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We found Taylor Swift's iconic red lipstick favorites from over the years
The singer's signature bold picks have included Pat McGrath, CoverGirl and Chanel.
Some very important news: The new Taylor Swift album is officially out. If you have yet to listen to The Tortured Poets Department — and the additional 15 songs on The Tortured Poets Department: The Anthology — what are you waiting for? (Not that you asked, but I’ve had "Clara Bow" on repeat since the album dropped.) What I'm really here to discuss, though, is Taylor Swift's red lipstick — a signature look that will go down in music history. The singer has been wearing a red hue for so long that I might believe it if you told me those were her natural lips.
Fun fact: Taylor's affinity for red lipstick started back in 2009 on an Allure cover shoot for the beauty magazine's April issue. Our girl had just dropped Fearless and was gearing up to go on tour when Gucci Westman, makeup artist and founder of Westman Atelier, threw out the idea of a red lip. In an interview with Elle Australia, Westman recounts that she was told by Taylor’s management that "Taylor doesn’t do red." She responded, "Well, Taylor needs to try red." Westman forgets the exact product she used, but the rest, my friends, is history.
Just like Taylor has grown (and racked up those Grammys), her go-to red lipsticks have grown with her. Since this is arguably one of the greatest style love affairs in the history of pop culture, I put my journalism degree to use and hunted down the singer’s favorite red lipstick through the years.
Scroll to shop Taylor Swift's red lipstick, from the now-viral Pat McGrath Labs LiquiLust to the forever-iconic MAC Ruby Woo. Feel free to blast "Style" (or "The Moment I Knew," "Wildest Dreams," "Blank Space," "End Game," "I Did Something Bad" or any other song where she mentions red lipstick) while you peruse her picks.
Our girl enlisted the legendary Dame Pat McGrath herself to lend her artistry to the "Bejeweled" music video in 2022. In an interview with Allure, McGrath confirmed that Blondie is wearing LiquiLust liquid lip in Elson 4 in the video.
Taylor also supposedly wears the product onstage during the Eras Tour. And if you've opened social media at all this year, you know that her onstage makeup does not budge — even in a thunderstorm.
If a classic lipstick formula is more your thing, you can grab the same blue-red Elson shade in this more traditional product. And for those who love warmer red lip tones, there are tons of different Elson shades, like the orangey-red Elson 2.
No red lipstick is more iconic than MAC's Ruby Woo. Taylor told People in 2015 that the universally flattering red lipstick was her go-to at the time. (I mean, there's a reason why this one has been a cult favorite forever.)
Way back in 2014, Taylor posted a behind-the-scenes snap of her getting ready for the Met Gala with Karlie Kloss. In the photo, she's using this popular red hue from Nars, which she also called out in an interview with MTV News. "One that really can't go wrong is Dragon Girl by Nars," she told the outlet.
Once upon a time, Taylor was the face of CoverGirl, revealing to Redbook that she used the CoverGirl Lip Perfection Lipstick in Hot for her signature red lips.
Unfortunately, CoverGirl discontinued Lip Perfection. Don't worry — you can grab the shade in the brand's Exhibitionist Lipstick, which is basically the same thing.
Taylor wore this perfectly luxurious blue-red lipstick from Chanel on the cover of InStyle back in November 2013. Yes, this was technically during the Red era, but everything about this cover is so 1989-coded.
OK, so there's no proof that Taylor has actually worn this Rare Beauty lipstick. However, she has been besties with Selena Gomez since they both dated a Jonas brother, so I wouldn't be surprised to find out that this shade is in her arsenal.
