I’m on a never-ending quest to find the BEST red lipstick in existence, and while I’ve found some really good ones–Urban Decay’s “69,”Make Up Forever has about a kabillion, a few others–but when I saw Kelly Rowland on “The X Factor” wear a certain shade that looked like someone painted red velvet on her lips I had to find out what. it. was. Didn’t take long, and while I was in Atlanta for a blog conference one of my new beauty blogger friends told me it had to be one color–RiRi Woo one of Rhianna’s signature shades by MAC. So I did what any make-up addict would do and made a beeline to the nearest MAC store, which happened to be in Buckhead, the Beverly Hills of Atlanta, Georgia. No luck. RiRi Woo was sold out. No bother. I would just try when I get back to Temecula, where there are much less black people, thus upping my chances of snagging the shade, or so I thought.

No. Also sold out. BUT! The salesgirl informed me that Ruby Woo (also in the Rhianna line), is just a shade lighter and looks about the same if you wear a darker lip liner. So I tried it. I lined with MAC’s “burgundy” and then filled in with Ruby Woo ($15). Here’s what I got.

I love it. But the first thing I noticed about this formula is that it is very matte, and stiff without any emollients to make it slide along the lips. You also have to build it with repetitive applications until you get the desired effect, which probably means you’ll go through it a little quicker than other lipsticks. However, the shade has staying power, and I hadn’t needed to reapply the entire day. I’m also not a big fan of MAC’s lip liners, because they don’t go on smoothly, so I give an “OK” to the lip liner color, but if I could find it in another brand that didn’t feel like applying lip liner with Crayola colored pencil I would.

Shite I’m late on the whole Rhianna lip color craze. But I have good reason. I’m not really a fan of the weed-smoking, abuser-welcoming pop princess. She’s got great taste in reds, though, so props.

If you’re also noticing my smooth, evenly toned skin, I have Yves Saint Laurent to thank. I picked up their Matt Touch Foundation ($31) at a Duty Free store at the Atlanta airport and I’m hooked! I put this stuff on and I’m truly shine-free all day. It’s oil-free with an SPF 10. I recommend applying it over a silicone-based primer like SMASHBOX Photo Finish, which makes it glide on like butter. I learned this the hard way. I used my Urban Decay water-based primer and foundation flaked and balled up in places.