Meet the LBD of lipsticks. The best red lipsticks have a reputation for being high-maintenance, but the right one is as easy to wear as any other color in your makeup bag. And these days, you’ve got options: Some love a high-coverage lipstick—in case you haven’t heard, bold is back—while others want a sheer wash of color. Not only do the finishes, formulas, and payoff vary, but so do the shades. One tip? Choose your red lipstick like you’d pick an outfit. Fiery orange-reds feel warm and playful. Cool blue-reds look sharp and polished, and they can even make your teeth look whiter. A bright, classic red works well for brunch or the office, while deeper brick or wine shades feel moodier and are perfect for evenings. If a bold matte feels like too much, try a sheer balm or a glossy formula for an extra pop.
Our Top Red Lipsticks
Best Overall: MAC Silky Matte 12HR Wear Lipstick in Ruby Woo, $25
Best Buildable: M.ph Lip Ciggy Sheer Lipstick Balm in Lose My Breath, $26
Best Cream Lipstick: Dear Dahlia Lip Paradise Sensual Lip Glow in Chloe, $32
Best Drugstore: Maybelline New York Serum Lipstick in Wild Card, $10
Best Cool-Tone Red: Maed Signature Lip Pigment Matte Liquid Lipstick in Ritual Red, $36
Best Blurring: Hung Vanngo Creamy Matte Longwear Lipstick in New York Red, $29
Best Luminous Matte: Charlotte Tilbury Matte Revolution Hydrating Lipstick in Hollywood Vixen, $37
Best Range of Reds: Poundcake Cake Batter Liquid Lipstick in Red Velvet, $24
To help you find your match, our editors and makeup artist experts tested reds in every finish, from sheer balms to longwear liquids, and these are the ones that earned a permanent spot in our makeup bags
Best Overall: MAC Silky Matte 12HR Wear Lipstick in Ruby Woo
Why we love it: Plenty of MAC shades have cult followings, but Ruby Woo is a household name at this point. Countless brands have tried to duplicate it, but this blue-red lipstick has long reigned as the industry’s gold standard—and a repeat Allure Best of Beauty and Readers’ Choice Award winner. Marking MAC’s 40th anniversary, the updated Macximal Silky Matte 12HR Wear Lipstick keeps the beloved shade, which universally flatters skin and brightens smiles, but upgrades the formula to one that’s more comfortable. It uses coconut oil, organic shea butter, and organic cocoa butter to keep lips soft. The payoff remains full-coverage in a single swipe, setting to a silky, velvety matte finish.
Best Buildable: M.ph Lip Ciggy Sheer Lipstick Balm in Lose My Breath
Why we love it: Not everyone wants to commit to a full-wattage red. If that’s the case, the M.ph Lip Ciggy Sheer Lipstick Balm is an easygoing, beginner-friendly option. It offers a sheer, shiny wash of color like a lip balm that builds with each swipe, or you can dab it on for a flushed-lip effect. Along with the color, the formula includes hyaluronic acid, which helps lips hold moisture so they look plumper, and squalane keeps them soft and supple. The texture is slick and smooth, feeling more like a balm than a typical lipstick. Plus, its compact design makes it ideal for on-the-go touch-ups.
Best Glossy Finish: Dear Dahlia Lip Paradise Sensual Lip Glow in Chloe
Why we love it: Shiny, juicy, and light-catching are all ways to describe the Dear Dahlia Lip Paradise Sensual Lip Glow, which is why it’s no surprise it won a 2026 Allure Best of Beauty Award. The lipstick glides on in a glossy, sheer layer and stays comfortable thanks to shea butter and plant-based moisturizing oils like sunflower, castor, jojoba, sweet almond, and argan; together, they cushion lips and smooth the look of fine lines. The formula includes the brand’s patented Dahlia variabilis flower extract, which is known for its antioxidant benefits. The red in the line is Chloe, a glossy reddish-orange that brightens lips with a buildable wash of color.
Best Drugstore: Maybelline New York Serum Lipstick in Wild Card
Why we love it: Maybelline has never needed a high price tag to compete, and the Maybelline New York Serum Lipstick proves that yet again with a 2026 Allure Best of Beauty Award. This lipstick blends hyaluronic acid with marula, moringa, avocado, soybean, sunflower, and jojoba oils to keep your lips moisturized and soft. In practice, it glides on like a balm but lays down rich, opaque color. The satin shades are the standouts, wearing comfortably and fading gracefully throughout the day, even after a meal. The line features three distinct reds: Open Late, a cool berry-red with a matte finish; Wild Card, a bright, classic matte red; and Blind Date, a deep brick-tone red with a satin finish.
