Top Pout: Mac Russian Red

It doesn't seem right to let Valentine's day pass by 

(even though I personally think it is a money grabbing holiday and greeted my boyfriend this morning with "Happy Hallmark Day") 

without doing a nice red lipstick post.

Now in my current collection, lipstick doesn't get redder than this shade, Russian Red is the absolute pinnacle of bold red lips for me. I find that all of the Mac reds are nice and pigmented, but when it came to purchasing one I went for this shade purely because it is so strongly pigmented. It means that I can safely sheer it out if I want to, or go for a classic strong lip if the occasion (or outfit) calls for it.

As you can see the formulation is a matte, which is the shade's only real downside for me. I do find it rather drying and have to make sure I pre-prep my lips with a nice slick of lipbalm beforehand.
I pair this shade with Mac's Cherry Lip Liner, though I haven't in the picture above, which is a perfect match in shade, and together they make sure that the lipstick stays on for several hours without needing touch ups, even enduring eating and drinking at a Wimpy! (I once wore this to go shopping for a day, and it survived perfectly)

At £13.50, mac lipsticks are neither the cheapest nor the most expensive on the market, but as I have said before I do find that their formulations are well worth the extra couple of pounds. A decent red lipstick isn't usually used regularly, and so is worth being classed as an investment piece in my opinion. I certainly class this shade as a great investment.

:) xo