If anyone knows how to rock a look, it’s Taylor Swift. The pop star is known not only for her dreamy power ballads and heart-wrenching lyrics, but also her constantly evolving style, which has changed as her musical style has shifted. However, even while her looks have expanded, her signature makeup look has remained a Swift staple. The cat eyeliner with bold, red lipstick has been a defining look of the “Bejeweled” singer’s for a large part of her career. However, this wasn’t always the case, and it took a makeup artist’s convincing and her mom’s approval to try out a red lip.
Makeup artist Gucci Westman has worked with a number of high-profile clients like Jennifer Aniston, Anne Hathaway and Gwyneth Paltrow. She's an expert at highlighting a client’s natural beauty and making their attributes shine, whether it's for an event or a photoshoot. Her strong instincts are what led her to suggest red lipstick for Taylor Swift when she did her makeup for her 2009 photoshoot for Allure Magazine. While the suggestion later became a major part of the Grammy winner’s look, her mom was resistant at first. Westman told The Today Show:
And her mom, if I'm allowed to say this, was like, 'Well, Taylor doesn't wear red.' And I was like, 'Please, can I just try?'... look at her now.
It’s unclear why the songstress' mom was against putting the “Love Story” singer in red. Maybe it’s because red lipstick tends to be a more bold and mature color, and the star was just 19 when she participated in the Allure cover. Taylor Swift had a pretty old-school upbringing and, at the time, much of Swift’s music and persona was geared towards young girls. Thankfully, Mama Swift let the red lipstick slide, and it became such a huge part of Swift’s career. She looks stunning on the cover and continues to look gorgeous in the color.
It’s surprising that another makeup artist never tried red on her before 2009. Her porcelain color skin makes the contrast with the red lips that much more vibrant, and the warm tone enhances her face along with her blonde hair. It also evokes a classic “old hollywood” idea that goes beautifully with the “All-American” persona the Midnights artist seems to embody.
She has committed to the bold lip on her Eras Tour, with Pat McGrath's LiquiLust: Legendary Wear Matte Lipstick in Elson 4 being her rumored favorite longwear shade. The red lipstick shines even brighter when she’s seen cheering on boyfriend Travis Kelce, who plays for the Kansas City Chiefs. Fittingly, the team wears red jerseys, so talk about a match made in heaven!
The red lipstick not only looked great, but it also ignited a new era of Swift-curated music. The color red became a symbol of a period in her career, with her fourth studio album bearing the name of the color. She wore red throughout the tour and used it to symbolize feelings of love and heartbreak. Her preference for the color on her lips has also snuck its way into lyrics like in “Wildest Dreams” when she sings “Red lips and rosy cheeks,” or in “Style,” when she says “I’ve got that red lip, classic.”
She has also gotten more detailed with her description of the shade of red she prefers, like in “Maroon” she calls her lip color “scarlet” and, in “I Did Something Bad,” she refers to her lips as “crimson.” So, without Gucci Westman’s urging, we not only would’ve been robbed of some iconic looks but also some of our favorite and most devastating lyrics from Taylor Swift.
You can see the star rocking red lipstick on the red carpet or in her concert film, Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour, which is now streaming exclusively for Disney+ subscribers. There is also a lot of Swift’s music to look forward to, including her upcoming album, The Tortured Poets Department, which will be released on April 19th 2024.
