MAC satin finish lipstick in Brave

For quite a while now, I've had the MAC lipstick, Brave on my makeup wishlist.  The other day, I traded in some Back To MAC empties and I finally picked it up.  There's nothing new or sparkly about this lipstick.  It's been part of MAC's permanent collection for a long time.

MAC describes the color as 'pink-beige with white pearl'.  Eh, I can sort of see that but mostly, this reads as a muted pinky peach color to me.  And I don't really detect much of a pearl at all.

(daybulb)

(indirect natural light)

For me, this is a very work appropriate, everyday sort of shade.  It's just sort of a mindless option.  It applies easily, wears easily and has good staying power.  It doesn't require a lot of upkeep, it isn't uncomfortable to wear. It's definitely not a nude on me, but it's a very natural color.

The MAC lipstick in Brave has a satin finish and contains 3 grams of product.  It retails for $15, or if you have 6 MAC empties, you can trade them in for a full size lipstick.  For more information on which MAC products qualify, see the Back to MAC page at the MAC site.

Overall:  10/10

MAC Moxie Lipstick

MAC's Moxie lipstick was limited edition.  It was repromoted as part of the MAC By Request collection in Fall 2012.  Moxie was one of the top three most popular LE or discontinued MAC lipsticks according to voters - along with Candy Yum-Yum and Rocker.

Moxie is a matte finish and the color is described by MAC as "bright pink".  In the bullet it definitely looks bright pink, but swatched and on the lips, I think it's much more of a magenta meets raspberry red.  It is creamy (for a matte) and applies evenly and opaquely.

Because it's a matte, the wear time is great.  I got at least 6 hours out of it before I had noticeable fading and it did stain my lips.  While you might have luck finding a dupe of this color, it's the texture that you're not going to find at the drug store.  The matte finish is so opaque and so long wearing that I doubt you're going to be able to dupe it.

I did think that when I first apply Moxie it looks a lot like the NARS Matte Velvet Gloss Pencil in Mexican Rose.  The NARS pencil initially is a rather light pink, but it darkens over time and ends up looking a lot like Moxie.

EDITED TO ADD 3/25/12:  Another decent dupe for MAC's Moxie is the Flower Beauty High Shine Lip Color in Petunia Petals.  The finish is different, but the color is very close.

I am absolutely in love with this shade and I am so glad I picked it up.

All MAC lipsticks contain .10 oz of product and retail for $15.

Overall: 10/10

MAC Ruffian Red Lipstick

MAC's Ruffian Red lipstick came out with the June 2012 MAC Ruffian collection.  The collection was online only and on the small side (and random as well, press on nails?!?).  The collection is a collaboration from MAC and the New York design house, Ruffian.

MAC describes Ruffian Red as "Class rich blue red".  I personally don't think this red reads blue at all.  I think it's very primary red with a tad bit of orange, sort of a tomato red.  It has a matte finish but I found it was pretty creamy and applied very evenly and opaquely.  

Again, being a matte I expected it to be incredibly dry, but it wasn't too bad.  Also because it's a matte it had phenomenal staying power and did stain my lips.

MAC Ruffian Red is still available online for $15.

Overall:  8/10

Review: Pink lipsticks - yellow based

So lately I've been obsessed with yellow-based pink lipsticks.  They're not exactly earth shattering.  You can find them from a lot of different companies at a lot of different price points, but I thought I would share some of my favorites.

These shades sometimes get categorized as coral, but they're definitely not.  They are pink, but a warm yellow pink, not quite peach and definitely not orange.  I'm amused by how much the official descriptions of the colors vary, but they all look very similar.

MAC Chatterbox is described as a "bright red-pink".  It has an amplified finish so it feels really good on the lips.  It doesn't wear quite as well as a drier formula, but I usually get 2 - 3 hours out of an application.  All MAC lipsticks contain .10 oz of product and retail for $15.00.

Makeup Geek lipstick in Adorable has a Satin/Gloss finish and definitely has the most slip of the three lipsticks.  It is described by Makeup Geek as a dupe for MAC Chatterbox, but I think it's closer to Fanfare.  It is a beautiful color, very creamy texture that doesn't dry my lips.  The packaging contains 4 grams of product and retails for $7.99 on the Makeup Geek site.  

