As you know, I am obsessed with red lipstick. (I currently have about 14 tubes, glosses and pots of the stuff in my makeup drawer.) I AM ALWAYS on the look out for the perfect red lipstick! It’s always a hard thing to find the universal red lipstick: a red lip color for Asian skin, red lip color for olive skin tones, that also works well for pale skin and African-American complexions.
Considering that I have one of the hardest skin tones to shop for (medium brown with very golden yellow undertone–not exactly olive, but not exactly traditional “Asian” skin color either), most of the beauty column advice about brick reds for olive tones and yellows and blue reds for pink or beige complected beauties does not apply to me. I’m not olive or too tan, but I’m not light-skinned yellow, either, and I’m SO NOT beige. All the lipsticks I wear are either too bricky/orangey or too dark with a slight bluish undertone to it, which makes me ashy and sallow. It’s like, DAMN! makeup people, can’t you think of the million or so Southeast Asian women who just wanna look hot and kissable? A girl can’t get no satisfaction. Damn Europeans.
After logging thousands of hours in Sephora, Ulta and Nordstrom, swatching about a million shades, getting bad beauty advice and trying it myself for years and years, last Friday I ran into Stacey a NARS Makeup Artist. Um, she’s magic. She found my perfect red in less than twenty minutes. WHAT!
{Mac Ruby Woo, the universally perfect red lipstick for every skin tone.}
Review:
It’s a matte red in a long wearing formula. There’s no hint of blue or orange in the undertones. It’s just a perfect true red shade. The hue is absolutely brilliant and bold, so if you’re not used to it, you may need to blot it like crazy to get more of a stain. Or, to tone it down a notch, you can darken it by using a moisturizing brown eye or lip liner pencil and kind of create a gradient so the brightest pop is just at the center of the mouth. This effect also makes your lips appear more pouty and fuller. The long wearing formula is drying, though. So remember to moisturize your lips a bit with lip balm and again after. Or top the lippie with a moisturizing gloss. My preference is Burt’s Bee’s tinted lip balm in Red Dahlia. My lips are already too full for gloss, I’d look like a drag queen if I went glossy.
I’m relieved I found my HG (Holy Grail) red. But if I had to choose a close second, YSL’s Rouge Pur in Opium Red, but that’s been discontinued. And, at $14.50, I’ll just go to MAC every time. I’m usually anti-MAC, because I can never come out of there without looking like RuPaul, but I think their brushes and this lipstick can change my mind a little.
What’s your Holy Grail lip shade? Need help finding a good red for your skin tone? I can help!
BUY IT HERE: MAC Ruby Woo @ Nordstrom.com
Image credit: Real Beauty
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I LOVE LOVE LOVE the fact that I found this website! I could not find any South Asians ANYWHERE, this is amazing. thank youxxxx
Aloha, Koser! So glad you are happy you found me. South and Southeast Asians are so under-represented in beauty posts and stuff, so it was really important for me to write this.
Glad you like! I hope you stick around and find other stuff you like here!!
Mae Xx
yes! its Ruby Woo! I was so confused between Russian Red and Ruby Woo, but now I know it’s Ruby woo
you look great!
please check mine too!
http://beautychitchatedg.blogspot.com/2012/07/mac-lipstick-ruby-woo-swatch-and-review.html
Love your review, too! Mahalo for dropping by! xo
I was searching for the perfect red lipcolor and stumbled across your review of Ruby Woo.Made my choice so much easier…Thanks!!!….And you are lookin’ real GLAM with it on!!
Aloha, Lovecat! So glad you like the article. I love Ruby Woo. The only caution I have about the lipstick is the formula. It’s a long wear formula; it’s very drying. So you either have to wear balm under or over it to keep your lips from feeling dry after an hour or so of wear. But the color is perfect for everyone.
Another, more moisturizing option could be DuWop’s Lip Venom Secret Red lipstick, which supposedly reacts with the ph balance of the wearers lips and creates the right shade of red for her complexion. I don’t know if the color transforms, but it does look good on me!
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Thank you
this is exactly the info I needed!
Loveee it! Gorge on you!!! I’m asian too and want to wear this lipstick! gonna get it!
You’re going to look amazing.
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I feel your pain, woman, I feel your pain!!
