I do have to say that with bright colours such as this one, if you are incredibly clumsy then perhaps a brush is a good idea. We want “softly smudged”, not “applied during a power cut whilst three sheets to the wind”.) Then pat-pat-pat with your fingertip, carefully and gently – the middle one is best but I rarely use it to apply makeup when I’m filming because it looks as though I’m gesticulating at people in an insulting manner. So habit means that I use the ring finger, but middle is best. More control.

And that is it – just a delicate feathering of the edges, a blurring of the lines. Made possible by the great texture of the Joli Rouge Velvet from Clarins – I have many matte red lipsticks, but most of them won’t pat out as wonderfully as this one. I realise that softening out the edges of your lipstick isn’t revolutionary but in the current makeup climate of overdone flawlessness, I think that this look makes a nice change. Thoughts?

grown up bright red lip

I’ll pre-empt the question as to why you’d put on lip-liner just to blend it in (why not skip it altogether?); if you’re anything like me, with gradually failing eyesight and an unsteady hand, you need that sketched in line to get your lipstick in remotely the right place. It’s a bit like having someone point you in the general direction of the donkey when you’re pinning the tail on – every little helps.

You can find Spicy Chilli at Escentual here* – it’s £19.35. I did a makeup tutorial using this lipstick – the video is here, if you want to see it in action. (Please be aware before you watch that the video contains a fashion advertorial for Boden.)

14 Comments

  1. Hmm dunno, I just look old and messy if I do this… maybe I am just old and messy lol!

    Reply
  2. WOw!!! So sexy et sassy ma chère!! Prête pour Noël?!

    Reply
  3. I love a classic red lip, always chic!

    Danielle xx

    Reply
  4. I highly recommend Urban Decay’s Ultimate Ozone Multipurpose Primer Pencil. It’s a clear lip pencil, so it takes the guesswork out of having to match your lipstick and liner. It prevents feathering, and it allows lipstick to last much longer. Since its clear, you can use it all over lips as a primer to really set the lipstick. The only downside is that it requires sharpening, which is more work and a waste of product.

    Reply
  5. Hello i do it l’île this bécasse i am 45 ans it looks more “plump” ☺you are so beautiful…what concealer are you wearing here? So bright undereyes!! Thanks for all u do i love everything about you☺

    Reply
  6. Great idea! I love bold colours but sometimes they’re a little too much for the office, you know? I’ve been experimenting with a more “stained” look lately, so I’ll be trying out this technique for sure. Thanks.

    Angela at Blush & Pearls

    Reply
    • Yes! This isn’t stained so much as…muted? x

      Reply
  7. Didn’t have any idea there was a new way of the classic red Lip! Thanks for sharing! Will hopefully rock it, this festive season! X

    Reply
    • There’s probably not, I just made it up! : )

      Reply
  8. I need the lip liner not for the precise line, but to prevent bleeding. Once I crossed 35, lipstick feathering outside my lip lines became a regular thing. Before that I never thought about using a liner.

    Anne

    Reply
  9. I do this with nude liner because I think it looks a little more natural than with a harsh liner and I can then over line my lips just a tiny bit without looking ‘Instagram made up’ I’m too old for that. I am very pale though so that might be why I think it looks harsh unblurred. I’ll have to try it with red I don’t wear it often because I think it’s a bit much on me but this might help x

    Reply
    • There’s also a really good invisible liner from Lipstick Queen! x

      Reply

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