ASK SOPHIE
ELLE’S beauty director answers your questions. This month: red lipstick
QMy signature red lipstick definitely doesn’t get me the attention (I think) I deserve. Am I doing something wrong? I’m sure it’s my lipstick… My friend wears MAC Ruby Woo and always gets phone numbers. Shall I try Ruby Woo, too? Marie, Essex
AMarie, I hate to break it to you, but you’re probably in the wrong shade for your skin tone. You know those women who wear one bra size their whole adult lives, then they go to Rigby & Peller and discover they’re actually a 32D and suddenly all their clothes fit differently and they emerge from their chrysalis as Sandy at the end of Grease? This could be you. Saying that, in my opinion, red lipstick is right even when it’s wrong (it’s my trademark – right now I’m wearing Maybelline Color Drama in Light It Up, in case you’re interested), but you can always do better. Consider this: do you know what your skin tone is? Once you’ve established whether your basic complexion is light, medium or dark – quite self-explanatory – you need to understand your undertone. The easiest way is to look at the veins on the inside of your wrist in natural light. If they look green then you’re warm (yellow-toned), if they’re purple or blue you’re cool (pink-toned), and if you can’t tell, you’re either neutral or you’re not very good at this game. In which case go to a beauty hall and ask a professional instead.
Now you can pick your shade of red. Mac Lipstick in Ruby Woo, £16.50, by the way, is a blue-toned red, so if it works for your friend, she probably has blue veins; blue-reds balance out the pink in cool skin tones and let the lips be the focus. BareMinerals Luxe-Shine Lipstick in SRSLY Red, £18, is a softer pinkish option if you don’t want to go as punchy as a Ruby Woo. If you have warm undertones, then a more orange red would work brilliantly on you – try Chanel Rouge Allure Velvet in First Light, £28. Neutral undertones or olive complexions look great with bright, true reds or more coral-based hues – Try Bourjois Rouge Velvet The Lipstick in Rubi’s Cute, £8.99. Or you can cheat. Givenchy Le Rouge Sculpt, £28, is a very smart lipstick. The darker sculpting bit (it kind of lines the lips for you), is PH-reacting, so it enhances the shade of red differently on each individual wearer. No guess work needed. So once you know your ‘shade rule’, you can go wild on the colour spectrum, from deeply dark to almost fluoro. Build a lip wardrobe (I have approximately 72 lipsticks in my arsenal), then go forth and conquer. Those phone numbers aren’t going to call themselves.