“I’m excited about doing red lips - I’ve never done them before.”
In January 2009, a then-19-year-old Taylor Swift was on the set of her first cover spread for Allure magazine and was unknowingly about to be exposed to the look that would fast become her iconic beauty signature. By the following year, Taylor would be telling E! News the power of a red lipstick, particularly how - as a singer - it “really helps you show emotion.”
Nowadays, it’s difficult to imagine Taylor Swift without a red lip. She’s worn a shade of crimson lipstick to award shows, to dinners out in New York City, to football games, on the stage of every one of her major tours since her third studio album. And, perhaps most vividly, in 2012 when she entrenched the color into her discography processing heartbreak and passion into the synesthesia and synthesizers of her pop-infused album RED.
The makeup artist assigned to the Allure shoot was a fresh-faced Gucci Westman, still herself a decade off from launching her own successful eponymous cosmetics line. Westman’s vision for the shoot’s beauty was “an updated Vargas-girl look” that played homage to the 1940s airbrushed pin-ups that were Peruvian-American artist Alberto Vargas’ signature. To achieve the look, Westman wanted to highlight a “strong mouth and beautiful skin” with a red lip and glowing foundation. On set, Westman encountered a rather unexpected barrier when she went to begin makeup prep for the magazine’s teen cover star.
“When the red lip happened, I had to get permission by her mum,” Westman told Elle magazine years later.
As Westman recalls, Taylor’s management told her that “Taylor doesn’t do red.” Undeterred, the young makeup artist replied, “Well, Taylor needs to try red.”
Westman finished her day on that set by slipping a tube of lipstick for a delighted Taylor who “loved” her look that day so much to take home.
The rest, as they say, is history.
Makeup has always been one of the trickiest categories for me to document on TSS - made even trickier as it’s also one of the most appealing and sought-after product verticals to readers! While designer handbags and even many clothing pieces can feel out of reach, recreating one of Taylor’s beauty looks with a lipstick or eyeliner is a much more accessible way for fans to connect with her style. But there enters the challenge of it all. Unlike clothing, beauty products are notoriously difficult to identify with confidence from photos alone, making this one of the hardest parts of Taylor’s wardrobe to report on accurately. It’s why whenever we do get - rare - confirmation in this category, I leap! I hope this comprehensive list is helpful to you — and your makeup bag.
Given today is National Lipstick Day, I thought I would take the cheeky opportunity to trace some of Taylor’s most iconic (and confirmed) lipsticks that you yourself can replicate to make a day feel a bit more glam and expressive. It also helps that many beauty brands are aware of the holiday as a number of these are on sale!
The truth from her red lips to yours, you might say.
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Lipstick: Elizabeth Arden Lipstick (30% off for National Lipstick Day)
Liner Notes: The original that started it all. While Westman claims to not remember the exact lipstick she used on Taylor, I’m delighted to be able to reference my original issue of Taylor’s Allure cover — which includes all the fashion and beauty credentials from the shoot. Hear hear for the thrill of a hard copy archive!
Like tugging apart a stylish Jenga tower, I carefully maneuvered my copy of Allure’s April 2009 issue from my Taylor editorial archive. This is a rather more ceremonial way of referring to the mountain of mags currently piled precariously on the floor in a corner of my office. I recently rescued the whole lot of them from the dust bunnies accumulating in my teenaged bedroom. Thank you, mom, for never throwing out a single thing my entire 33 years on this planet! In addition to faithfully-kept subscriptions to Marie Claire and Vogue - paid for with the scant money earned from weekends babysitting - I have many fond memories from my youth heading to my neighborhood newsstand in order to pick up a copy of any magazine Taylor happened to grace the cover of. To this day, if physical magazines only have one remaining customer, that customer is me. Long live … print!
From those faded Allure pages, I was able to verify that the honor of Taylor’s OG red lip goes to Elizabeth Arden’s ‘Color Intrigue Effects Lipstick in Poppy Cream.’ While that exact line is sadly discontinued, Arden does continue to retail a creamy high pigment lipstick with a number of red shades like ‘Legendary Red’ and ‘Statement Red’ that looks like they’d work just as well if you find yourself also new and curious to the world of red lipstick as Taylor was that fateful day 17 years ago.
