Fashion week in general has been all about keeping it soft and natural, but sometimes a woman wants to be bold and make a statement. A handful of Anthony Vaccarello’s models had blood red lips paired with black lined eyes and red cream eyeshadows at the Spring/Summer 2016 show. They were definitely making a statement, as this powerful look was burning up the runway! 

Red lips can be tricky. Just like when painting, it's all about the base, layers and top coat. Start off with patting a little bit of your foundation on your lips to have a clean palette to start with. You don't want to worry about your lip all night so it's all about layers. Use a lip liner like Nars Velvet Matte Lip Pencil in Cruella to keep the corners clean and start lining your lips. Then, color inside the lip line with the liner. If your gloss or lipstick comes off throughout the night, you will have this layer of liner always intact. Nothing is worse than a messy red lip, so every step is crucial.  

With red, I always love to use a lip brush, you can get away with not using one on the go, but with a difficult color like red it will just make the process easier and more precise. Use a blue red color so that your teeth don't look yellow (like with orange based reds).  After applying Guerlain Garconne Rouge G Lipstick or your favorite red, clean up the edges again with a little bit of concealer. The looks on the runway almost had a wet look so let's add a gloss to take it to the next level.  Bobbi Brown Lip Gloss in Hollywood Red is sexy and retro. Apply it to the center of your pout and blot. Remember to take a small mirror, a makeup wipe and all your lip color tools to reapply if you are having dinner. A red lip can be a little high maintenance but it's the easiest way to look incredibly sexy and hot off the Paris runway! 

Aline Agopian