Red Hot: MAC Russian Red

I don't know a lot about the chemistry of make-up. I'm still trying to understand undertones. From what I've learned so far, our skin has undertones, and lipsticks also have undertones. Certain lip colors look better, or best, depending on the person's skin undertone. Lipstick colors also have different undertones which determine the shades that would look better or best on people. But as I said, I don't understand much about it yet. I do notice how some colors really do look great and awful on certain people though. 

Red is a very difficult lip color to deal with. Not everyone will look good with red lips. I'm not being a know-it-all or anything, but I've seen some girls with red lips that didn't look so great on them. Hey, I've had my fair share of those awkward looking red lips. That's exactly why I don't really wear lipstick often. But, there is always an exception. 

I tend to be loyal to certain brands, especially if they've proven themselves to me. One of these brands is the well-known brand, MAC Cosmetics. I've been using their concealer and powder foundation since I was in high school, and well, when it was time for me to grow up, I decided to look at their other products. That's when I discovered one of their most famous lip shade: Russian Red.

According to lipstick history, red lip shades made a comeback in the 80s and MAC Cosmetics introduced their first line of lipsticks at about the same time. Madonna made their Russian Red shade popular by wearing it on her Like A Virgin World Tour. But of course, we don't like something just because of its history. We need to try it ourselves, and see if it will look good on us as much as it did a famous celebrity. Among other things. :)

So what made me fall in love with MAC's lovely red shade?

Russian Red has a thick, creamy texture that's not too dark or too light. It also doesn't have that maroon-ish color some companies call red (I don't consider maroon to be red so..).

It easily glides on the lips, and it doesn't have that weird lipstick smell and taste. Plus, just a little of it goes a long way. It also doesn't dry your lips as much as others do, meaning, I didn't get cracked/chapped lips while I had this on. Yes, it eventually dried on my lips after hours, but at least it didn't crack my lips. I've experienced biting on the skin of my lips with lipstick on because it was too dry. So far, I haven't experienced that with this one. 

Fresh on the Lips

Natural lighting

After a couple of hours (and eating)

Taken at a dimly lit room with flash

In a nutshell..

PROS

• glides easily on the lips
• doesn't dry the lips easily
• long lasting
• shade suits anyone (fair skinned and tanned)

CONS

• a little expensive (PhP1,000 each)
• unsure if it doesn't stain when it dries or because I topped it off with petroleum jelly

Price: PhP1,000 each

4.5 out of 5 for MAC Russian Red Lipstick

MAC Cosmetics
Trinoma, Shangri-La Plaza, Rockwell Powerplant, Mall of Asia