MAC Russian Red Lipstick - Review

Well lovelies, the auto show is over and I am officially EXHAUSTED! Standing in line for hours at a time just isn't my sport anymore. Alas, I had an incredible time and got to meet some even more incredible people. I figured this event would be perfect for testing out my newest MAC lipstick, the very famous "Russian Red". I wanted to test out this lipstick here because I was going to be standing for hours, under hot lights, drinking water, taking photos and all with no way to re-apply even if I wanted to. Could this lipstick pull it off?

I'm stunned to say that this lipstick very much stood up to the test and was still going strong after 6+ hours (with MAC Prep + Prime & lipliner). While the initial color had definitely faded, I still had pretty good opacity with no colorless patches or anything. There are very few lip colors out there that can stand up to sweat, heat, liquid and time without looking wonky at the end of it so, I definitely tip my hat to this lipstick. The color of Russian Red is very intriguing to me, while it comes across as a very traditional pinup style red it's a bit different and that's what makes the color stand out on it's own. The difference being, Russian Red walks a very thin line of being a bright red versus a deeper red; this is what makes it such a universally flattering shade. My favorite thing of all is how it perks me up and makes both my skin and teeth look brighter and more awake (which was much appreciated at the end of the day!)

All in all, I can see why Russian Red is one of MAC's most famous lipsticks, it is by far a new favorite of mine next to Scarlet Ibis and OCC's NSFW. On days where I need an incredibly long lasting lip color, this will be the first thing I reach for. Sadly, nothing can be absolutely perfect and this is where the formula falters, it is incredibly drying; so drying in fact that it was too uncomfortable and annoying to ignore. I will say that there is a silver lining to this and that is, it doesn't LOOK drying. Meaning that, to the naked eye, my lips seemed perfectly fine. It was only on the inside that I was crying to the lip balm gods.

The lipliner that I used with this lipstick was NYX Slim Lip Pencil in 817 "Hot Red" Check it out here

Purchase Russian Red here

$15 // 0.10oz (3g)

Much love xo