Rihanna Hot Pink Lipstick Is Sweeter Than Any Valentine’s Day Candy

In the cold, sleepy slog between the beginning of January and the first signs of spring, Valentine’s Day is the happy holiday bright spot in the middle of it all. Special (and often slinky) dresses are revealed from under puffers, everyone’s in a cheery, loved-up mood, and most people are ready to indulge a bit after taking a health-focused break post-New Year’s. It’s also one of the best days on the entire calendar to bust out a cool makeup moment — just look at Rihanna’s hot pink lipstick.

In many ways, Rih’s kind of become a patron saint of Valentine’s Day the same way Mariah Carey reigns over the Christmas season. Thanks to Rihanna’s annual Savage x Fenty holiday drop, always filled with the sexiest (and sweetest) pieces of the year, she’s got the romance portion of the holiday on lock. Then, her Fenty Beauty line is equipped with all the red, pink, and glittery products necessary to nail date night makeup. She’s a one-woman stop for everything needed — including inspiration. In the latest photoshoot for her new Valentine’s Day Savage x Fenty collection, her bright pink lipstick is a perfect match to the balconette-style bra and and thigh-highs she wears in the promotional campaign.

The collection, called See Thru U, puts the fun back into V-Day with bright colors, fun cutouts, and an inclusive size rage. As excellent as her sets are, though, it’s hard to focus on anything other than that electric pink lipstick. It appears that Rih’s lips were lined with a slightly deeper shade for definition and dimension, then filled in with the matte-finish center color.

Of course, the lipstick shade is even more exciting in the context of Rihanna’s relatively new hair color. She slowly started transitioning to lighter and lighter shades through fall, eventually settling on a wintery blonde — an Aspen blonde, as some call it — that can be fully appreciated in this ad campaign.

With Valentine’s Day right around the corner, the time to start taking notes is right now.