Holiday must have: red lipsticks for medium olive skin tone

It's officially holiday season! A good red lipstick is a quick way to dress up your look....

Last winter I was all about red lipsticks and had spent some time (and $$) to find an ideal red lipstick that goes well with my skin tone (light/medium olive) with good staying power, cause nobody wants to look like Miranda Sings(unless you purposely want to) when wearing a red lipstick!

Here are the three finals:

From top: Nars Cruella, Wet n Wild Stoplight Red, Sephora Always Red

Wet n Wild Mega Last Lip Color Lipstick, Stoplight Red 911D

I was lucky to get this lipstick at my Walmart before they withdrew the whole Wet n Wild line. It is an easy to wear, creamy texture, warm classic red lipstick with semi matte finish.  And you probably already know, this lipstick is only $4 CAD!!!(or less)

Wet n Wild brand may be easy to find in US, but currently Wet n Wild is nowhere to be seen at the stores near me. The only place I can find the full collection of Mega last Lipsticks is at FTBbeauty.ca

Wearing WnW Stoplight red at The Louvre

Sephora collection Cream Lip Stain, Always Red 001

Speaking of dinner party lipstick, this is the one to go! The color is cooler and brighter than WnW Stoplight red. It's easy and precise to apply, and it dries down to long lasting matte pigment yet comfortable on the lips. It does transfer to whatever your lips touch, but there are still plenty of pigments left after a big meal.  It is price above the drugstore lipstick (C$18), but the quality is definitely up there with the high end brands. 

NARS Velvet Matte Lip Pencil,  Cruella

Nars lip pencil is a cult classic in the beauty world. However for the price and the design aspects, (need to sharpen and sharpening lipstick is messy!) I've never thought of buying it. I got this jumbo lip pencil in deluxe sample size from this year's Sephora Beauty Insider birthday gift. After the first try, I knew why this lip pencil deserves so many rave reviews.

Cruella is a warm, more muted red with matte finish that would flatter many skin tones. It glides on amazingly smooth. The texture is velvety, light weight but the lips feel hydrated at the same time. It's C$26. I think it's totally worth the price, but would Nars change the packaging to the more convenient twist up tube some day?!  

Special mentions:

Here I'd also like to mention two lipsticks both from L'oreal (swatches below):

Infallible Le Rouge Lipcolour, 337 Refined Ruby 
This is also a beautiful color for medium/olive skin tone with semi matte/satin finish. However my lips feel tacky after it dries. The same happens to another Infallible lipstick that I own.

COLOUR RICHE COLLECTION Pure Red Laetitia's Red
This gorgeous deep cherry red is probably the darkest red that I would wear. There's nothing wrong with the color and texture of this lipstick, but really hard to find. In fact I've not seen this one in my area since my purchase. I wonder is there a color from L'oreal permanent line similar to this one?!

Are you wearing red for the holiday?! What is your essential makeup item for the holiday season?

From left to right:

• Sephora Cream Lip Stain, Always Red 001
• Wet n Wild Mega Last Lip Color, Stoplight Red 911D
• NARS Velvet Matte Lip Pencil, Cruella
• L'oreal Infallible Le Rouge Lipcolour, 337 Refined Ruby
• L'oreal  Colour Riche Pure Red Laetitia's Red