No member of my makeup stash makes my heart sing quite like a red lipstick.
Unwaveringly striking, a hit of scarlet is less of a look and more of a lifestyle in my book.
A boost in a bullet, a spur in a swipe, a red lip instils confidence in its wearer, and for our February digital issue, I've honed in on why I'll simply never give it up.
"It is unapologetically unnatural, aligned with fearlessness, and steeped in rebellious spirit."
I first fell hard for a power red back in my early teens. Rimmel's Apocoalips – a jammy lacquer – was my gateway drug, accompanying me to raucous house parties alongside absolutely no outerwear and a painstakingly wangled bottle of Babycham.
The payoff was instant – not solely colour-wise, but in the way in which it made my skin appear brighter and my eyes bluer.
At some point I moved onto the heavier stuff, lusting after ornate packaging well beyond the realms of my meagre shop girl salary.
Weighty, trinket-like casing or the pure bliss of a magnetic, clicky lid? Regardless, I was hooked, and that's how I remain today, more than a decade since my elder sister first gifted me Chanel's Rouge Allure in 'Palpitante', a punchy, raspberry-adjacent satin, that I wore on virtually every special occasion – as well as down the supermarket – for about three years straight.
Unshrinking and resolute, a vivid pout commands attention before the sentence has even left your lips. It is unapologetically unnatural, aligned with fearlessness, and steeped in rebellious spirit.
Beauty journalist Orin Carlin is a red lipstick obsessive
"A last-minute complexion perker-upper? A red lip hits the spot every time without fail."
From Cleopatra's cochineal to a symbol of the suffragette movement, there are heaps of great examples of times when the red lip transcended the bullet and bolstered its wearer, but I always come back to the deeply gratifying fact that WWII servicewomen were issued a tube of Elizabeth Arden's 'Montezuma Red' in their military kits. Talk about beauty arsenal.
Further along into my love affair with red lipstick, I find myself striving for polish and elegance. More often than not I fall short, and in the absence of such, I reach into my handbag and feign it.
A last-minute complexion perker-upper? An emergency illusion of effort? A cosmetic confidence boost? A red lip hits the spot every time without fail.
And for each of my friends who dismisses the look as not for them, my animated spiel about finding the right finish, formula and undertone will flow on, remaining as steadfast as my love for the beauty classic.
PS: See more exclusive stories from the Hello! Fashion Self Love Issue here.