The Modern Red Lip: How To Update This Totally Classic Look (NYFW)

Red lipstick is the epitome of a perfectly polished look. The color makes a bold statement, we know, but there's something so timeless about the bright hue that it's lasted from the silent film era of Hollywood until 2015. What's more, it still looks sharp.

The biting color, which can range from deep cherry to blue-tinged pop art red, pulls together looks as simple as a t-shirt and jeans or as bold as an evening gown. It remains popular amongst celebrities and average Janes alike, proving there's nowhere you can't bring your trusty tube of Ruby Woo.

MAC Ruby Woo, $17.50, Nordstrom 

At this season's Jason Wu show, Yadim Carranza, makeup artist for Maybelline New York, brought a fresh take to the heroin-chic look. Since the collection was unquestionably modern, the famed cosmetics expert decided to clean up the red lip.

As it turns out, the mistake you're making when applying lipstick all comes down to the shape of your lips.

Here's how to create the perfect red pout:

Overdraw the lip corners instead of playing perfectionist.

A woman's lips do not naturally come to a half-circle shape, but rather taper out into a fine line that makes it difficult to apply product. Instead of breaking out a minuscule, tapered brush, Carranza and his fellow artists chose to draw custom lip lines on every model.

Don't work lipstick into the tiny edge of your lips, go bold and overdraw them. Rounding out the edges of the mouth will make the silhouette look a little more 2015, a little less Katharine Hepburn.

Underplay your cupid's bow.

Carranza's second shaping tip also focuses on toning down the silhouette of the mouth. Instead of dramatically emphasizing the cupid's bow, (the sensual dip in the top lip) he tones it down by slightly filling in the base of the dip.

Like the overdrawn sides, the filled-in bow serves to make the mouth a geometric shape instead of a tapered rosebud.

When it doubt, go matte.

The trick to a perfect lip is layering. Carranza started with Maybelline's Baby Lips in Quenched to hydrate the models' mouths before starting in on pigment. After smoothing on a layer of Vivid Matte Liquid lipstick in Rebel Red, Carranza patted on red pigment.

Rather than buy a separate product, try lightly patting loose translucent powder on your lips -- or use a blotting paper -- to accomplish the same matte result. If you're more interested in a quick fix, try Impulse Cosmetics' Mattifying Lip Powder.

Maybelline Baby Lips in Quenched, $3, Amazon; Maybelline Color Sensational Vivid Matte Liquid Lipstick in Rebel Red, $6, Amazon; Impulse Cosmetics Mattifying Lip Powder, $3, Impulse Cosmetics