I think part of the reason why I’m so lousy in make-up is because every time I try something, it looks all wrong on me. I follow make up tutes on YouTube and try the colours and always hate how I look.
Thank you so much for this tip! You’re so sweet! Love it that you’re generous with you make up tips. I might actually go and get Ruby Woo.
You have the same skintone as my youngest sister I think. It’s a double-edged sword. Yes, it’s hard to find makeup colors that complement your skintone, whether it’s in a department store on Main Street in your state or it’s a departmetn store in South Korea… BUT, that said, EVERYTHING looks good on you! Same with my sister. There’s no color she “just can’t wear.”
Btw this red looks stunning on you! Loving it! I just started getting into red lipsticks. I find that warmer reds look better on me than cooler reds.
Love it, Mae! Don’t you hate beauty counters sometimes? When Cath and I were wee little teenagers, we went to the Clinique counter with our friends (mostly white girlies), and, man, they did NOT have colors for us. Too bad I didn’t meet the Mac and Bobby Brown counters until a few year’s later.
Thanks so much for sharing the perfect color! I find that red looks funkity funk on me, but you and Cath pull it off beautifully!
xoxox,
Lar
love it.
please come to see mine.
http://paquetevistasbien.blogspot.com
You’ve perfected Red Mae!! I’m loving red right now too.. although I haven’t worn it “out” yet
I love this color too! I’ve had the same stick for the past 3 years, and limit myself to how often i wear it. I’m not bold enough.
Im also partial to Wet N Wilds spotlight red.
You know, I am always hunting for the perfect red.
This color is gorgeous on you! You have the perfect lips for red lipstick too btw!
Will have to check it out! I have always been anti- Mac too but this is worth looking in to:)
Anna! I think you should totally check this out. Just remember you will need to moisturize your lips because the color is matte and long wearing, so it does dry a bit. But as far as color goes, it’s the perfect one for everyone! I love it.
Ohhh love it! It’s the perfect red.
xx
Karen.
http://www.mycandylane.blogspot.com
Hey, Karen! It is totally the perfect red for all skin tones! I hope you buy it and use it!
I am make-up challenged… so, I’m excited for you to give me all your tips, tricks, and beauty advice when we finally meet! I used to be OBSESSED with mac, but only with their eye shadows. I owned so many pots, but now it’s a rarity that I even put shadow on. And if I do, it’s Chanel.
This shade of red is magnificent on you, Mae! Lurrrve it, big time.
xx Love & Aloha
I think you should try this red. If you don’t feel brave enough for red, just put on lots of lip balm after you apply the lip color and the blot, blot, blot, and when you do, it’ll turn more into a subtle stain.
You can try it on when you come visit us in January!
How exciting! You look fantastic in that color. I haven’t really ventured into wearing lipstick, mostly because the few times I have it’s been so drying. Not to mention the confusing multitudes of brands and shades.
At the most I slap on drugstore lip gloss or Burt’s Bees lip shimmer. … but there’s nothing like lipstick to finish off a look.
Seriously… just think that I’ve done most of the research for you. You and I probably have about the same complexion, and this color will look amazing on you. It will on everyone.
But honestly, if you want to look polished, professional and chic, lipstick is going to do it for your face, and overall, it will add a lot more of a pop of color to your face, and make you more radiant and beautiful. Lipstick functions as the same way a pair of shoes do; they finish off the look and instantly add a chic element and put-together effect to someone’s appearance. Nothing has more impact than lipstick and the shoes. If you haven’t ventured into it because ones you’ve tried are too drying, you haven’t gotten the right moisturizing formula. This formula is a dry one because it’s long wearing, but if you top it with lip balm, it’s not bad. Try Revlon’s Lustrous line… they’re nice and moisturizing, and they’re not too expensive.
Also, if you don’t feel comfortable with bold color, try something simple like a peachy nude pink or a soft pink that looks good against your skin tone. If you think it’s too bold, blot it with a tissue for more of a stain, and then top it with Burts Bees tinted lip balm (not shimmer), and you’re good to go. Hope that helps!
You are an amazingly persuasive advocate of lipstick and its wonders!
Since I started my blog with the objective of learning more about certain mysterious arts such as makeup, I will definitely give your recommendations a try.
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that is MOST DEFINITELY your perfect red.
and maybe mine too.
I think this would look AMAZING on you….