How To Recreate Taylor Swift's Red Beauty Look

The much-anticipated release of the Red (Taylor’s Version) album is just around the corner, but based on Taylor Swift’s recent TikToks, the singer is not just restoring the music — she’s recreating the album’s emblematic beauty looks as well.

Swift only recently started sharing videos to the platform — which she renamed SwiftTok — presumably to promote her upcoming reissue of Red. But hawk-eyed Swifties instantly caught on: The singer was sporting straight-across bangs, black liquid eyeliner, her token red lip, and ruby red nails to match. This is no coincidence: The Grammy winner was making an additional nod to the emotionally charged Red by bringing back the exact glam she wore on the album’s original cover art, all — supposedly — to promote the vault’s imminent reopening.

Since posting her first TikTok, in which Swift donned styles from both her Fearless and Red music stages, the musician shifted gears to solely focus on the latter as the release date inches near. As it happens, fans are especially relishing Swift’s (now) “vintage” vibes. In celebration of the soon-to-be-available restoration, Bustle tapped experts for tips on how to recreate Swift’s Red beauty look, from her fringe to her pigmented pout.

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1. Soft Waves

First things first: Copy Swift’s flowy hairstyle with a GHD flat iron or other straightener that has leveled edges, says Devin Toth, a hairstylist at Salon SCK. Begin by using it on your fringe — or, if you don’t have any, Toth recommends trying a clip-on pair. “The key is to bump the bangs by bending your iron at a 45-degree angle while gliding through the hair,” he says.

Then you can add some volume and loose waves like Swift wears on the Red album cover. “Just go through with the flat iron and twist the hair on the ends to give them a little wave,” says Toth. Subtle bends are your best bet to keep it more natural-looking.

2. Red Lips

Swift’s Red look is — of course — defined by her red lips. To achieve the vibrant pout, Rachael Krutchkoff, a Los Angeles-based makeup artist, suggests applying a “siren red” lip liner as your base. “Use a lip liner all over your lip first, then apply matte lipstick,” she says, adding that you should accentuate the cupid’s bow and overline your lips when recreating Swift’s look.

“Apply a little bit at a time and blot so it stains and lasts all day and night,” says Krutchkoff. While she cites NARS’ Dragon Girl Velvet Matte Lip Liner as the ideal shade for emulating Swift’s look, she notes you can go with any bright red and matching liner.

3. Fine-Tipped Eyeliner

Once your lips are covered, move onto the minimal yet striking cat eye. Almost any black liquid eyeliner will do, says Krutchkoff, though she particularly loves Eyeko’s Black Magic liquid liner.

One tip for accomplishing an ultra-fine flick is to use something flat, like your brow pencil or tape, to measure the angle between the end of the brow and edge of your eyelid to create the perfect angle, says Krutchkoff. “Then make a tiny mark or line from eyelid outwards,” she notes. “Then, follow the line onto your lashline in one nice swoop, while keeping your eyes open but softly looking down into a mirror.” Once you’ve reached the end of your eye, flick it up to create the cat eye effect.

If can’t get your cat eye line perfect, that’s OK. Krutchkoff recommends using two liners — one liquid and one pencil to smudge with, the latter of which can cover the former’s errors. “If you mess up, it’s impossible to tell,” Krutchkoff asserts, adding: “Our eyes are sisters, not twins. The flicks will always be a tiny bit off.”

4. Black Mascara

Time to match your lashes to your liner. Apply a few coats of deep black mascara to lengthen your lashes and add volume, says Krutchkoff. But don’t worry too much about them — much of Swift’s signature look stems from the red lips and brightened inner-eyes (which come next).

5. Bright Eyes

Finally, to fully achieve Swift’s minimal but bright-eyed glam, Krutchkoff suggests completing the look with an eye-brightening pencil or “a dab of highlighter” in the inner corner of your eyes. This will give the illusion of opening them up, completing the iconic Red beauty aesthetic. That said, depending on how devoted you are to the look, she says you could apply glitter-infused eyeshadow to the inner-eye as well as eyelids for an added pop.