Red Alert!

I never really used to wear lipstick as I couldn't find the right shade for my skin colour - I have quite pale skin so I thought that pinks and reds washed me out and plum shades were just out of the question!
I was clearly looking the wrong place, because in the past 3 months, I've found 3 shades of red that I absolutely love! They are from a wide variety of beauty makes, but all can be found in drug stores.

Revlon Intense Colour Burst Matte Balm

This is an interesting twist on the coloured balms which became popular a few years ago. It comes in chunky but sleek looking packaging with silver detailing, whilst the actual surface colour depends on the colour of the balm. The product has a crayon applicator - I'm not the biggest fan of these because once you wear down the tip, the product becomes flat and a little messy, but it's usable and definitely not a deal breaker.

My packaging is a candy apple red and correlates with the colour of the product (shown below)

The product itself is meant to eliminate the need to use a balm underneath the product, and it does work. This is, in my humble opinion, one of the best examples of a colour balm because it does moisteurise your lips as well as having a colour payoff which is impressive for such a product. It's not the best, and don't expect the intense pigmentation of a lipstick or lipstain, but the colour is quite strong. 

This balm dries matte, which I like because it means I don't have wet look lips, which I try to avoid.

L'Oreal Intense Color Riche Lip

I can't get enough of this product! Mine is in the colour 376 Cassis Passion, and it suits my skin and hair so well! The formula is rich and creamy, and the colour is instantly strong, so there's no layering a million times until you get the desired shade.

Although in the picture below it looks kind of pink, it's actually sort of between a red and plum colour, and it looks really good with pale skin.
The packaging is a simple gold plastic with the brand name and range on the lid.

Marks and Spencer 

I actually don't know what range this is from, but it is the most surprising lipstick in this list. I don't usually take own brand supermarket makeup seriously because I always felt like the popular brands are popular for a reason, but how wrong I was...

This product has really sleek dark silver packaging in a slim tube, and is a pleasure to handle. 

The colour itself is a cherry red with pink tones, which I really like so that it doesn't overwhelm my pale skin and make me look like a painted corpse (I've had experience with that scenario...), although, again, the true red doesn't show up well on camera. The product has a creamy, smooth formula that applies really easily and doesn't cake and it's really easy to layer. Also, it's not sticky, so you can move your lips well without them getting stuck together. 

(Disclaimer: Certain pictures may not be mine)