Lipstick: CoverGirl ‘Exhibitionist Cream Lipstick in Hot’
Liner Notes: One of Taylor’s earliest brand partnerships struck was with the affordable drugstore makeup brand CoverGirl. Between 2011 and 2012, Taylor appeared in a number of the beauty brand’s ads under the tenure of then-Global Creative Design Director Pat McGrath. (Spoiler: She comes back into this story later on!) Taylor’s advertisement appearances launched with a lightweight line of foundation and gloss balms and then, naturally, a dedicated lipstick campaign.
In behind-the-scenes clips from the CoverGirl set, Taylor spoke to the power of visual identity — how the clothes we wear and the makeup we choose can capture the different facets of who we are, or project the version of ourselves we want to be. “I think in life we have a bunch of different versions of ourselves that goes with our personality,” she said. “How we act around a friend, how we act in a job interview … it’s all very different.” She added, “I think it’s all equally different the way we choose to dress, the way we choose our makeup. The cool thing about makeup is that it can be so different on any given day.” Power. Of. Fashion. Yes yes yes!
Lipstick: MAC ‘Retro Matte Lipstick in Ruby Woo’
Liner Notes: If I’ve got a list of names (and I do) MAC’s ‘Ruby Woo’ would be in red underlined. Launched in 1999, ‘Ruby Woo’ is one of the best-selling and most widely-known red lipsticks on the market. It’s embraced for its ultra matte appearance and near universally flattering true blue-red shade.
Taylor even quipped to People in 2015 that she “was the last person to discover” the “staple” red lip.
Lipstick: NARS ‘Lip Pencil in Dragon Girl’
Liner Notes: One of Taylor’s most recognized red lips is this easy-to-apply chubby lip pencil formula from NARS in the shade ‘Dragon Girl.’ Taylor has worn this particular product on a number of occasions, but one confirmed outing we know of? The 2014 Met Gala. A look that will always have a soft spot here on TSS for obvious reasons. Taylor even snapped a selfie with model Karlie Kloss showing them getting ready for the event together. In her hand? This very NARS pencil. Many thanks to Taylor for helping make this identification super clear … in burning red, that is.
NARS describes ‘Dragon Girl’ as a “siren red” but I’ll note — having picked up a stick of my own ever since we first saw Taylor with hers — that on deeper skintones this color might skew more pink than red. In my experience, ‘Dragon Girl’ veers towards a juicy watermelon pink. So be warned that your mileage loving this re-e-e-e-e-e-e-ed lipstick may vary.
To be sure, this particular NARS lip pencil is a beloved formula by Taylor, such that at one point she owned it in a myriad of colors. In addition to the above ‘Dragon Girl’, she also candidly told MTV she was influenced to pick it up in the discontinued shade ‘Luxembourg’ after learning Hilary Duff was a fan of the hue. How charming was her reveal to “Come Clean”?
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Lipstick: Pat McGrath ‘Lust 004 Kit in Vermillion Venom’ (no longer available)
Liner Notes: Ahhh, memories. This is a deep pull from the TSS archives. Back in 2017, this was one of my earliest exclusives. An identification that many in this sharply-attuned community had suspected and that the brand eventually confirmed directly to TSS (and later, Bustle).
Taylor starred in a sultry music video for “I Don’t Wanna Live Forever” - her contribution, alongside Zayn Malik, to the Fifty Shades Darker soundtrack. (A song that, for the record, promptly went No. 1 in my house.) Draped in La Perla lace, Taylor traded her signature bright red lip for something a tad moodier, grittier, and dusted with glitter that was thanks to a two-part Pat McGrath lip kit that sold out almost immediately once it hit retail.
In behind-the-scenes footage from the video set, Taylor described having first seen the lip “in shoots and on the runway” - likely referring to the way McGrath first debuted the lip to viral interest in Versace’s Fall 2016 Couture presentation. She added, “I’m really stoked about the lips … it’s like I have a disco ball on my face.”
Lipstick: MAC ‘Matte Liquid Lip in Back in Vogue’
Liner Notes: When not opting for a vivid red, Taylor’s second lipstick choice falls towards the softer peaches and pinks on the color wheel. What stays constant is a preference for a creamy matte formulation, often in a liquid format or crayon applicator.
