Happy December! The holiday season is upon us, and one of my favorite beauty items for the holidays is a red lip. I love that there are so many options at this point, and I thought I’d do a series where I share some of my favorites, so I wanted to do a “12 Days of Lipmas” series. Here are 12 red lips in different shades, formulas, brands, and price points! There’s a little something in there for everyone, just in time for holiday parties and festivities. If you want details, this post is the place for you. If you want to see videos of me applying all of these lippies, check out my Tik Tok here.

I’ve applied them all individually, but I’ve also swatched them all together on my arm. The full swatches together are at the bottom of this post, for anyone who wants to compare shades and formulas in one place. I’ve also tried to link each product as many places as I could find it – all links are affiliate links where I do earn a commission that helps me put more resources into the blog (I appreciate every purchase!).

Day 1: Mac Cosmetics MACximal Sleek Satin lipstick – shade Dubonnet

Day 1 is a deeper red lip. I feel like it’s a little less in-your-face than some of the others. This one is a satin formula, so it has a sheen to it and doesn’t dry down fully like a matte.

Shop at Mac // Shop at Macy’s // Shop at Ulta // Shop at Ulta (mini size)

Day 2: NYX Cosmetics Smooth Whip Matte Lip Cream – shade Cherry Creme

Day 2 has a whipped formula, which I think is interesting. It’s matte, but a comfortable matte. This shade is on the brighter side (which I love, but I know not everyone does). It definitely doesn’t dry down fully and isn’t transfer-proof, so I wouldn’t recommend it if eating or drinking, but it’s a comfortable formula for short periods of wear.

Shop Ulta // Shop Walmart // Shop Amazon

Day 3: Colourpop Cosmetics Lippie Stix – shade Trust Me…

Day 3 is another matte. This one applies like a lipstick, but is on the dryer side of matte lipsticks, in my opinion. I prefer their Ultra Matte liquid lipsticks.

Shop at Target // Shop at Ulta // Shop at Colourpop

Day 4: Fenty Beauty Stunna Lip Paint – shade Uncensored

Day 4 is one of my favorite options on this list. It’s long-lasting, which I love. It applies like a true liquid lipstick, and dries down to a matte, but it isn’t drying at all. It’s not completely transfer proof and I do apply it to the inner parts of my lips after eating, but it’s an easy re-application and isn’t super noticable when it does rub off.

Shop at Sephora // Shop at Target (mini size) // Shop at Ulta // Shop at Kohl’s

Day 5: Pat McGrath Labs LiquiLUST liquid lipstick – shade Elson 4

Day 5 is a confirmed Taylor Swift red lip from Pat herself… and I can definitely see why she uses it. It’s also long-lasting, and a beautiful shade of red. I wore it recently, and it lasted through an espresso martini and full charcuterie board without needing to be re-applied. It does still has some transfer, but it stays put on the lips pretty effectively. This is one of my favorite red lipsticks.

Shop at Sephora

Day 6: Mac Cosmetics Retro Matte Lipstick – shade Ruby Woo

Day 6 is a classic. Mac formulas have been around for years, and this is a shade people love. I do love it, but it’s not my favorite shade on myself (I personally prefer a more blue-red with a deeper hue). It is a matte formula, which also isn’t my preference if it isn’t a liquid lipstick. I also find this one a little more drying than some of the other mattes on this list, but it’s still a pretty lippie.

Shop at Ulta // Shop at Ulta (mini size) Shop at Mac // Shop at Macy’s // Shop at Target // Shop at Target (mini size)

Day 7: Colourpop Cosmetics The Grinch Swirl Lipgloss – shade The Mean One

Day 8 is a gloss that’s a little on the pink side, so it’s great for someone looking for a red that’s not super bold. It’s from the Colourpop Grinch collection, in the Merry Grinchmas Swirl lip gloss kit. It can be applied very lightly, but can also be built up to be pretty opaque. It definitely needs to be re-applied to last.

