I originally heard about these lip lacquers from Estee from Essiebutton and have been stalking the stores to no avail. However, I was browsing ASOS and found they had them, on sale even! So I picked up a couple of them. I always grab a red (duh) so BIG BANG fits that bill with a slightly warmer deep red, and I've been desperately trying to find a pink I like on me so I got NOVA which is a nice medium blue-based pink.

L'Oreal has recently put out what has long been called a probable dupe for the expensive Yves Saint Laurent Rouge Pur Couture Vernis a Levres Glossy Stain called L'Oreal Colour Riche Caresse Wet Shine Stain. Apparently a requirement for naming of these lipstick/glosses are that they are a mouthful. Henceforth I will refer to them as YSL Glossy Stain and L'Oreal Wet Shine Stain. I will try to go over the pro's and cons on each of these and then give an overall opinion. This is based on my experience of having the YSL for months and the L'Oreal for a few weeks.

I obviously love red lipstick, so I tend to gravitate toward them when I shop. I guess this explains why I have over 30 red lipsticks right now. I love to try out new brands and formulas and see what works best. Here is my current collection with a mini review of each along with my favorites of the bunch.

• MAC - Marilyn Monroe Collection in Deeply Adored (Matte) - I haven't used this one yet. I'm not 100% sure I'll keep it since it looks darker than my normal reds.
• MAC - Racy (Frost) - Not digging the frost so much on this one.
• MAC - Adore It (Glaze) - LOVE this. It's a bright pinky red. It's not super opaque, which makes it a perfect easy lipstick to take with if you aren't going to be able to apply using a mirror.
• MAC - MAC Red (Satin) - LOVE this too. It's a really perfect true red. It is pretty long lasting and has a nice balance of matte/shine.
• MAC - Lady Bug (Luster) - I was really excited to get this since I had heard it was a great red from MAC, but eh. I think because I already had Adore It to fill my easy red lip look, I didn't need this one. Don't get me wrong though, it's pretty and is a nice medium opacity red lipstick.
• MAC - Ruby Woo (Matte) - I heard so much about this lipstick and when I started getting into reds, I had to pick it up. It is a perfect matte red. I generally only like a super matte lip in the winter, which is odd since that's when I'm most dry, but I actually don't find Ruby Woo to be so drying. But it looks dry, so you sort of have to offset the matte by not having your face makeup be so matte.
• MAC - Marilyn Monroe Collection in Charmed I'm Sure (Matte) - I haven't used this one either. It's too pretty to use or something!

• Yves Saint Laurent - Rouge Pur Couture in Rouge Roxane - This leans orange and has a bit of frostiness to it, but it isn't too much and it comes off a little younger than a lot of frosty lips.
• Yves Saint Laurent - Rouge Pur Couture Vernis à Lèvres Glossy Stain in #9 - Super beautiful warm red with no shimmer. Plus, I love these glossy stains.
• Yves Saint Laurent - Rouge Pur Couture Vernis à Lèvres Glossy Stain in #11 - This is a really pinky red. Looks great layered up to a deep pinky red.
• Yves Saint Laurent - Rouge Pur Couture Vernis à Lèvres Glossy Stain in #20 - This was a Sephora exclusive color and I'm glad I picked it up. It's similar to #9, but this has a really nice gold shimmer in it. 
• Yves Saint Laurent - Rouge Volupté in Red Muse - I can't get over how much I love this lipstick. It feels like silk going on and has a great color payoff. 

I was recently asked if I collect anything. Without much thought I responded "Records and red lipstick," thus the blog name was born.

Red lipstick was something I was frightened of for a very long time. Actually I really didn't wear lipstick at all for many years. I had memories of trying to wear moms lipstick to my high school dances in the mid-90s. The colors were never right for me and after applying whatever tips I had read about in Seventeen magazine (like blot, reapply, blot and powder over), lipstick never felt very comfortable on. In the late 2000s I worked for an Estée Lauder brand for over six years and spent most of that time spending my gratis and discounts on eye shadows and gifts instead of lipsticks, but in my last year working for the company, and about two years ago now, I decided to go bold and try a red lipstick. What was funny was that I didn't use gratis to get the lipstick. Instead I ordered it off Sephora.com without even swatching to see the color (I'm a terrible impulse buyer). It is Benefit Full-Finish Lipstick in Flirt Alert and it is still one of my favorite colors and formulas. I don't hear much said about this brand's lipstick, but it's creamy and beautiful!