In another candid social media reveal to fans, Taylor identified the above “her-lips-but-better” muted peachy shade as a discontinued color from MAC.
Hoping for an in-stock Taylor-approved nude lipstick? Here’s another tumble through time through the TSS archives. Taylor confirmed to a fan her love for this creamy Make Up For Ever lipstick. Bonus: It’s currently 50% off!
Lipstick: Pat McGrath ‘LiquiLUST Legendary Wear Lipstick in Elson 4’
Description: “Sophisticated, sultry, and sublime.” That’s how makeup artist Pat McGrath described the look she created for Taylor at the 2022 MTV Video Music Awards. Momentarily stepping away from her usual glam team, Taylor enlisted McGrath to help usher in the Midnights era on a decidedly “Bejeweled” note with a crystal-outlined cats-eye and red lip for the award show.
In typical Taylor fashion, the red carpet collaboration was an Easter egg in itself. McGrath would go on to make a cameo in the “Bejeweled” music video, alongside the very makeup she created for the occasion. “When I think of Taylor, I always think of a perfect red lip,” McGrath explained to E! Online. “For ‘Bejeweled’ and her VMAs appearance, I couldn’t imagine not doing something with red lipstick.” At the center of both looks was the same unforgettable finishing touch: a bold, liquid red lip.
Lipstick: NARS ‘Lipstick in Morocco’
Description: Taylor’s longtime makeup artist, Lorrie Turk, is notoriously tight lipped (pun intended) on the inner workings of her kit. But in October 2024, Turk had a rare break with tradition when she confirmed via Instagram this cinnamon-toned lipstick that Taylor had “worn for years” as NARS in the shade ‘Morocco.’
Having promptly picked up a tube of this myself, I can confirm it’s a great warm-hued daily driver lipstick that’s far more subtle than a red lip - if you still find red a tad intimidating. It particularly thrives in the crisp, cooler months of the year. The only other accessory you might want to consider adding are autumn leaves falling like pieces into place. Bliss!
Lipstick: MAC ‘Locked Kiss 24HR Lipstick’ + Smashbox ‘Be Legendary Line & Prime Pencil’ (30% off for National Lipstick Day)
Description: The lipstick to end every era. Capable of withstanding wind, rain, sun, sweat, and three hours worth of singing and choreography. In The End of an Era docuseries on Disney+ we saw Turk take a tube of this lip to Taylor while she sat posted in a backstage beauty chair preparing for the Eras Tour.
The thin, silver bullet pointed to MAC’s Locked Kiss packaging, but the exact shade was harder to decipher. MAC offers a few reds in this formula, including ‘Gutsy’ (a tomato red), ‘Extra Chili’ (an orange red), and ‘Ruby True’ (a classic blue red). MAC has since pinned the shade to ‘Ruby True’ but it’s always worth noting that makeup artists often mix their own colours and/or dabble in multiple products of something in order to make a final look happen.
To really drive the look home, it’s worth giving your lips a strong foundation with the Smashbox ‘Be Legendary Line & Prime Pencil’ which we also saw in The End of an Era docuseries as Taylor applied it herself while helpfully using the mirror in her Charlotte Tilbury powder compact. You could even double down with Smashbox’s neatly coordinating lipstick. They both happen to be 30% off right now as part of its National Lipstick Week Sale. Cherry lips, on sale buys.
One final addendum? Back in 2021 Taylor’s makeup artist, Lorrie Turk, joined other beauty industry leaders to give affiliate network ShopMy (psst here’s my profile) an inside look at their beauty kits. The thing I took careful notes on? Her preferred red lipsticks, of course. While some of the shades she shared were familiar within the TS beauty universe - here’s looking at you ‘Dragon Girl’ - she also revealed some new-to-us favorites.
While Turk did not confirm that these are the red lipsticks she likes to use specifically on Taylor, as her longtime MUA it’s always nice to get confirmation of her personal favorites.
Sephora Collection ‘Cream Lip Stain Liquid Lipstick in Always Red’
Tatcha ‘Kyoto Red Silk Lipstick’ (no longer available)
Armani ‘Rouge D’Armani Matte Lipstick in Red To Go’ (no longer available)
What are some of your favorite lipstick shades? Have you ever tried any of Taylor’s favorites? I’d love to hear your recs in the comments!
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