The Scarlet Season: MAC Russian Red Lipstick

MAC Russian Red Lipstick
MAC Russian Red Lipstick

The Scarlet Season: MAC Russian Red Lipstick

MAC Russian Red Lipstick ($14.00 for 0.10 oz.) is one of the brand’s classic reds–and by classic, I mean, it’s been around forever, worn by numerous celebrities, and embraced as as an iconic shade of true red. It’s a vibrant red with a slight blue-base, but on me, it doesn’t run too cool and almost ends up neutral (not too blue, not too orange) on my lips. It has a matte finish, but it does have a slight sheen when applied. It’s creamy, applies opaque with ease, and it stays put for hours (partially due to the fact that it is a matte). Even though the finish is matte, it’s creamy enough not to be drying (which is a huge plus, as some of MAC’s mattes can be). This is really one of those shades that I feel must be tried at some point in your lifetime, whether you’re a fan of red lips or not!

The Scarlet Season is a series of posts showcasing and featuring my favorite shades of red lips–from glosses to lipsticks that runs through December 2009. You can sure expect to see a lot of red this holiday season!

See more swatches and comparison photos

MAC Russian Red Lipstick
MAC Russian Red Lipstick

MAC Russian Red Lipstick
MAC Russian Red Lipstick

MAC Russian Red Lipstick
MAC Russian Red Lipstick

MAC Russian Red Lipstick
MAC Russian Red Lipstick

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34 Responses to “The Scarlet Season: MAC Russian Red Lipstick”

  1. Chelle Chioa

    Saturday, November 7, 2009

    oh this is one of the red lipstick I’m lemming for!

    • Christine

      Saturday, November 7, 2009

      No reason not to get it now ;P

  2. Christy

    Saturday, November 7, 2009

    Love this color :) I have it, so I don’t have to buy it. It’s so gorgeous with a bit of red lipgloss over top of it.

    • Christine

      Saturday, November 7, 2009

      Yay! :) What red gloss do you typically pair it with, Christy?

  3. Jennifer

    Saturday, November 7, 2009

    I love Russian Red. Stuff stays on and on and on lol I can eat, drink, wipe my mouth and it seems to have layers almost unlimited. Even once it is gone it still leaves a slight red stain on my lips.

    I love Ruby Woo too but it is drier and brighter, so sometimes I mix both.

    • Christine

      Saturday, November 7, 2009

      Haha, so true! It definitely hangs on!

  4. Lucie

    Saturday, November 7, 2009

    I love Russian red! I don’t wear it during the day time, instead I wear Chanel rouge allure mandarin, which I think is lovely finish to a day-time look

    • Christine

      Saturday, November 7, 2009

      It’s a bit bright for me for day time wear myself!

  5. martha

    Saturday, November 7, 2009

    my HG red lipstick. it just flatters any skintone and it just makes me plain lovely even on my dress-down days. :P

    • Christine

      Saturday, November 7, 2009

      Happy to hear it, Martha! RR is a bit too bright for me for some reason, so I don’t wear it too often!

  6. rashmi

    Saturday, November 7, 2009

    yeapeeeee
    finally my fav is here wooohoooo
    thanks christine for adding this here …
    hey will u see for nars’s manhunt and estee lauder’s classic red
    pls see if u can
    again thanks a lot ,it is one of my fav and i pair it with transparent gloss in center but m thinking of
    russian red lipglass from mac as well … lets see

    • Christine

      Saturday, November 7, 2009

      Aww ;) I won’t be including NARS’ Manhunt (don’t own it), and I’ll have to see about Estee Lauder’s…

  7. Coffee

    Saturday, November 7, 2009

    I keep telling myself to get the Lipstick because the Russian Red lip gloss is the only red that works for me! Would you say the Lip Gloss and the Lipstick are pretty true to each other?

    • Christine

      Saturday, November 7, 2009

      Yes, I would!

  8. TehK

    Saturday, November 7, 2009

    Blue-based red?

    All I see is orange/coral, especially on your lips.

    Perhaps I don’t really understand what blue-based read means (or my monitor is seriously outta whack).

    • Christine

      Saturday, November 7, 2009

      It is a blue-based red, but it’s very subtle. I find Russian Red often changes a bit on lips and depending on your skin tone. I’ve seen it look a lot cooler on cooler complexions and more orange-y on warmer shades.

  9. Sheila

    Saturday, November 7, 2009

    It looks totally gorgeous on you!

    I tried this brush along with Viva Glam I a few months ago. I just wasn’t a fan because it turned out orange on me =( I ended up getting Viva Glam I and that ended up being my favourite red lipstick.

    • Christine

      Saturday, November 7, 2009

      Thanks, Sheila! I’m so glad VGI ended up working for you!

      Russian Red is kind of odd, because it is kind of a blue-based red (but it’s very subtle) and yet it often can look more orange-based when applied.

  10. J

    Saturday, November 7, 2009

    Ahh I’ve been meaning to buy this for aaaaaages XD

    • Christine

      Saturday, November 7, 2009

      DO IT :D

  11. Melissa

    Saturday, November 7, 2009

    This series is amazing. It’s really useful to me and I’m sure to many others; I think there are quite a few women searching for their HG red. As readers have noted before, showing bare and then made-up lips helps tremedously while our [purchasing] decision-making process occurs (especially given the economy). Will you be carrying this idea over to other products (perhaps neutral eyes using different colors and different makeup lines in each post)?

    • Christine

      Saturday, November 7, 2009

      Thanks, Melissa! :) It’s also been a great way for me to break out the reds I own, too! I’m not sure whether I’ll carry it forward later on down the road, but we’ll see how things go!

  12. alison

    Sunday, November 8, 2009

    this looks so much better on you than me, unfortunately.
    i’m still on my first tube of russian red but i’ve been through almost 4 ruby woo’s.
    russian red runs too cool on me. but you look scorching.

    • Christine

      Monday, November 9, 2009

      Aww :(

      It runs more orange-red on me, even though it looks blue-red, which is weird!

  13. Sarah M

    Sunday, November 8, 2009

    This is one of my all time favourite lipsticks!!! I was hoping it would get a mention. :-)

  14. txikitximeleta

    Monday, November 9, 2009

    This is my favourite red lipstic ever! And I’ve tried lots and lots from high end to drugstore and this is the one I feel most confortable with. The other one I like a lot is Chic Ruby (C13 I think) from Sephora, this one is not as opaque as RR, it’s more like a sheer, but really beautiful too.

    • Christine

      Monday, November 9, 2009

      Is Chic Ruby by Sephora, too?

      • txikitximeleta

        Tuesday, November 10, 2009

        If I don’t remeber it wrong, it is. It’s from the Lip Attitude collection from Sephora, the C13. I’ll check again the next time go there :)

  15. Rebecca

    Monday, November 9, 2009

    Beautiful. I’m really enjoying this series. I hope you do a line-up of all the red lips for comparison at the end of this series.

    • Christine

      Tuesday, November 10, 2009

      Thanks, Rebecca!

  16. Andrea

    Thursday, December 3, 2009

    would you rather pick russian red or chanel dragon?

    • Christine

      Thursday, December 3, 2009

      I never wear Russian Red, personally. I love Chanel Dragon. I don’t feel Russian Red suits me.

  17. Shannon

    Wednesday, January 13, 2010

    I love this. I was first introduced to it in highschool and it looks amazing on my fair irish-american skin. I have blonde hair and fair skin and this red make me look like a movie star.