I am a little ashamed to admit this but Monday night’s episode of The Bachelor has me on my own quest. No, not one for a hunky farmer or the cure for daddy issues – the hunt for the perfect red lipstick. That Kaitlyn with her cool-girl crop top, messy waves and perfectly paired shade of red lipstick has me spending way more time than necessary in the drugstore beauty aisle. Well, I mostly spend too much time there because I’ve snuck out of the house to run a legitimate errand but then I dawdle to take advantage of 15 minutes of time alone (yeah this whole two kids thing makes being by yourself a luxury item and yes I realize how bleak that sounds), but that’s neither here nor there. Back to the lipstick.

Image Source (clockwise from top left):
1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 (via Little Blonde Book) | 6 | 7 

 I’ve rounded up some red lip inspiration along with some shades to try. Now I’m no lipstick expert so these are just options I like (that’s what you get around here – random crap I like with little to no expert opinion, you’ve been warned). My recommendation/advice (which I clearly need to take myself) would be to hit up the mall for some professional help at Sephora or one of the department stores.When it comes to wearing red lipstick you’ve got to have confidence, so you don’t want to be rocking something you may feel unsure about. You may have to  spend a couple more bucks but you’ll be more likely to wear something that has been paired just for you.

If you want some more qualified advice, The Beauty Department has a great breakdown of great shades for every skin tone. And if you have any favorites/recommendations, leave them in the comments!

Row 1: Nars ‘Jungle Red’ | Stila ‘Beso’ | Beauty Counter ‘Scarlet’ | Bobbi Brown ‘Red Carpet’ | Chanel ‘Pirate’ 
Row 2: Revlon ‘Fire & Ice’ | Rimmel Kate ‘#1’ | MAC ‘Ruby Woo’ | Dior ‘Trafalgar’ | Tom Ford ‘Cherry Lush’