Rihanna Reveals Her Go-To Red Lipstick Combo With a Retro Beehive Updo

The pop star threw it back to the '50s and '60s with a nostalgic hair and makeup look ahead of the holidays.

Rihanna wearing her signature red lip with a beehive updo
(Image credit: Instagram/@badgalriri)

Real fans know Rihanna's most essential makeup look is a bright red lip. She loves red lipstick so much, in fact, that an ultra-matte cherry red lip paint was the very first product she launched after founding Fenty Beauty in 2017.

Seven years later, not much has changed. On Tuesday, Nov. 26, the pop star hopped on Instagram to share a carousel of selfies featuring her latest contribution to the state of red lipstick: a surprise tutorial featuring a curly retro beehive updo and her go-to lip combo.

A photo of Rihanna showing off her go-to lip combo: Fenty Beauty lip liner and liquid lipstick in The MVP.

Rihanna shows off her go-to lip combo: Fenty Beauty lip liner and liquid lipstick in The MVP.

(Image credit: Instagram/badgalriri)

In the clip, the mother of two starts by lining her lips with Fenty Beauty's Trace'd Out Pencil Lip Liner in The MVP, a cool blue-toned bright red that boasts eight-hour wear. Next, she completely fills in her lips with the creamy pencil before swiping on a saturated layer of the brand's Icon Velvet Liquid Lipstick in The MVP, a whipped demi-matte lacquer in a matching blue-red shade.

A photo of Rihanna sporting a retro messy beehive and a black mesh bodycon dress in her latest Instagram post.

Rihanna sports a retro messy beehive and a black mesh bodycon dress in her latest Instagram post.

(Image credit: Instagram/@badgalriri)

The beauty mogul's '50s-inspired, punchy red pout and messy '60s beehive struck exactly the right kind of contrast with her thoroughly modern black mesh bodycon dress, which featured strategic cut-outs running down the sides of her hips. She accessorized the look with a wrist full of silver and black diamond-encrusted chain link bracelets along with two gargantuan cocktail rings.

It was a festive look worth filing away for holiday party outfit inspiration, but you could even wear RiRi's signature red lip to Thanksgiving dinner if you feel so inclined. After all, Fenty Beauty is known for developing some of the longest lasting formulas on the market. So don't be surprised if a double coat of the brand's bright red liner and liquid lipstick stays put through multiple rounds of mac and cheese this weekend.

Shop Rihanna's Signature Red Lip Combo

Hanna Lustig
Staff Writer

Hanna Lustig is a staff writer at Marie Claire, where she gets to gab every day about the topics she holds most dear: fashion, beauty, and celebrity. Hanna’s editorial journey began with formative internships at Elle and InStyle, where she was lucky enough to work for some of the smartest women in media while she was still in college at the University of Tennessee. Hanna then accepted a digital culture reporting fellowship at Insider, where she helped carve out a new beat dedicated to covering influencers. Those experiences later served her well as a staff writer at Glamour, where she developed a knack for spinning quick turnaround celebrity news and trend reporting into juicy feature stories. Some of her greatest hits include an earnest ode to the no-pants trend, this meticulously reported feature exploring the rise of endoscopic facelifts, this snappy take on the Chanel-designed fantasy of Sofia Richie’s wedding, this tribute to WAGs past and present, and this timeline of Katie Holmes’s life and career as told through her denim collection.

Diane Keaton once hung up on Hanna during an interview, but thankfully that mishap did not derail what has otherwise been a deeply fulfilling career writing for and about women. As one of Marie Claire's resident experts on style and culture, her current coverage ranges from exploring TikTok's contrast makeup theory and the return of the boat shoe trend to interviews with costume designers for hit shows like Nobody Wants This and The Penguin. When she’s not at work, Hanna can probably be found listening to pop music, talking to her dog, and gossiping with her best friends. For more of Hanna’s perfect opinions on pop culture, you can follow her on Instagram and X.