Ask Kara: The Best Red Lipsticks for Every Skin Tone

I’m currently on the hunt for a red lipstick but I always have a difficult time choosing the right color. What do you recommend? 

First of all, every gal should have a go-to red lipstick. It’s a staple lip color every woman should have on her vanity. Shopping for the perfect red lipstick may seem difficult but it’s much easier than you think. I would worry less about the color. It’s about how to shop for the best red lipstick for every skin tone. A general good beauty rule of thumb: if you have fair skin, bright and coral reds work best. If you have medium skin with gold undertones, true red to pink-cranberry shades (like this gorgeous YSL satin lipstick) will give you a luminous pout. Darker skin tones can pull off deep, rich burgundy and warm brick reds (like this Bite Beauty lipstick). Right now I am all about NARS semi-matte bright red lipstick in Jungle Red (I highly recommend if you have fair skin).

I wash my face at night, but should I cleanse in the morning too? Or is a quick rinse good enough?

If someone had asked me this question in college, a quick rinse would’ve sounded good to me! Sadly though, that’s definitely not the case. You’d think not much can happen while you sleep but your skin accumulates oil overnight. Now, imagine not cleansing in the morning and applying moisturizer and makeup on top of that oil you just accumulated. Yeah… gross. I highly recommend washing your face in the am and pm with a gentle cleanser. I probably sound like a broken record at this point but I can’t live without Alchimie Forever’s gentle cream cleanser (which I now use in the morning only) and recently added their gel cleanser to my nighttime routine.

What’s the deal with eyeliner? Is there a certain way I should apply it?

If there’s a set of rules out there when it comes to lining eyes, please send it my way. I’d love to know. While I rarely wear eyeliner, when I do, it’s only on top. I recommend smudging your liner upward to get the outermost portion of your eye to create a lifting effect. Apply it as close to your lash line as possible to make it look connected and for thicker lashes. Pencils are easy to use anytime, anywhere. I’ve mastered liquid eyeliner (with good practice thanks to Stila’s Stay All Day Waterproof Liquid Eyeliner) and have found that small, feather-like sweeps work best and usually yield the least amount of boo-boos. Whatever you do, DO NOT only apply liner on the bottom lash line. That will drag your eyes down and simply put, it will make you look much older.

Have a beauty question for me? Email me at Kara@thebeautyminimalist.com and I’ll answer them on my blog. Don’t want to send me a question but still like reading this series? That’s OK. I’ll come up with my own beauty questions and answer them on the blog anyways. : )