Buy it now: Three colours red

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Here are three killer red lipsticks I’ve been trialling that I can recommend if you love strong Hollywood reds in posh packaging…

First is Rouge Néon (shade 50) from Yves saint Laurent’s Rouge Pur Couture Golden Lustre line (below, £25). This is a lush vermillion red that has an extremely flattering finish thanks to the addition of yellow, white and pink gold pearls. It’s definitely not pearlised though; the effect is more a subtle ‘lit from within’ radiance that is YSL’s DNA. Obviously, the gold casing is as fabulous as the lipstick inside, I never get bored with it. Buy it here and here
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Lipstick Queen’s Poppy King has always championed wonderful rich ‘proper’ lipsticks. Her thing is the real old school look of a matte red but her latest launch, ‘Velvet Rope’ (below) uses ultra modern technology to deliver. I’ve been wearing the Velvet Rope lipstick in Private Party. The formulation is incredible on application. It contains silicone elastomer which means it glides on smoothly in a perfect dense layer but the finish is a velvety matte. Private Party is a deep pinky crimson, while Brat Pack gives a brighter pop of red. Both are wonderful glamorous choices and come in an equally dramatic gold magnetic case. At £35 these are as expensive as Tom Ford lipsticks (in fact, a shade more) but worth it if you want a 100% wow experience. Buy it here.
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I discovered MAKE lipsticks (top and below) last week on Garance Dore’s Pinterest page. She used their ‘Scarlet’ lipstick during New York Fashion Week and the shape and shade of the bullet caught my eye. Then – oh happy days! – I got one in my goody bag from a beauty trends presentation at The Future Laboratory (there’s a post on that to come later). My lipstick is the Silk Cream lipstick in Maraschino Cherry ($25), an intense, blue-toned red that has a matte finish but feels creamy. After a few hours, it wears down to an amazing non-dry stain which is my favourite kind of casual red lip look. In fact, according to this Youtuber, some of the people who create the formulas for Nars are behind MAKE which might explain the superior quality. Another interesting fact: a third of the sale price goes to We See Beauty, a non-profit organisation that supports women-led, worker-owned cooperatives. MAKE is a new American brand so isn’t readily available but you can buy a selection from Barneys or the whole line at We See Beauty.
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