I was struggling with the decision of what to post for my favourite red lipstick. You see I don’t wear red lipstick often. I’m quite a scaredy cat when it comes to the prospect of leaving the house with an in your face red lip. I only owned a grand total of two red lipsticks. The Chanel Rouge Allure Byzantin from the Byzance de Chanel Collection which is a pink toned red with subtle shimmer and the magnificent Yves Saint Laurent Rouge Pur Couture The Mats in Rouge Rock from Fall 2012 which is a stunning soft matte true red. I was set on the gorgeous YSL until this beauty arrived at my doorstep. The new Make Up For Ever Aqua Rouge in #8 Iconic Red.
Aqua Rouge ($27 CAD). It is a waterproof, smudge proof, kiss proof long-wearing lip colour. One end houses the opaque liquid lipstick while the other contains the clear topcoat for lacquered shine. There are 12 shades available.
As soon as I started applying the liquid lip colour to my lips with the doe foot applicator I knew it was going to be true love. It is a such a richly pigmented and fully opaque formula that applies so perfectly.
As soon as I started applying the liquid lip colour to my lips with the doe foot applicator I knew it was going to be true love. It is a such a richly pigmented and fully opaque formula that applies so perfectly.
The other end houses the clear topcoat with brush applicator. This is after I tested the lipstick and you can see there was no transfer of red to the brush. I love that the masterminds at Make Up For Ever were smart enough to create the beautiful smoked gradation on the topcoat tube so that if at any point there is transfer of colour the product will still look pristine in the packaging. They really have thought of everything!
I wanted to show you how the product looks with and without the clear topcoat. You can totally wear this either way which essentially makes this two lipsticks in one. I can’t even decide if I prefer the look of the soft matte liquid lip colour by itself or with the glossy shine of the topcoat applied.
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| Without topcoat left. With clear topcoat right. |
Without clear topcoat:
With clear topcoat. Holy shabam in your face red baby!
How fan-freakin-tastic is this lip colour? I mean not only is #8 Iconic Red…well….iconic, but the formula is amazing. Hour after hour went by and it looked just as incredible as when I had first applied it. I was actually amazed at how long it took the clear glossy topcoat to wear off. It did so very gradually and each phase brought a lovely new take on the finish of Iconic Red. I can’t see needing to even reapply the colour during the day unless you ate a really greasy meal. It just seems to go on and on. I even did the kiss proof test. Hubby starting backing away from me as I rushed him with my glossy red lips. I’m sure he was not looking forward to wearing my red lipstick. Imagine his surprise when I had him look in the mirror and there wasn’t any sign of red on his lips at all. And yes, mine still looked perfect with just a touch less glossy sheen.
You can see it here about 4 hours after application right after I ate my dinner. It only wore off on the very inside of my lips. I just reapplied to that area and reapplied the topcoat and wore it for the rest of the night.
Here it is at bedtime after I rubbed the heck out of it with a tissue. A very small amount of colour ended up on the tissue and my lips still looked darn near perfect except for all the bits of tissue the vigorous rubbing left behind. Wow!
What has impressed me even more is that I don’t get the weird pilling sensation I used to get with long wear lip colours like these that have come out in the past. I would always feel self conscious having the sensation of lumps and bits on my lips as products wore off and even though they looked fine to others it drove me nuts. I didn’t get that sensation at all with the Make Up For Ever Aqua Rouge and that is why I am anxious to pick up many more shades!
Available at Sephora and Make Up For Ever Boutiques.
Be sure to check out the other Makeup Wars member’s favourite red lip products using the Previous/Next buttons above or by clicking on the thumbnails below.
This looks amazing! Such a beautiful bold red..if only it wasn’t so expensive haha
Wow.. that red is gorgeous on you! So glam!
this is such a fabulous red for you! The MUFE stays on for days
I love it on you! Without the top coat is really gorgeous to me.
Looks amazing on you and I agree! These things are amazing!
OK. That settles it. I think you need to wear red lipstick more often. You look AMAZING in it! This product in particular sounds PERFECT! I’m so glad you reviewed it. Now I think I need it too! LOL
This looks amazing with your hair and skin colour. Just beautiful. I don’t know if I could pick one favourite red lipstick… I wouldn’t want to hurt the others’ feelings or anything…
that looks FAAAAAAABULOUS on you
now I want it!
I’ve just gotten my first MUFE long wear (in pink of course) and I’m so thrilled to see how long it lasted on you. It’s a gorgeous color and you look great in it.
The MUFE longwears remind me a lot of the MAC pro longwear, which I think they discontinued. Nice stuff! That shade is perfect on you!
I always get afraid and flashback to college when the “longwear” colors came out and dried my lips out! Of course the color was still there, but wow, did I need moisture. This one looks like it is so much better than those old ones and that color is perfect for you!
I’m a new fan, just found you through Phyrra’s Makeup Wars post. I have to say, you are a majestically beautiful lady! I love your photos in this post, you look like a queen in that red lippie. I love it, both with the gloss and without. Just beautiful! I really want to try that product now!
I haven’t had the greatest luck with these long wearing formulas, but it definitely worked for you! I might need to check it out.
What a pretty shade of red on you. You look really amazing in red! Very glam! I haven’t tried a longwearing lip color in years. Now you are making me want to try this one!
Oh wow, this is beautiful on you. Before I dash out and buy one, could you post your application method as it’s perfect, not bleeding at all like mine would be. Do you use a lip liner first and a proper lip brush to apply the MUFE lip colour or just the doe foot? Thanks very much, love your blog – I only recently discovered it and I love reading your posts.
Han-omi it’s worth it!
Thanks LuvJ!
Brooke I really think it would!
Phyrra I like it without it as well. Or maybe with just a touch.
Marcia I really need a pink one now!
Thank you Tracy. They really are.
Thanks Elvira. Maybe I’ll try.
You do need it!
Kate that would be me and plum/berry shades!
Shannon Get it Get iT!
Thanks Carleen!
Paula you can see in the pics that after the day my lips were’t dried out at all. <3
Thank you Emily! You just made my day! You’re too sweet.
Christine I hadn’t had much luck either. Till now…
Pammy it’s worth a shot. It seems different to me.
Jo I did just use the doe foot applicator. I just wiped some of the product off before carefully doing the edges. I’m sure it would be easier just using a liner but for testing purposes I just wanted to try it alone and it applied perfectly and no bleeding because that baby doesn’t budge!
I am a sucker for a red lip- mine and anyone else’s! These photos are simply gorgeous and thank you for the post. I can never know enough about red lipstick … xoxo Beth in Pgh
I love it in the matte formulation without the glossy topcoat. It looks gorgeous on you with your red hair and pale skin. Thx!
Wow, this is a stunning shade on you!!! Such a pretty and bold shade of red!