Tried and tested: the best red lipsticks!
One of the easiest ways to add a touch of vintage glamour to your makeup is to wear red lipstick. It adds a sense of occasion to the mundane, and can transform you from office worker to Hollywood starlet at the swipe of a stick. Isabella Buckland has been on a one woman mission to sort the lipsticks that will give you the perfect cherry pout from the ones that make you look like a deranged clown. After vigorous testing that included snogging, nights out, snow, cakes and cups of tea, here are her top 3 that any vintage girl should add to her make up kit!
1. YSL Rouge Volupte in Red Temptation £20
Full of exciting new ingredients like hyaluroni acid microspheres to plump your lips and crystalline ester to magnify colour, this still delivers all the old-school things you want from a lipstick.
The colour is classic poppy red in a satin finish. It has added protection of SPF 15 and surprisingly, smells of mangos.
It felt really moisturising and lasted a good few hours. However I didn’t get the chance for it to fade as it comes in such a stunning gold case that I kept re-applying it using the mirror in the lid just to show it off!
Category: Beauty, Vintage news








I also love L’Absolue Rouge 132 from Lancome, it’s a wonderful true red
I love your Red Lip Tips. My favourite red lipstick is MAC’s Viva Glam. It was the first of the Viva Glam range. It suits most people and stays on well.
You forgot to inlcude MAC’s Ruby Woo- best siren red lipstick ever – so matte it looks like chalk and never smudges around your lips, and will stay put all day, even through a meal (though not if your meal consists of oil only, as this will make the wax inb the lipstick melt out). And MAC’s Dark Side for a vampish 20′s plum mouth.
I am a cabaret performer and love Ben Nye Ruby Red (L16). A perfect true red color, matte finish, but formulated for the stage, so the pigmentation is extra heavy and long wearing. One application will last through singing, kissing, drinking, costume changes and hot stage lights with minimal touch ups. It’s also a great value, at $8.00 a tube (usd).
I second Chanel Rouge Allure, the staying power is awesome and the packaging makes it just that little bit extra special – like wearing red lipstick should be.
MAC Russian Red is the best I’ve found. Also good blue undertone : )
Thanks very much for this, I am in the process of wanting to purchase a red lipstick! Very helpful, Emma
love the list! THe only thing I would like to see is a list of the best drug store red lipsticks. alot of us mothers out there cant afford high end, but still want the look.