The Perfect Red: Red Amour vs Ruby Woo

I am a red lipstick kind of girl. I wear it all the time. I know that red lipstick is one of those timeless, but somehow intimidating colors. It always makes me feel cool and put together, even after a bad day. I have a hard time choosing beween my reds, and have built up a pretty impressive collection, but I’ve never really compared them face to face. I asked on Instagram what two you’d be interested in seeing, and our winners are MAC Ruby Woo and Laura Mercier Red Amour! So here we go:

Packaging

For a long time (cough, all of high school), MAC lipsticks, in their sleek black bullets, screamed luxury. They were the epitome of everything that I wanted when I saw the newly-created beauty gurus on YouTube. Ruby Woo comes in that nice, traditional bullet. Laura Mercier has it beat on luxury though. The tube is a brown metallic rectangular prism. It shuts with a satisfying click and is heavy, sturdy-feeling. It does pick up fingerprints like crazy, but it feels expensive, and it should, because it is. Both have no indication of the color on the outside, besides a label with a name. This can be an issue if you have multiple colors from the same line.

Price

That extra luxury comes with a price jump. This Laura Mercier lipstick retails for $28. I feel like MAC lipsticks have crept up in price, and now retail for $18.50. Am I crazy in thinking that just yesterday they were $16? I don’t think the price point is crazy though. When buying a red lipstick, formula is so important, that I think it’s worth getting something that you have a lot of confidence in. For me, that usually costs more than $4 a tube.

Color

After trying out a ton of different shades, the differences are subtle, but noticeable. Ruby Woo has a strong blue undertone. This is good for fairer skintones, and makes your teeth look sparkly white! This is why the The Laura Mercier lipstick is a true neutral red. It doesn’t lean blue or yellow, it keeps it right down the middle. I think that this would make it a little more wearable across skintones compared to Ruby Woo.

Comfort

The most comfortable is easily the Laura Mercier lipstick. Ruby Woo is a retro matte formula, which makes it feel almost hard in the tube. It feels dry. It is dry. Red Amour is a cream finish, so it’s much more moisturizing. It just feels silkier and more pleasant, especially if we’re talking about how dry the winter can be!

Left - MAC Ruby Woo, Right - Laura Mercier Red Amour

Wear Time

The double edged sword of comfort is, of course, wear time. Ruby Woo wears, for me, about twice as long as the Red Amour does. It does fade nicely, so it doesn’t bother me that it doesn’t wear quite as long.

The Verdict

I would choose Ruby Woo if you’re fair-skinned, it’s the summer, and you want something that’s going to stay on for hours and hours. For the colder months, I greatly prefer Laura Mercier because it’s so moisturizing. Still on the hunt for the one true red, but both of these are wonderful!

What’s your favorite red lipstick?