The change you see in color may have to do with your skin tone and the effect the makeup has when its seen on with said skin tone. Which is why you can have bright red lips on one person and it looks dull on another even if its the same shade/company. Most department stores have people you can help you find the shade you are looking for. less

The reds that I go for are the ones with blue undertones - they really give that deep, pin-up red that I'm crazy about. That being said, if I'm picking a matte color instead of a glossy one, red-orange is the color that looks best on me. I was about to suggest that you go to a store and check out lipstick samples, but I remember that when I was down in the States, you guys don't just have samples out like we do at our drugs stores. Are there any makeup type counters that sample their products, like at Sears or Sephora or something? Even if you can't afford to buy products there, you might be able to get some great advice. Girls working the makeup counter here in Canada are definitely the best place to get free personalized beauty advice - true, not all of them will be able to help you perfectly, but a great deal of them really know their stuff. One thing that you might like to do is look on makeup blogs for swatches - if you find a blogger with a skin tone close to yours, then any makeups they wear will give you a good idea how things will look on you.

Another thing to consider is whether you're looking for a matte or a gloss. I personally find that matte colors look best in a bit of a lighter red, whereas glossy colors need to be a touch darker to appeal to me. There are a lot of reds that just make my fair skin look washed out, and that's definitely not flattering - if something's too deep or I decide not to blot, I'll probably wind up looking like a circus clown. When choosing lipsticks, I think that it's really important to consider your skin tone as well. less

I rarely wear make-up, so I don't know much about it. I have recently wanted to try red lipstick. What I have found is even if the lipstick looks pure, pure red in the tube, once its applied (on people in general, not just me), the color changes towards hot pink, so it looks somewhere in between red and hot pink. So how do I get true red, crayon red, fire engine red, or blood red lips?? What color should it be in the tube to appear true red when worn? Or is there some other technique/method/parti cular product(s) needed to achieve true red lips?
Which lipstick will look pure red when worn? less