Top 10 Red Lipsticks for Valentine's Day

February 14, 2017

Top 10 Red Lipsticks for Valentine's Day

...or any day, really, because red lipstick is appropriate for any situation. You might be thinking 'who needs ten red lipsticks?' and I'll tell you right away that your instincts are correct - you actually need way more than ten. Kidding! Kind of. Judging from this selection, I obviously have some kind of lipstick-shaped hole in my soul that I'm trying to fill, but you might find yourself with just one classic, made-for-you red in your collection, and that's totally cool too. Also, what's self restraint like?

From lightest to darkest, here are my top 10 red lipsticks for Valentine's Day!

NYX Soft Matte Lip Cream in Morocco

Mmmm, I love a Soft Matte Lip Cream! Smells like a vanilla cupcake dream, goes on smooth and opaque, and wears light as a feather. This is a perfect warm toned red with a great orange tint that's super bold, but still easy to wear.

Colourpop Ultra Matte Lip in Succulent

This shade is a perfect coral-red that manages to be both bright and muted at the same time. You get a true matte finish (and the dryness to match) and the wear is pretty good too. The color is the best part, though, and I've yet to find something else quite the same as this unique shade.

Wet n Wild Lipstick in Purty Persimmon

Wet n Wild Meglast lipsticks are the old faithfuls of the drugstore - they're less than two bucks, super comfortable to wear, come in a large range of great colors and stay put for hours. Purty Persimmon is a lovely orange-red shade that I always get excited to pop on. This is the lipstick that showed me I like warm toned reds too!

Revlon Lipstick in Fire & Ice

A serious classic! This shade is from the olden days of lipstick, basically, and there's a reason it has stood the test of time - it's gorgeous! Such a lovely color that tends to skew warm toned, but somehow seems to work on everyone I've ever seen wear it? You need this.

Rimmel Provocalips in Kiss Me You Fool

I don't know how many more ways I can say this: I'M IN LOVE WITH RIMMEL PROVOCALIPS. Sorry for shouting, but if you still haven't tried these, I don't know what I can do with you. They're the best, last forever, the end. This is the bright cherry red from the range, and I'm telling you - if you need an all day red lip that you can eat pizza and, like, brush your teeth in, this is that red.

MAC Lipstick in Russian Red

There's just something about a smooth tube of MAC lipstick! This is my favorite red from the brand, but I know that's a hot button issue. Are you a Ruby Woo gal? Okay, let's take this outside! JK, don't hit me plz. The cool toned Russian Red has my heart (bringing in this theme nicely!) but honestly all MAC reds are iconic for a reason!

NARS Velvet Matte Lip Pencil in Cruella

I didn't know this would change my red lipstick life, but it kinda did! Among literally every red I wear, this is the one that, when I slip it on, looks the smoothest, prettiest and just all around Photoshopped-on-my-lips-est. It's matte, but not too matte and I never even feel it on my lips. It's a great neutral to cool-leaning red that applies like a dream and treats your lips right.

Revlon Matte Balm in Standout

This one is a sleeper hit! It's very similar to MAC Russian Red, with a cool toned hue and matte finish, but it also has a moisturizing quality, complete with minty zing, that you're not going to find in most other lipsticks. I struggle getting a crisp line with it, but it applies so easily and feels so comfortable it's kinda worth it.

Rimmel Provocalips in Play With Fire

See above, and approximately 1,009,342 other blog posts to see how much I love Provocalips. This is a deeper, more cool toned red from the range and I love it just as much as the other red shade. I tend to pull this out for a more dramatic look, but you'd be good with whichever red you like more. Let Provocalips change your life!

Maybelline Lipstick in Smoking Red

Yass, a deep red that goes on opaque in one swipe! You've really done it, Maybelline. I can't tell you how many times in my life I've bought and tossed so called 'black cherry' lipsticks when they go on patchy and pathetic. This is a bit lighter than those shades, but it does the job of coloring my lips evenly. Luckily, it also feels comfortable and lasts, keeping me coming back swipe after swipe.