... My makeup collection consists of lots of lipsticks and generally speaking, MAC is my go-to brand, due to their vast colour collection and the variety of finishes that they offer. Although Maxfactor's tagline is "The Makeup of Makeup Artists", it would really be better applied to MAC, as I've ... Read review
Advantages: Fantastic and unbeatable range of colours and finishes Disadvantages: Dislike the frost texture, some aren't very long lasting, some can be drying
...of lipsticks and generally speaking, MAC is my go-to brand, due to their vast colour collection and the variety of finishes that they offer. Although Maxfactor's tagline is "The Makeup of Makeup Artists", it would really be better applied to MAC, as I've yet to come across a Makeup Artist who doesn't rave about the range and have a box stocked to the brim with hundreds of pots of MAC colour. The colour is the real selling point of the range: ... ...or wonderful.
MAC lipsticks are generally regarded as their most iconic product and the sheer variety of colours you can choose from is incredible. Fancy a bright orange to be right on trend this season? How about their Morange - a bright orange that looks great against darker skin and yet somehow is very wearable and doesn't leave you looking like a clown! MAC are also renowned for their selection of Dita von Teese-esque reds - from ... more
When it comes to makeup, lipstick has to top the list as my must-have item. I have annoyingly pale lips which look odd against my slightly lighter than olive skin so I need a bit of colour on them to perk up my complexion. My makeup collection consists of lots of lipsticks and generally speaking, MAC is my go-to brand, due to their vast colour collection and the variety of finishes that they offer. Although Maxfactor's tagline is "The Makeup of Makeup Artists", it would really be better applied to MAC, as I've yet to come across a Makeup Artist who doesn't rave about the range and have a box stocked to the brim with hundreds of pots of MAC colour. The colour is the real selling point of the range: unlike other brands, they focus all of their energy on makeup rather than sidelining in skincare, which means that the sheer variety of colour extends to every shade of the rainbow, however weird or wonderful.
MAC lipsticks are generally regarded as their most iconic product and the sheer variety of colours you can choose from is incredible. Fancy a bright orange to be right on trend this season? How about their Morange - a bright orange that looks great against darker skin and yet somehow is very wearable and doesn't leave you looking like a clown! MAC are also renowned for their selection of Dita von Teese-esque reds - from bright scarletts to blue toned reds, to more pinkish reds, there's bound to be a red to work for everyone.
Packaging
The packaging is iconic - a black bullet shaped tube with silver edging. I love that unlike lots of other lipstick cases, these are really durable and don't get scratched when carrying around in your handbag so look just as good when you come to the end of the lipstick as they did at the start. Each lipstick contains 3g of product.
Textures
The lipsticks come in a variety of textures which I find drastically affect how the lipstick performs on the lips:
Matte
Matte, as you would expect, gives a fantastic retro look. The lipstick is highly pigmented and lasts for ages on the lips but I do find the mattes very drying on the lips and if you want a really polished look then a lipliner and primer are great partners for these as they can tend to bleed slightly. I love mattes for my reds as I love the perfectly defined 1940s look - my favourite is Ruby Woo which is the perfect vintage '40s blue based red and so matte it's like scraping chalk against your lips! MAC's lipliner in Cherry is a great match for this.
Satin
Satin is one step up from the matte formula - a semi-matte that is again highly pigmented but has a little more sheen to it to give a more classic rather than retro look. I find these are far less drying than the matte range, lasting just as long and still giving great colour payoff.
Amplified Creams and Cremesheen
The Amplified Creams are lovely - rich, opaque colour and a fantastic creamy texture - and MAC's newest formula, Cremesheen is Amplified Cream's younger sister - slightly more of a modern take on the crème finish with more shine to them. Both the Amplified Creams and the Cremesheen I find are nice and moisturising on the lips and contain wheat germ and olive extract to aid moisture retention. Although the cream finishes feel thick and creamy, they are nice and light on the lips and have a good amount of staying power. My favourite Amplified Creme is Craving, a deep and bold pink.