MAC Fanfare has a Cremesheen finish.  It is described by MAC as a "mid-tone yellow pink".  Cremesheens aren't my favorite finish, but I do love this color, so I put up with it.  I don't find it too drying and it does wear really well.  All MAC lipsticks contain .10 oz of product and retail for $15.00.

Sephora Rouge Cream in #14 Seduce is described as a warm beige pink.  This is my first Sephora lipstick and I am impressed with the product if not the packaging.  The bullet is annoyingly large.  I have no idea how much product it contains as neither the packaging, nor the Sephora site say, but I doubt it contains more product than the Makeup Geek lipsticks and yet the bullet is markedly bigger.  It retails for $12.  The formula is super creamy and very opaque.

So what do you think of yellow based pink lipsticks?  Do you love them as much as I love them or are they a pass for you?

MAC Chatterbox Lipstick

I am in love with yellow-based pink lipsticks and I keep buying them.  (The first step is admitting you have a problem.)

I already had MAC Fanfare which I absolutely adore and wear every other day, but I picked up Makeup Geek's Adorable, which I thought was a dupe for Fanfare (don't ask why I'm buying a dupe for something I already have).  However, the Makeup Geek store says Adorable is a dupe for Chatterbox.  So, of course, I had to pick up Chatterbox and see ...

Looking at swatches, I still think that Adorable is much closer to Fanfare, but I do love Chatterbox.  It's described by MAC as "bright red-pink".  I think it's mostly a neutral pink that leans slightly yellow, but it is definitely redder than Fanfare.  Chatterbox has an Amplified finish so it's very creamy and doesn't dry out my lips at all.

I love this color.  It is an intense pink without being too bright - it's very wearable.  And it doesn't lean particularly cool or warm, so it's flattering on a range of skintones.

MAC lipsticks contain .10 oz of product and retail for $15.

Overall: 9/10

MAC Lipstick in Fanfare

MAC Cremesheen lipstick in Fanfare has made it onto several of my favorites list, but I just realized I hadn't actually done a post on it.  So without further ado, MAC Fanfare.

MAC describes fanfare as a "yellow based pink" which is apt.  Fanfare is definitely more pink than peach with a good deal of pigmentation.  It is a cremesheen finish which I know some people find drying on the lips.  I don't have a problem with it and I find that it does wear well.  I get a solid 4 - 5 hours of wear out of an application.

MAC Fanfare is definitely one of my favorite lipsticks.  I am in love with yellow based pinks in general, but particularly with this lipstick.  

Overall: 10/10

MAC Candy Yum-Yum Lipstick

MAC's Candy Yum-Yum is definitely one of those cult favorite lipsticks, so much so that it was one of the three shades brought back (for a limited time, of course) in MAC By Request in August 2012.  

Candy Yum-Yum is a matte finish but it applies very smoothly and opaquely.  It is described by MAC as a "neon pink" which is pretty spot on.  It leans blue, but not terribly so.

MAC recently had their price hike, so lipsticks are now $15 each and it's up to the consumer to decide if it's worth it.  This shade doesn't strike me as particularly original and I think you can find a number of dupes in a much more affordable range.  The finish, however, is not as common in drug store ranges.  It's a matte finish so the wear time is really good (I got around 6 hours out of it).  It can be a little drying, but it wasn't anywhere near as bad as I was expecting.

In my experience, quite a few drug store formulas can match the shade, but finding one that will match the shade and the finish is much more rare, however there is one.  NYX's Matte Lipstick in Shocking Pink is a really close dupe for both color (it's slightly more blue, but only slightly) and finish (they're both matte).  

If you're just looking for a color match, NYX's black label Hot Pink (Phyrra did an excellent post on Candy Yum-Yum vs. NYX's Hot Pink) and Wet n Wild's Nouveau Pink #511B are both fairly close color matches.

What do you think?  Will you be picking this up while it's available?  Will you go for a more affordable dupe?  Is this color one you will pass on?

Given that the NYX Shocking Pink is such a good dupe, I don't think I would necessarily pick this one up again (even if it was available).

Overall: 7/10