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Red lips and Taylor Swift just go together — but they almost didn’t.
During an appearance on “Today” Tuesday, celebrity makeup artist Gucci Westman explained how the singer’s signature beauty look came to be.
Westman, 52, told hosts Hoda Kotb and Jenna Bush Hager that she was doing Swift’s makeup for the April 2009 Allure cover when she realized she “hadn’t seen her in a red lip before.”
Although Westman “really wanted to do a red lip” on Swift, the celebrity makeup artist had to get the seal of approval from the “Anti-Hero” singer’s mom, Andrea Swift, beforehand.
“Her mom — if I’m allowed to say this — was like, ‘Well, Taylor doesn’t wear red,’” Westman recalled.
After a bit of begging, the matriarch agreed to let her then-19-year-old try the bold new hue.
“And the rest is history!” Hager said, to which Westman replied, “Look at her now!”
Although the beauty guru — who has worked with Jennifer Aniston, Gwyneth Paltrow and more — didn’t say exactly which shade she used on the pop star, she revealed in 2021 that she let Swift keep the secret product.
“Taylor’s first ‘red’💋💄🥰 #flashbackfriday from our 2009 @allure cover shoot, which was her first time wearing red lipstick,” Westman wrote on Instagram at the time alongside several photos from the shoot.
“This look was inspired by Vargas girls & I sent Taylor home with her own tube afterwards ✨.”
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The 14-time Grammy winner has worn crimson red paint on her lips for nearly every red carpet, magazine cover and awards show since then.
“I never really get too far from red lipstick, do I? I guess I just think my face looks worse without it,” Taylor told People in 2014. “That’s pretty much the only rationale behind it.”
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However, the “Cruel Summer” singer and her glam squad have always kept mum on which beauty products — specifically lipstick shades — she tends to gravitate towards.
Despite that, eagle-eyed fans have figured out some of her past hues of choice — including MAC Retro Matte Lipstick in Ruby Woo ($23 $20), CoverGirl Exhibitionist Cream Lipstick in Hot, Nars Velvet Matte Lip Pencil in Dragon Girl ($30) and Pat McGrath Labs MatteTrance Lipstick in Elson ($39).
Although her favorite shades may vary, Taylor has perfected her kiss-proof application method — which she has been putting to the test amid her romance with Travis Kelce.
The singer told Allure in 2011 that she picked up a few tips and “tricks” from makeup artists over the years to achieve the perfect red pout.
“They put on the red lipstick, then blot it with a tissue, then they put powder over the tissue and sort of press it onto your lips. Then re-apply,” she told the magazine at the time.
“It turns it into a stain that lasts much longer.”
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