Glazes and Lustres
The Glaze and Lustre finishes give a high shine finish and a far subtler wash of colour than the other textures. I find the look is more like a cross between a lipstick and a gloss and I love this as I often apply gloss over lipstick anyway. The glazes have no shimmer to them, while the lustres often have a teeny amount of shimmer to them. The Lustre range includes my absolute favourite everyday lipstick shade, Capricious, which is a pinky plum colour with no shimmer. The downside to the glazes and lustres is that the subtler colour and shine finish means that the staying power is not good and I find I need to reapply these probably every hour. They feel nice and moisturising on the lips though, almost like wearing a lip balm.
Frost
Finally the Frost finish. This is my least favourite of the textures as I'm not a fan of lots of shimmer and these have a noticeable level of glitter in them and give a glittery / metallic finish which doesn't work with my skintone. I find these feel odd on the lips, almost gritty, and are not pleasant to wear.
Viva Glam
Back in '94 MAC created the Viva Glam range, which donates 100% of the profits to the MAC AIDS fund. A fabulous idea, some wonderful products, and they always have a celebrity fronting the campaign, which have in the past included celebrities ranging from Pamela Anderson to Dame Edna Everage!
Price and availability
At £12 each, MAC lipsticks fall somewhere in the mid range price wise - more than Bourjois, but less than Dior or Lancome - and I think they are well worth the price. I would avoid buying MAC products from online discount stores or eBay, as there is a huge business in fake premium makeup products and MAC products seem to be more prone to fakes than most. If it's that cheap, it's probably because it's not MAC! I sometimes read negative reviews of MAC products that completely contradict my own experience with the product and you pretty much know that they've used a fake, but for the person who has not used the product before they write it off after this bad experience.
Back to MAC
MAC's Back to MAC program is also a great bonus for me - for every 6 empty MAC items you return to the store, you will get a free lipstick! You can't say fairer than that! My only worry at the moment is that I've heard rumours that MAC's recycling companyin the UK have gone bust and they are gradually trying to withdraw the B2M programme so if you have any empties lying around get them in now!
Ingredients
For those who need to know, the ingredients in MAC lipsticks are: castor oil, trioctydodecyl citrate, glyceryl triacetyl hydroxysterate, candellla wax, octydodecanol, silica, jojoba oil, beeswax, sesame oil, ozokerite, carnauba wax, cetyl ricinoleate, microcrystalline wax, ascorbyl palmitate, tocopherol, vanillin
Summary
As you can probably tell, I love MAC's lipsticks. The sheer range means that there is an endless colour supply and the range of textures means that you can choose finishes that will work for different occasions. I have often spent up to an hour browsing for a certain shade and texture of lipstick and the assistants are always really helpful in my quests for that elusive colour! It's all about experimenting to find the perfect colour and finish for you, and when it comes to lipstick, I love to experiment!
Advantages: lasts well, vivid colour, moisturising Disadvantages: a little pricey
...I went to my nearest MAC store which is in Liverpool's Met Quarter. The staff were extremely helpful and very quick to help me. Staff will also advise on which colours suit your complexion, as well as a variety of other services (such as finding the perfect foundation for your skin tone). The colour is described as a 'clean pastel pink' which it is, with no gloss or shimmer, just bright matte colour (from the Amplified range I believe) and is very ... ...After wearing the lipstick for a few weeks in the day and on nights out I found it to be very long lasting and vibrant. The only small negative point is that as the hours past, the pink seemed to change slightly, getting a little darker. I even woke up the next morning after a night out, still with pink lips! But the colour had darkened slightly. No idea why, but not really something to worry about as you can just reapply whenever necessary. The ...
glamourflage11 30.05.2009
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of MAC Lipstick
Advantages: Huge selection of colours and finishes Disadvantages: Pricey, difficult to see which colour without opening
...adore the full range of mac products. They are all so wonderfully pigmented, and make use of the best ingredients.
PRICING AND PACKAGING/INGREDIENTS
Mac lipsticks cost a somewhat pricey some of £11. However if you take advange of the back to Mac system (whereby you collect 6 glass/plastic mac empties and turn the in for a free lipstick) then you're in heaven! Your only problem would be trying to decide which of the lipsticks you want to try! Each ... ...that you are applying lucious mac to your pouting lips!).
