You Can Wear Red Lipstick Casually Every Day, Here’s How

We’re all drawn to that classic red lip look. It’s bold and pretty at the same time. Most of us miss out on red lips simply because it looks intimidating and difficult to pull off. Sure, I had my fair share of failed attempts resulting in me looking like a clown with red lips. But I’ve realized that it’s much, much easier to wear red lipstick casually than to wear it with a full glam look.

Whether you saw it online somewhere or you’re inspired by that classic French girl look, you can wear and rock casual red lipstick every day. In fact, wearing lipstick as part of your everyday makeup is much less high maintenance, so don’t overthink this. And I think all of us could use the confidence boost that comes with a splash of red lips. So cheer up and keep reading to learn how to wear red lipstick casually.

How to Wear Red Lipstick Casually

1. Start with the Right Shade of Red

It all starts with the right shade of red. In fact, if you haven’t been able to make red lipstick work for you, there’s a high chance it’s because you’re using the wrong shade with the wrong undertones.

In general, red lipsticks with blue undertones work well for people with fair skin and cool undertones. Red lipsticks with orange undertones work well for people with medium, dark skin and warm undertones.

2. Prep Your Lips

Look, with the right attitude, you can get away with any kind of bold lip look. You can’t, however, get away with chapped lips. So to rock that everyday, casual red lipstick look, make sure you properly prep your lips in advance.

If you need exfoliation, you can do so with a sugar scrub to get rid of that flaky skin. After that, apply a moisturizing lip balm to make your lips plump and smooth, which is important for easy application.

Give your lips some time to absorb all that moisture before moving to the next step. Otherwise, your lips will be very slippery.

3. Consider Using Lip Liner

You can consider lining your lips before applying red lipstick. You can use a red colored lip liner to match your lipstick or a nude liner just for definition.

Lining your lips can also prevent your lipstick from smudging and bleeding, which can create a messy look. So before applying lipstick, slowly follow the edges of your lips to define them.

If you have thin lips or narrow, uneven lips, no worries. Check out my secret sauce for how to apply lipstick on thin lips.

4. Dab the Lipstick onto the Lips

Instead of swiping the lipstick directly onto your lips, consider dabbing it. Swiping can be tricky, especially if you’re a beginner. You can overdefine your lips and it’ll be difficult to clean up.

So dab the tip of your lipstick onto your lower lip and press your lips together to stain the upper lip. Do it a few times until your lips are evenly red.

From here on, now that you have a proper definition, you can slowly swipe your lipstick across the lips and can even use a little lip brush to create fuller-looking lips and curve your cupid’s bow.

5. Blot

Things can get really messy really quickly when you’re wearing too much lipstick. So after your first layer, blot your lips using a blotting paper or tissue paper to soak up excess pigment.

6. Keep Your Base Makeup Simple

What separates a casual red lip look from a classic red lip look is the rest of your makeup. You need to keep your base makeup simple because the more you try to perfect your base, the more uncasual your lipstick will look.

So instead of wearing a full face of makeup with full coverage foundation and everything, go for low coverage. Apply a very thin layer instead of trying to cover up everything.

Also, dewy finish foundations tend to look more natural than matte foundations. Consider tinted moisturizers or skin tints. These are great for everyday wear, so they better complement casual red lips.

7. Do Your Face Makeup with Concealer

Alternatively, you can skip foundation completely and just do your makeup with concealer. You can apply your concealer on the under-eye area and just spot cover blemishes on the face.

To create an even more natural look, you can even draw on freckles. You can use a brown liquid eyeliner to put a few dots on the center of the face to fake foundation-free makeup.

8. Go Easy on Eye Makeup

Avoid dramatic eye makeup looks because it simply adds more to your overall makeup look, making it lean towards classic and full glam from casual.

A smokey, detailed eyeshadow look adds depth and dimension to your eyes. But it’s easy to overdo it, especially if you’re a beginner.

Similarly, applying thick eyeliner with a very prominent wing doesn’t agree with a casual red lip look. Consider applying a very thin eyeliner right on the upper lash line for subtle definition.

Also, consider tightlining the upper lashline to define the shape of your eyes from the inside. This will give you the definition you need without creating a visible liner look.

9. Layer Mascara

Mascara actually pairs amazingly well with bold lips. So as much as you avoid layering eyeshadow, go ahead and layer multiple coats of mascara.

Long, voluminous lashes, as long as they don’t look clumpy, give your eyes all the definition you need to match your casual lipstick.

10. Keep Blush Simple

Blush, whether it’s red, pink, or purple, is as bold a color on its own as red lips. So you need to be very careful not to overdo it.

To match your casual lips with your blush, don’t even dab your brush into the pan. Simply swipe the brush onto the high point of your cheeks to color them up with what’s left on the brush. That’s how little blush you need.

Don’t bring the blush too close to the center of the face. Keep it in the outer corner of the face. Otherwise, it’ll conflict with your red lips, creating a very messy look.

11. Highlight

Highlighting the high points of your cheeks complements an everyday red lip look, especially if it’s summer. Seamless, glitter-free highlighters look very natural and flattering for this look.

Apply the highlighter on the high points of your cheeks, below the brow bone, and on the inner corners of the eyes for a fresh, bright base with popping red lips.

12. Set Your Lipstick

When you’re done with your makeup, use a setting spray to set your red lips. Some people apply powder to bake the lips in. But that creates a very drying, heavily matte look, which can separate and look flaky later on.

So a setting spray is the safer option. Keep a cotton swab in your bag for touch-ups later on in case you need to correct any mistakes.

13. Accessorize

This is going to make all the difference in the way you look and feel when wearing red lipstick every day. It’s all about experimenting with different accessories, hairstyles, and even outfits. So get creative and try!

Casual red lip looks great with a messy bun and hoop earrings. It looks equally flattering when you straighten your hair, wear it down, and accessorize with small stud earrings.

You can focus on your outfit as well and wear a basic white T-shirt and go for that dewy finish, simple face makeup, highlighted cheeks, and popping red lip look.

So this is how to wear red lipstick casually. Again, keep it simple. Whether it’s a daytime red lip or a casual nighttime red lip, you can wear it without having to create a full face of heavy makeup.

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