Hey lovelies,
As a big fan of MAC's matte lipsticks, The Matte Lip 2015 has been one of the releases I have been most looking forward to this year, even if I haven't yet bought anything from it! As a longtime MAC fan and terrible lipstick hoarder, I actually have half of the twenty-two piece strong collection from their previous releases already so I thought before I bought any of the new shades, I'd better swatch and review these eleven :)
Right, so - all the lipsticks promoted in this collection are permanent, with eight already being part of the existing permanent range (Kinda Sexy, Velvet Teddy, Please Me, Pink Pigeon, All Fired Up, Flat Out Fabulous, Heroine and Ruby Woo). Dangerous was part of the permanent line for a time but mysteriously vanished a few months ago, so it's nice to see it resurface! Repromoted from the Punk Couture collection (2013) are Studded Kiss and Instigator and from the Retro Matte collection (also 2013) we have Steady Going and Runway Hit (as an aside, this is also where Flat Out Fabulous, Dangerous and All Fired Up made their debut).
Brand spanking new are the shades Matte Royal, Antique Velvet, Persistence, Naturally Transformed, Tropic Tonic, Men Love Mystery, D For Danger, Stone and Whirl, the latter two being inspired by the cult lip pencils of the same names. I'll pop up a press release later with colour descriptions and pictures.
These all come in MAC's standard black lipstick tubes and carry a retail price of $40NZD (or $17USD in the States). You'll notice my tubes of Kinda Sexy and Velvet Teddy look a bit different, as they are sample tubes purchased from TheBodyNeeds, which is a great option if you're not sure about committing to a full size tube of a particular colour. I may yet buy a sample tube of Naturally Transformed to try out, I'm not sure if I can pull off those strong yellow tones!
The finishes are a mixture of Matte and Retro Matte finishes with the Retro Mattes typically feeling drier and a bit more prone to tugging during application, they lack the slight creaminess of the Matte formula. Retro Mattes also have a more flat finish and can be more unforgiving of uneven texture on the lips. I didn't have any problems with any of these feathering, which is why it's not noted below. MAC lipsticks have a vanilla scent.
Swatched on bare skin under daylight bulbs: Kinda Sexy, Velvet Teddy, Please Me, Pink Pigeon, All Fired Up, Flat Out Fabulous, Heroine, Dangerous, Ruby Woo, Studded Kiss and Instigator
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Kinda Sexy
Kinda Sexy is described as a 'neutral pinky rose' but always seems very peach to me! It's one of my favourite nude lipsticks from MAC (though it's in danger of being usurped by Honeylove, which I reviewed here) and has a super smooth texture with great opacity. On me it lasts four and a half hours without being drying.
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Velvet Teddy
Velvet Teddy has risen in popularity alongside the 'Kylie Jenner lip' in recent years and is now a firm fan favourite. It's described as a 'deep beige', but I'd call it a warm medium brown with hints of rose. It has the same creamy, opaque finish as Kinda Sexy and lasts four and a half hours. It's non drying.
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Please Me
Ahhh, Please Me, one of my first big loves from MAC's matte range. It's described as a 'muted rose tinted pink' and has a very subtle warmth about it - close enough to being neutral in my opinion that it should flatter a variety of skintones, and the muted quality keeps it very wearable in general. Please Me has great opacity, applies smoothly without dragging and lasts for four hours on me without drying out my lips.
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Pink Pigeon
Pink Pigeon is a 'bright clean pink' with cool undertones. This gorgeous hot pink perfectly walks the line between the neon tones of Candy Yum Yum and the glossier, darker Girl About Town - I'm rather enamoured with it! Pink Pigeon applies smoothly with intense colour pay off and lasts for six hours without being drying. It leaves behind strong pink staining.
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All Fired Up
All Fired Up is described as a 'bright fuchsia' and has a Retro Matte finish. What I love about All Fired Up is that despite being undeniably pink, it has a muted quality that makes it a less 'in your face' shade. The colour pay off is fantastic and it doesn't tug during application, though as I mentioned, the Retro Mattes do generally feel more resistant than the Mattes. All Fired Up wears for five hours on me and is noticeably drying.
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Flat Out Fabulous
Flat Out Fabulous is a 'bright plum' with a Retro Matte finish. I'm honestly embarrassed it's taken me this long to swatch it, because it is the most incredible colour! Lovely opacity here and it applies pretty smoothly. When I tested Flat Out Fabulous for wear, it lasted six hours some fading, but those six hours included a shower and food, so I was sufficiently impressed! It was minimally drying too.
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Heroine
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Dangerous
Dangerous is another one I wish I'd swatched a whole lot sooner - orangey reds are a real weakness of mine and this one is damn gorgeous. It has vivid colour pay off and applies smoothly, perhaps a little more so than the other Retro Mattes. Dangerous wore for five hours on me without being drying.
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Ruby Woo
My tube of Ruby Woo comes from last year's holiday collection, it normally comes in standard MAC packaging :)
And now we come to one of MAC's most enduring shades and the sole Retro Matte to remain in the permanent line for many, many years - Ruby Woo! Did you know that Ruby Woo has been around since 1999, when it was launched in the first Retro Matte collection? It launched alongside five other Retro Mattes: Verushka, Santiago, Bronx, So Be and Moxie - to date, I'm only aware of Moxie ever being repromoted, the rest have sadly remained discontinued. It's been awesome to see Ruby Woo joined by new Retro Mattes over the past few years as fashion circles around again to the ultra matte lip.
It's not the easiest lipstick to work with although the formula seems to have improved over the years - this is my second tube and it's a lot less prone to dragging or skipping than my previous one was. The colour pay off is fantastic and on me Ruby Woo wears for just over seven hours with a little fading to the centre. It's moderately drying.
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Studded Kiss
Studded Kiss is described as a 'dark oxblood red' which I'd agree with. It has a Matte finish and the same spectacular opacity as the rest of these shades. Texture was nice and smooth and it wore for six hours on me with some staining. Studded Kiss was another noticeably drying one.
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Instigator
And finally Instigator is the deliciously vampy lipstick rounding out the collection. Described by MAC as a 'deep blackened plum' with a Matte finish, it's exactly that and I loooooove it. Instigator is mostly opaque and applies smoothly. It lasted for close to seven and a half hours on me, becoming somewhat drying after four hours and only looking a little faded toward the end of wear.
What I liked:
- Lovely colour pay off
- Applied smoothly
- Dangerous, Pink Pigeon, Kinda Sexy, Velvet Teddy and Please Me aren't drying
- Lasting power ranges from four and half hours to seven and a half
- No feathering or migrating
What I didn't like:
- Instigator, Ruby Woo, Studded Kiss, Flat Out Fabulous, All Fired Up are minimally to moderately drying
- Ruby Woo can slip and drag
Where to buy:
- MAC Cosmetics
- Specktra.net Clearance Bin
- Ebay
- Facebook sales groups
- Glambot
- Amazon
- Storenvy
- Trade Me
Have you bought any of the new matte shades? Have you tried many of the existing shades or repromotes?
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Lani
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