Combining Red Lipstick Shades

Red lipstick is very chic!  I think it's important to create looks and use colours that suit your skin-tone.  There are some unique red shades out there - blue reds, yellow reds, orange reds, true reds, deep reds, burgundy-wine reds etc etc.  Sometimes it can get confusing to know which red to buy because there are mixed messages out there from the beauty world, not to mention 'trends' and whats 'IN' at the moment!  I've read some articles that mention that you should wear a red that compliments the undertone in your skin - i.e. if you're cool toned, wear a blue or pink based red and if you're warm toned, wear yellow-orange based reds.  Neutrals, I assume can wear just about anything!  In other articles, I've read to wear a red that adds contrast to you natural skin tone so that the colour can really pop!  I can understand why wearing red can be confusing.  My personal opinion, is to discover your best red by trial and error and mixing/combining your own shades.  When it comes to makeup, you almost need to think like an inventor!  Makeup artists invent looks all the time and then they 'sell' it to you.  If we're not careful, we can get seriously caught up in buying what's new and trendy to the point of forgetting about our own personal style!  I really think that many women are loosing the ability to create a personal look or sense of style because of the fashion/beauty industry - however, I will leave that to another post!  Getting back to wearing and creating your own personal red lipstick beauty look, its important to have fun with finding your best red!  You have to absolutely love everything about wearing a red lip, from the look of the red, the feel of the formula/texture on your lips.  Red truly is about feeling confident and powerful and saying: 'I'm here world, you're going to hear me roar in a few seconds'.  Combining shades of red and creating your own version of red gives you the creative power to achieve a signature red look.  I remember reading a book in university called 'Bombshells manual of style' or something similar to that - one of the tips in that book is exactly what i'm writing about here - almost every Hollywood Bombshell wore of red that was her own creation and it was usually a mix of 2 or 3 shades.  If you happen to adore a particular shade of red and its swipe and go, then by all means continue wearing that shade, but give yourself the opportunity too to create something a little different sometimes.  Here's my red look for today - I combined a deeper red, NARS Fire Down Below with Ruby Woo by MAC - I wanted a neutral true-deep red shade:

I started with my basic makeup - concealer, tinted moisturizer.  I then applied NARS Sin blush (my fave and its fantastic with a red lip).  For the eyes, I applied a shimmery white shade from Make Up For Ever over the lid.  I then lined the outer corners of my eyes with Coffee eyeliner and smudged in Smut shadow into the upper lash-line.  I then applied Brun shadow into the crease before finishing with black mascara.  For the lipstick - NARS Fire Down Below + MAC Ruby Woo!!!

I'm excited to play around with some more red lipstick combinations :)