Best Liquid Lipstick: Maed Signature Lip Pigment Matte Liquid Lipstick in Ritual Red
Why we love it: If you can’t stand a chalky lip that settles into every line and somehow makes your lips look even drier, meet your match. Maed’s Signature Lip Pigment delivers the lasting power of a matte without the typical dryness or weight. The flexible formula moves with your lips, feels practically undetectable, and is packed with hydrators that keep them soft and smooth all day. The star ingredients do the heavy lifting: maca root adds dimension and a subtle glow (no flat, matte finish here), tucuma butter—a natural silicone alternative—locks in moisture and smooths texture, jojoba esters lend that buttery glide, and cherry coffee seed oil helps firm and support elasticity. Basically, it’s a long-wearing lip that feels like a gloss but performs like a liquid lipstick.
Best Matte Lipstick: Hung Vanngo Creamy Matte Longwear Lipstick in New York Red
Why we love it: Fresh off of winning a 2026 Allure Best of Beauty Award, the Hung Vanngo Creamy Matte Longwear Lipstick is a matte that’s surprisingly comfortable to wear. Its creamy formula sets to a soft, blurred finish that looks smooth and stays hydrated for hours, wearing down evenly rather than fading or flaking in patches. That ease of wear comes down to the thoughtful blend of ingredients: sodium hyaluronate (a form of hyaluronic acid) to draw in and lock in moisture, vitamin E for antioxidant protection, and a run-resistant polymer that creates a flexible layer that keeps the color from fading.
Best Luminous Matte: Charlotte Tilbury Matte Revolution Hydrating Lipstick in Hollywood Vixen
Why we love it: Charlotte Tilbury fans might know the Matte Revolution Hydrating Lipstick formula for its perfect pink-nude shade Pillow Talk, but its lineup of reds, including Hollywood Vixen, Pizzazz, and Flame Flame, deserves just as much attention. The formula starts as a soft stain and builds to full, saturated color, and feels comfortable no matter how many layers you apply. Antioxidant lipstick tree (Bixa orellana) extract soothes and conditions lips, vitamin E hydrates and smooths, while the “3D glowing pigments” give your lips a fuller, more radiant look, so the matte finish never goes dull. The square-angled tip works like a lip brush, making it easy to get a sharp edge right from the tube.
Best Range of Reds: Poundcake Cake Batter Liquid Lipstick in Red Velvet
Why we love it: Just about every Allure editor has the Poundcake Cake Batter Liquid Lipstick in their makeup bag. This two-time Best of Beauty Award winner is a staff favorite for its rich pigment, staying power, and impressive conditioning properties (thanks to avocado oil and vitamin E). If lip liner feels like a chore, its easy-to-maneuver doe-foot applicator makes crisp, precise lines, so it acts as a two-in-one. It’s also super buildable—dab it on with your finger for a soft, just-bitten tint, or swipe it straight on for a bold, full-coverage lip that looks effortlessly polished.
Best for Precise Application: Tom Ford Runway Lip Stylo Matte Lipstick in Scarlet Rouge
Why we love it: What makes a slim lipstick so great? The thinner tip makes it easy to trace the corners of your mouth and define your Cupid’s bow—no liner or brush needed. That’s exactly why Tom Ford’s Slim Lip Color Shine is a permanent fixture in our makeup bags. Sure, it’s not the longest-wearing formula out there (that glossy finish comes with trade-offs), but it earns its spot as both a luxe lip balm and gloss in one. Packed with hydrating waxes and emollients like chamomile flower oil, it glides on like butter and somehow still delivers rich, even color. It’s a splurge, but the kind you’ll reach for so often, it basically pays for itself.
Best for Beginners: Nars Powermatte Lip Pencil in Dragon Girl
Why we love it: A modern twist on the brand’s beloved Velvet Matte Lip Pencils, the Nars Powermatte High-Intensity Lip Pencil (a Best of Beauty Award winner) packs bold pigment into a creamy, long-wearing formula that sets to a soft matte finish and lasts up to 12 hours. The chunky crayon makes it easy to swipe on full color in seconds, yet it’s precise enough to double as a liner, making it the ultimate multitasker to stash in your bag. And true to Nars’ form, the shade names are just as memorable as the formula—think American Woman, Born to Be Wild, and Dragon Girl.
More Allure editor-approved makeup coming in 3, 2, 1…
Dewy Skin Is Always In, and These Foundations Bring on the Glow
6 Best Color Correctors for Dark Circles to Refresh and Brighten Tired Eyes
8 Best Pressed Powders for a Smooth Finish That Lasts All Day
These Freckle Pens Look So Natural, They’ll Fool Anyone
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