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
oh this is one of the red lipstick I’m lemming for!
No reason not to get it now ;P
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.
Yay!
What red gloss do you typically pair it with, Christy?
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.
Haha, so true! It definitely hangs on!
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
It’s a bit bright for me for day time wear myself!
my HG red lipstick. it just flatters any skintone and it just makes me plain lovely even on my dress-down days.
Happy to hear it, Martha! RR is a bit too bright for me for some reason, so I don’t wear it too often!
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
Aww
I won’t be including NARS’ Manhunt (don’t own it), and I’ll have to see about Estee Lauder’s…
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?
Yes, I would!
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).
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.
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.
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.
Ahh I’ve been meaning to buy this for aaaaaages XD
DO IT
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)?
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!
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.
Aww
It runs more orange-red on me, even though it looks blue-red, which is weird!
This is one of my all time favourite lipsticks!!! I was hoping it would get a mention.
Yayyy!
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.
Is Chic Ruby by Sephora, too?
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
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.
Thanks, Rebecca!
would you rather pick russian red or chanel dragon?
I never wear Russian Red, personally. I love Chanel Dragon. I don’t feel Russian Red suits me.
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.
I just got mine! It runs pretty warm on me, but not too warm – it’s pretty neutral! I love it because it doesn’t make my teeth appear yellower than they are due to the blue base, but it still runs a little warmer on me
How does this compare to MAC Red?
MAC Red is more matte and bluer I believe.
Wow! I’ve been eyeing this lipstick for a while now, to wear to a 1940s fancy dress party. After seeing this post, I guess I just HAVE to buy it. Are you wearing a lip liner in the photo? What MAC lip pencil would go with RR?
I was thinking either Redd or Cherry lip pencil, looking at their website. Which would be closer to RR? I don’t want something too blue. I’m an NC 40, but RR runs more warm than cool on me, in fact it’s pretty neutral.
No lip liner! Cherry would be my bet!
i have but i still want to have new one because my stick is so small nowadays because i use it everyday!:)