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The fascinating backstory behind Taylor Swift’s signature red lip was uncovered and it turns out her mom initially had reservations about the bold look. During an appearance on Today with Hoda and Jenna, celebrity makeup artist Gucci Westman disclosed that she was the mastermind behind Taylor’s striking red lip for the April 2009 cover of Allure magazine.
“I remember I really wanted to do a red lip on her because I hadn’t seen her in a red lip before,” Westman shared with Hoda Kotb and Jenna Bush Hager. “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.”
In that cover look, Taylor wore her hair teased up, complemented by a striking red and pink corset. Allure disclosed at the time that Westman aimed to evoke “an updated Vargas-girl look, with a strong mouth and beautiful skin.” Westman also revealed that Taylor was so enamored with the lipstick she wore that she gifted her a tube of her own.
Ashok Kumar/TAS24/Getty Images for TAS Rights Management
Since that iconic appearance, Taylor has paired her golden locks with the bold red lip on numerous occasions, including the cover of her Red album, various red carpet events, and most notably, as part of her current Eras Tour ensemble.
While she’s been spotted wearing an array of red lip shades, Taylor has previously shared that her go-to shade is the Pat McGrath Labs’ MatteTrance Lipstick in the shade Elson.
She also references red lips in plenty of her songs, especially in the album 1989, like “Red lip, classic,” in “Style,” “Red lips and rosy cheeks,” in “Wildest Dreams,” “cherry lips, crystal skies” in “Blank Space.”
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Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.