MAC's Ruby Woo lipstick has hit the Black Friday sales

'There's no other colour to influence the state of Ruby Woo. Like, if you're looking at a colour wheel, the red — which is a primary colour — is basically Ruby Woo.'

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MAC’s iconic red lipstick Ruby Woo needs little introduction, but you’re getting one anyways as it’s currently 20% off in LookFantastic’s Black Friday sale

With a long and storied history (it was once sold out for weeks on end), it’s been around since 1999 and counts celebrities such as Rihanna, Taylor Swift, Janet Jackson and Gwen Stefani amongst its diehard fans. 

A classic staple in any celebrity make-up artist’s bag, you’ll be able to bag this iconic piece of beauty history in the Black Friday beauty sales going on at the minute.

While you can't grab the classic Ruby Woo Retro Matte lipstick as a standalone product, you can snag the real thing as part of a value pack. 

They also sell a different matte version in the same shade - the biggest difference is that MAC's Retro Mattes are more matte than a standard MAC matte lipstick. (We don't know about you, but the word matte has lost its meaning after that sentence...)

Just remember to put in the code EARLYLF at checkout.

MAC Bestsellers Lip Duo Kit - was £65, now £45.5 | LookFantastic (30% off)

MAC Bestsellers Lip Duo Kit - was £65, now £45.5 | LookFantastic (30% off)
Includes Ruby Woo Retro Matte Lipstick and matching lip pencil, Velvet Teddy Matte Lipstick and Boldly Bare Lip Pencil

On top of that, LookFantastic will also chuck in a free MAC Mini Fix+ Vibes Setting Spray with any Black Friday order. If you don’t want to spend an arm and a leg on shipping, anything over £25 gets shipped free FYI.

As one of the most universally flattering red lipsticks out there, it’ll come as a bit of a surprise that it came as a complete accident.

MAC Bestseller Lipstick Trio - was £52.50, now £42 | LookFantastic (30% off)

MAC Bestseller Lipstick Trio - was £52.50, now £42 | LookFantastic (30% off)
Includes Ruby Woo Retro Matte lipstick and two matte lipsticks: Velvet Teddy and Soar

According to a 2020 Fashionista article, MAC’s team was actually trying to colour match another of their classic reds - Madonna’s preferred shade Russian Red - but they gloriously messed up. The team loved the colour so much though that they stuck with it.

MAC Bestseller Lipstick Trio - was £52.50, now £42 | LookFantastic (30% off)

MAC Bestseller Lipstick Trio - was £52.50, now £42 | LookFantastic (30% off)
Includes three matte lipsticks: Ruby Woo, Velvet Teddy and Whirl

MAC Lipstick 3g in Ruby Woo Matte - was £17.50, now £12.25 | LookFantastic (30% off)

MAC Lipstick 3g in Ruby Woo Matte - was £17.50, now £12.25 | LookFantastic (30% off)

MAC’s director of makeup artistry Gregory Arlt explained, “It's what we call in the industry a clean red. There are blue-reds, orange-reds and brick-reds.” 

“There's no other colour to influence the state of Ruby Woo. Like, if you're looking at a colour wheel, the red — which is a primary colour — is basically Ruby Woo.”

Megan C. Hills

Megan is a freelance journalist who covers entertainment and all things lifestyle, with a particular passion for fashion, beauty, travel and Keanu Reeves stories. She has previously worked on staff for titles including Marie Claire UK, CNN Style and The Evening Standard and has written for titles such as Bustle UK, Wallpaper*, Forbes and Hong Kong Tatler. She splits her time between London and her hometown Hong Kong, where she currently lives with the love of her life - an elderly dog named Poppy - and her husband.