12 Days of Beauty: Day 2 – That perfect Holiday Red Lip color

Happy day 2 of my 12 Days of Beauty! If this is the first of the 12 days you’re seeing then head over to this post to get caught up and for a chance to enter to win the T3 SinglePass Curling Iron!

Today is all about my FAVORITE red lipstick for the holidays! Of course this red shade is perfect year round but during the holidays is when I tend to gravitate more towards a bright red! I’m also sharing a little hack towards the end to let you in on a little secret for picking out the perfect red.

I picked two colors to share with you all today! The first is a very loved shade by other beauty bloggers because of how pretty it is and how gorgeous it looks against so many different skin tones! The second is a personal favorite of mine that I know will get a lot of noses turned up on it but I swear by the formula!

The top color is Beso by Stila in their Stay All Day Liquid Lipsticks. Beso is one of the prettiest reds I have ever seen. I’m actually wearing this color in the photo and it looks completely different on me than it does on the swatch in the photo above and it looks like this on everyone that swatches it – crazy, right?! Beso has some deeper undertones to it making it so complimentary when all skin colors use it. If you have never used one of Stila’s Liquid Lips then you are in for a treat on how long lasting they are! They literally stay all day and stay put through drinking and eating just about anything. The only time I’ve noticed I’ve had to reapply is when I’m doing nothing but drinking and the inner part of my lips will start to wear off but it’s not a noticeable wear.

You can find Beso along with the other 31 shades of Stila’s Stay All Day Liquid Lipsticks here for $22.

Now this other shade is Mary Jo K by Kylie Cosmetics in the Lip Kit duo. I know a lot of people aren’t a fan of the Kardashians and that is totally fine, but I have never worn a formula as pigmented, smooth, and hydrating as this one. This is actually the only Kylie Cosmetics item I own so I don’t want you all thinking I’m obsessed with them all haha. Mary Jo K is a much richer red with more brown undertones in it. What really got my attention was that Kylie herself is more fair skinned and when she showed this color in her swatches it looked gorgeous on her! Since I’m also fair skinned I figured I’d give it a shot. The swatch is very true to the actual color of the lipstick.

You can now purchase the Kylie Lip kits at Ulta and I’m not entirely sure on which ones are available for online purchase but you can check it out here! Each Lip Kit comes with a liquid lip and a liner and is $29.

I really want to keep it real with you all here with these colors only because I am talking about a product from a Kardashian. I have had the Mary Jo K color for only about 6 months and I’ve had the Beso color for almost 2 years and have had to repurchase it twice. Both of these colors are gorgeous and I could honestly care less about who makes it. As long as it’s a good color, I am sold!

Tips on picking out the perfect Red for the holidays!

I have spent years loving lipsticks and reds are by far the hardest so here are some hacks that I’ve learned along the way that really work!

-If you are taking a lot of photos and are wearing a red lipstick, wearing a red with a cooler undertone (think more on the wine side) will actually make your teeth look whiter in photos!

-If you are more faired skin or have a cooler undertone in your skin stay with reds that have cooler undertones. Stay away from reds that have more of a pink or orange undertone and try for something with a brown or violet undertone

-if you don’t want your red lipstick to smear, try appling a translucent setting powder after application to mattify it for a longer last.

-If you don’t want your red lipstick to bleed, use a nude lip liner (one that is close to your skin color) before applying. The bleeding is prevented and if you don’t cover up a little spot nobody will notice!

-If your natural lips are really pink you can actually neutralize them with foundation or concealer before applying the red to get an actual red. I have very natural pink lips and sometimes a color will look completely different when my natural color comes through.