Russian Red: A Matte Lipstick by MAC Cosmetics

I’ve been aching for a nice true red lipstick. And I found myself in search of a lipstick that either had bluish undertones, or was simply a nice neutral red. I think I found my new “go to” with MAC’s Russian Red matte lipstick.
Described by MAC as an “Intense bluish-red” it certainly sounded like it fit the bill. Items from this lipstick collection cost $14.50US or $17.50CAD for 3g of product. MAC’s Russian Red is also currently a shade featured in MAC’s “Fashion Sets” collection where they are offering lipsticks, glosses and nail lacquers all of the same shade.
I found I had a bit of a hard time capturing the true colour in photos, so I have provided several pictures here, in different lighting to try and give you the best idea of what it’s truly like.
I always love to swatch on the lips as well because I really find that it helps capture the colour. And in order to give proper swatches, I made sure that I took pictures of MAC’s Russian Red lipstick both with flash and without flash. The first one here is with flash:
And without flash:
I’ll try to use this lipstick in a look soon so you guys can see it in action.
What do you think of this shade? What is your favourite product to get that bold red lip?
xox,
Shannon
Time for Pin-Up

By now you should all be able to tell that I love to do a bit of experimenting and try different things from time to time. I like to stretch my comfort zone and push my boundaries…and other people’s boundaries for that matter, as far as they’ll let me anyways. But the latter is not what I will be posting about today.
Yesterday was my work’s annual Christmas party. All the people that you see 260 days out of the year transform into different versions of themselves. They dress up, they spend extra time on their hair and makeup, they hide their glasses and they make their entrance with their other halves in tow. Christmas parties are sort of a weird creature, a little awkward, a little stilted. You make pleasant conversation, you meet some new people. You drink just enough to loosen up, but you are always a little weary of having one too many and being that person that the stories around the office surround until the next big corporate event when someone else has a chance to embarrass themselves.