Ingredients include:
castor oil, trioctydodecyl citrate, glyceryl triacetyl hydroxysterate, candellla wax, octydodecanol, silica, jojoba oil, beeswax, sesame oil, ozokerite, carnauba wax, cetyl ricinoleate, microcrystalline wax, ascorbyl palmitate, tocopherol, vanillin
COLOURS
Mac lipsticks are home to one of the greatest colour ranges that I have ever seen in the cosmetic world. With ...
finestimaginary 30.05.2006
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of MAC Lipstick
Advantages: (+) HUGE colour and finish range, more colours in USA (+) sexy packaging (+) recycling scheme (+) lasts Disadvantages: None in particular, heavy price tag but sooo worth it!
...I took them back to MAC to be recycled. I got a lipstick free but this time, I got beige/nude (Blankety) and in a different finish. Again, my lipstick lasted hours at a time.
I have finally fell in love with lipsticks like most women do. MAC not only have a wide colour and finish range, but create lipsticks that last all day. Also, my lips never tried out - despite not using the lipstick primer that I was advised to use to prevent drying lips.
... ...Lustre; Sheer; Satin; Cream; Amplified Creme.
The packaging is, again, simple yet gorgeous and sleek: lipsticks come in a bullet shaped tube which is dark charcoal in colour, silver rim and logo and tiny tiny silver specks throughout the material. They are a typical twist-up design.
I would seriously recommend asking an MUA to give you a mini makeover with a lot of the lipsticks - there are so many colours and finishes, choosing one solely from ...
verna-carina88x 16.07.2007
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of MAC Lipstick
Advantages: Great range of colours, Long lasting, Great colour payoff Disadvantages: Some can dry the lips a little.
MAC themselves admit that their lipsticks are "What Made Them Famous" and I wholeheartedly agree. Besides the huge range of colours and finishes available, it was in 1994 when they released 'Viva Glam' a deep red shade, whose entire selling prices was donated to Men, Woman and Children living with AIDS that people started to sit up and notice the brand. They now have a total of six charity shades, and I'm sure this is part of the reason they have ... ...are many other reasons that MAC Lipsticks have become so popular. As stated before the sheer amount of shades available is probably one of them. Ranging from the deepest, vampiest reds to the palest, baby pinks and everything in between, they really have everything you could ask for. The lipsticks are available in 7 different finishes / textures - Amplified Cream: Creamy, usually opaque shades with a smooth 'buffed' finish. Most are opaque enough ...
mu_reviews4u 25.04.2009
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of MAC Lipstick
Advantages: wide colour range and finishes, vibrant colour, highly pigmented, smooth and non-drying Disadvantages: none
I love MAC lipsticks! I fist discovered them about 4 years ago and haven't looked back since! I do still use other brands like Dior, Lancome, Clinique and Urban Decay, but when I want a nice, vibrant lippy that will stay put, I always go for my MAC!
I own about 30 odd MAC lipsticks and my shades vary from nude, to pinks, purples, reds and the odd blue. I love to experiment with different looks and MAC definitely helps me to achieve that! I often ... ...with the lip glosses that MAC sells, or any other lip gloss really. I always keep a tube of the clear lip gloss handy as it adds a beautiful shine to the lipstick to give it some variation, or I even like to layer on a complimenting or different shade of lipglass to give it more depth and dimension.
I highly recommend these lipsticks as they are the most vibrant kinds on the market, if that is what you require. They don't feel sticky, drying or ...
princesshotpants 11.10.2008
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of MAC Lipstick
Gloss?
Frequency of Reapplicat...
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MAClipsticks are probably the most famous item of their massive makeup range and the one item that you instantly think of when someone mentions MAC. My makeup collection consists of lots of lipsticks and generally speaking, MAC is my go-to brand, due to their vast colour collection and the variety of finishes that they offer. Although Maxfactor's tagline is "The Makeup of Makeup Artists", it would really be better applied to MAC, as I've yet to come across a Makeup Artist who doesn't rave about the range and have a box stocked to the brim with hundreds of pots of MAC colour. The colour is the real selling point of the range: unlike other brands, they focus all of their energy on makeup rather than sidelining in skincare, which means that the sheer variety of colour extends to every shade of the rainbow, however weird or wonderful.
When ...