Shop at Ulta // Shop at Target // Shop at Colourpop

Day 8: Maybelline Serum Lipstick – shade Wild Card

Day 8 is very creamy, and a comfortable option. It is a serum lipstick with hyaluronic acid. It is a matte formula, but very comfortable. This one runs a little deeper, with a true blue-red formula.

Shop at Target

Day 9: Kiko Milano 3D Hydra Gloss – shade 15 Cherry Red

Day 9 honestly isn’t my favorite. I love their formula (shade 35 is incredible and easily a favorite for me), but this specific shade is a little too pink-leaning for me. I prefer a true red, so even if I was going to add a gloss over a red shade to make a lipstick more glossy, I’d probably lean more toward a clear gloss than this one. I will say though, their glosses are VERY glossy and give a great shine if that’s a person’s preference.

Shop at Amazon

Day 10: Colourpop Ultra Matte Liquid Lipstick – shade Risk Taker

Day 10 is one of my favorite red lips EVER. It’s what I wore to the Eras Tour, and is just a beautiful true red. It’s long-lasting (I definitely love that in a red lip), and very comfortable – especially for a matte. It’s a liquid lipstick, which I know not everyone loves, but I personally do, and I reach for this one often.

Shop at Ulta

Day 11: Pat McGrath Labs MatteTrance lipstick – shade Elson

Day 11 is similar to Day 5 – another Pat lipstick. This one comes in bullet form, but is also matte. It’s not as long wearing (liquid lipsticks get a lot of hate, but I do really like them and still wear them frequently). It looks drying in the tube, but it’s pretty comfortable.

Shop at Ulta // Shop at Nordstrom // Shop at Sephora (limited edition Christmas packaging) // Shop at Sephora (regular packaging)

Day 12: Maybelline Lifter Liner – shade Main Character + Maybelline Lifter Gloss – shade Sweetheart

This is a combo I thought would be gorgeous, with them being from the same line, but I honestly don’t know if I love either product. The liner is a little too creamy for my personal taste, and I like liners with a little more grit to them. Creamier liners are a bit messy to apply in my opinion, and this gloss is a little lighter in shade than I was expecting. Like the Kiko Milano gloss, I love the formula (this one is also very glossy), but a red gloss is just hard to do, and this one just doesn’t give me the exact shade I want.

Liner: Shop at Ulta // Shop at Target // Shop at Walmart
Gloss: Shop at Target // Shop at Walmart // Shop at Ulta

Surprise… I’m adding in a Day 13 just because. I have one more red that I really love and wanted to be sure to include it.

Day 13: Urban Decay Vice Lipstick – shade Bad Blood

On Day 13… December 13, Taylor Swift’s birthday, I thought it was only appropriate to include a shade called Bad Blood. Urban Decay’s Vice lipsticks have been a fan favorite (and a personal favorite) for quite a while. While a matte, this one is very creamy and easy to apply. It comes in a matching liner, but I haven’t tried that one yet… should I?

Shop at Sephora // Shop at Ulta // Shop at Macy’s

As stated in the beginning, I wanted to swatch all the shades together. I think it’s helpful (at least, it is for myself) to see them side-by-side to get a sense of how shades look compared to each other. I usually lean for a true red or deeper red, but others may love a brighter or less obvious red. Whatever the preference, I hope this post has been helpful for finding the perfect red lip!

Swatches coordinate with their corresponding days – with the exception of 9 and 10 – I accidentally switched those while swatching them. The below numbers are correct. 12 and 13 in the swatches also go together, and 14 is day 13 in the list.
1. Mac “Dubonnet”
2. NYX “Cherry Creme”
3. Colourpop “Trust Me…”
4. Fenty “Uncensored”
5. Pat McGrath “Elson 4”
6. Mac “Ruby Woo”
7. Colourpop “The Mean One”
8. Maybelline “Wild Card”
9. Colourpop “Risk Taker”
10. Kiko Milano “Cherry Red”
11. Pat McGrath “Elson”
12. Maybelline “Main Character” (liner)
13. Maybelline “Sweetheart” (gloss)
14. Urban Decay “Bad Blood”