I watched Tracee Ellis Ross’ Vogue video about five years ago and I was inspired by her minimal makeup look. It looked effortlessly pulled together and I really like the bold classic red color. I did some research on Mac Ruby Woo. And all of the reviews said that it looked good on many different skin tones. So many women of color were wearing it too and it looked great on them. They showed different ways to wear it. Some wore it alone. And some used dark lip liners to tone down the color or create an ombre effect. I saw a lot of Mac Nightmoth and Mac Chestnut liners being used as lip liner. It looked good worn those ways too. So I bought it. But…..when I tried it on it did not look that great on me.

Like I said, I like the color on her and the classic bold feminine look it created. But I think what drew me was the simplicity of it. She only highlighted one feature and it looked great. I was remembering the lipstick not working for me last year. So I thought of other ways a similar feel can be created without necessarily using a red lipstick or any lipstick at all. I don’t think you need a lot of products or a full face to look beautiful. To me, picking one feature you love best to highlight is the key to effortless beauty.

How to Find Your Go-to Beauty Highlighting Product

Pick a feature to highlight and highlight just that feature for the day.

The product should focus the attention one one part of your face. And it will usually make your skin look clear or make you look “done” without using anything else. Pick your favorite feature and bring attention to it.

Choose a product that can be worn alone.

These products can be lip gloss, bold eyeliner, bold lipstick, or even just mascara. Well that’s pretty much all of them! LOL oh I forgot blush. The goal is to look effortlessly put together.

Or….If you like red lipstick..

Find a Red that is Flattering on Your Skin-tone

You don’t have to use a bright bold red to go with the red look. I wanted to try out the “red lipstick only” look again. So I used another color that isn’t really red but looks red on me. It doesn’t look as blaring is Ruby Woo did. I like Revlon Super Lustrous Lipstick in Rum Raisin (535). Its a muted red creme finish that leans peach.

In the photo below I’m wearing Rum Raisin. Still, this wouldn’t be my pull it together product. I’ve always preferred to highlight my eyes with liner. So that would probably be my product of choice. I just wanted to try the red lip look in a more suitable color because I liked it so much.

Because different colors look different on different skin tones -Thank you color theory- everyone’s “red” will be different. Some reds might be too vibrant for one person but not vibrant enough for another. Or some will be too warm/cool for one person but look perfect on someone else. And if you find yours, you can wear the red lip look too. Anyone can pull off red you just have to find your shade and proper saturation level. If you want to go with the red lip look read my post on how to find YOUR perfect red.

Do you have one go to product for a simple makeup look? Has the post inspired you to have one? Let me know below?

Thanks for Reading

Amber ❤