Black Girls & Red Lipstick: My Journey to Finding the Perfect Red

Hey, Fashion Besties!

Can we talk about red lipstick for a minute?

Because a red lip is one of those beauty looks that seems so simple. You put it on, maybe add a little liner, and suddenly you look like you put way more effort into getting ready than you actually did.

But finding the right red lipstick as a Black woman? Baby, that was a journey.

For the longest time, I loved the idea of red lipstick more than I loved the thought of actually wearing it myself.

I remember seeing Black women of all shades wearing red lipstick and thinking it looked SO good on them. Dark skin, brown skin, lighter skin, it didn’t matter. Something about a Black woman in a red lip just did it for me.

But every time I admired it on someone else, I would immediately think:

“I could never pull that off.”

So I didn’t.

I stuck with my nude colors and played it safe.

Until The Lip Bar (TLB) came along.

The Lipstick That Changed Everything

My journey into becoming a red lip girl was officially put into motion with The Lip Bar’s Bawse Lady.

Before that, my go-to shade had always been Savage. It felt comfortable. It worked. I knew what I was getting every time I put it on.

But one day I decided I wanted to go bolder.

Enter into the chat: Bawse Lady.

And bestie, I was HOOKED.

There was something about seeing myself in that red that made me realize I had spent all that time telling myself I couldn’t pull off red lipstick when really, I just hadn’t found the right red for me.

Bawse Lady gave me confidence. It made me want to experiment. And from there, the rest was history.

Then Came Rich Auntie

Once I got comfortable wearing Bawse Lady, there was no going back to playing it safe.

That’s when I fell in love with Rich Auntie. Even the name felt like me.

Rich Auntie gave me another version of the bold lip I was starting to love. I was learning that I didn’t have to have just one red. Different shades could give me completely different moods depending on what I was wearing and how I wanted to feel that day.

At this point, I was officially becoming the woman I used to look at and think, “I wish I could pull that off.”

Plot twist: I could.

I just had to actually try it. And i’m soooooo glad I did. 

And Then Hot Mama Happened

Then one day I decided to try Hot Mama.

Bestie.

My heart STOPPED.

You know when you put something on and immediately know it’s you?

That was Hot Mama for me.

It had that boldness I had been looking for, and something about the shade just worked with my complexion. I didn’t feel like the lipstick was wearing me. I felt like it belonged on me.

And just like that, Hot Mama became my everyday signature color.

I went from being the girl who thought she could never pull off red lipstick to being the girl who would wear a red lip on a regular Tuesday.

No special occasion.

No fancy event.

No reason needed.

I BECAME a red lip girl.

Finding the Right Red Is Personal

One thing this journey taught me is that red is not just red. There are bright reds, deep reds, blue-based reds, orange-based reds, cherry reds, brick reds and everything in between.

And on Black skin? Those colors can show up completely differently depending on our skin tone and undertones.

That’s why I don’t believe there is one magical red lipstick that’s going to look exactly the same on every Black woman. Sometimes you have to experiment.

A shade that looks incredible on your best friend might not give you the same feeling. And a shade you would normally walk right past might end up becoming the color you can’t stop wearing.

That’s exactly what happened to me.

The Brown Lip Liner Changed the Game Too

And we can’t have this conversation without talking about brown lip liner. If you know, you KNOW. A good brown liner can completely change a lipstick. It gives the lips definition, adds dimension and can help a bold color blend beautifully into your complexion.

So if you’ve tried a red lipstick before and immediately decided, “Nope, red isn’t for me,” don’t give up just yet.

Try it with a brown liner.

Try a deeper liner.

Try blending the edges.

You might discover that the lipstick wasn’t the problem at all.

Red Lipstick Became Part of My Personal Style

As I’ve gotten older, I’ve become much more intentional about figuring out what actually feels like me.

Not what’s trending.

Not what somebody says a woman my age should wear.

Not what’s considered safe.

Me.

And I’ve realized personal style isn’t limited to the clothes hanging in your closet.

It’s your hair.

Your jewelry.

Your fragrance.

Your nails.

Your makeup.

It’s all those little details people begin to associate with you. And somewhere along the way, a red lip became one of mine. Give me a blazer, a pair of sunglasses, some gold hoops and my red lipstick, and I’m good.

Sometimes the outfit doesn’t need another accessory.

Sometimes the red lip is the accessory.

From “I Could Never” to “Where’s My Red Lipstick?”

That’s probably my favorite part of this entire journey.

I spent years looking at other Black women wearing red lipstick and telling myself:

“I could never pull that off.”

Now?

I’m reaching for red more than almost anything else.

The thing I was afraid would be too much became one of the things that makes me feel the most like myself.

And there’s a lesson in that beyond lipstick.

How many things do we convince ourselves aren’t for us before we’ve even given ourselves the chance to try them? Sometimes we’re so comfortable playing it safe that we don’t realize how much of ourselves we’re holding back.

For me, it happened to be lipstick.

First Bawse Lady.

Then Rich Auntie.

And finally, Hot Mama, the shade that turned me into a full-blown red lip girl.

To My Black Girls Who Think They Can’t Wear Red Lipstick…

Girl, try the red lipstick.

You may not have found your red yet.

Don’t write off an entire color because one shade didn’t look the way you expected.

Try another undertone. Go brighter. Go deeper. Add the brown liner. Mix two shades together. Put on the outfit. Look at yourself in natural light. And most importantly, give yourself a minute to get used to seeing yourself in something different. Because I know exactly what it’s like to look at another Black woman rocking a red lip and think:

“That looks amazing on her, but I could never.”

I was her.

Until I wasn’t.

Now red lipstick isn’t something I’m trying to pull off.

It’s part of my signature.

So here’s your reminder from your fashion bestie:

Wear the color.

Try the thing you’ve convinced yourself isn’t for you.

Stop saving bold for somebody else.

Because you might just discover a version of yourself you absolutely love.

And if you finally find that perfect red?

Buy a backup, girl.

Are you already a red lip girl, or are you still searching for your perfect shade?

And if you already found the one, drop the name because the rest of us need to know!

Normalize wearing the red lipstick just because. The occasion is you.