MAC Spice Lip Liner

Author's product rating:   

Gloss?
Frequency of Reapplication

Advantages:	Goes with any lipstick no animal testing
Disadvantages:	Price could put some off

Recommend to potential buyers:

yes

Full review

I’ve got a secret confession to make…promise you won’t tell anyone? I’m a make-upaholic. This is my story…

About 4 years ago I read in a magazine about the celebrities’ favourite lip-liner - Mac Spice. My Miss Selfridge nude liner had died a sad and mouldy death at the bottom of my make-up bag and I decided to treat myself. Such was my entry into the wonderful world of expensive cosmetics.

I nervously wandered through the glass doors of Harvey Nicks in Leeds and ventured to the Mac counter, not knowing what to expect. The sleek black Mac area glared at me, its lipsticks, glosses, polishes and shadows in iridescent hues staring at me from the counter. I glanced about for the lip-liner and couldn’t find it amongst all the many shades of pencils on display.

Sensing my confusion a tall assistant dressed in black swept towards me.
“Can I help you?” she asked in a friendly and reassuring voice. I told her what I had come in for and she quickly found it for me. Encouraging me to test it and check it was the right shade for me. She did not try to sell me anything else, nor did she push me into a sale. Smiling I parted with the princely sum of £9.00 and left with my smart new lip pencil, encased in it’s tall black box, secure in a smart plastic bag.

I bought my Spice lip liner after reading about it in a magazine (can you see a pattern forming?). It claimed to be a natural lip liner, the only one you will ever need. The lip-liner that will go with anything.

The wrapping

Oh… the breaking point of many a make-upaholic. The packaging. The packaging of Mac products scream chic, in their matte black boxes and see through bags. And, surprisingly, The products themselves live up to their reputation; you can see why so many designers use them at their shows. The lip pencils come in a long, thin, black box, about 16cm long. They have the colour of the pencil at one end, handy if you (can afford to) have more than one! The box has the word MAC in big letters on the from and the product name and weight, 1.45g underneath. The name of the colour is on the end of the box, the end with the coloured block.

The pencil itself is long, about 15cm in length, which means it does not fit easily into small, handbag make-up bags. I like the fact that Mac lip liners are longer than other brands, the length of a real pencil. The pencil tube is silver in colour with the shade in a coloured block at the end. Again it says MAC, the weight and made in Germany on the tube.

The pencil in use

The consistency of the pencil is very good, it does not melt too much, nor is it hard and scratchy. A quick roll on the palm is enough to melt it to the right texture. Apparently it says on the Mac website (www.maccosmetics.com, purchase only in the US) that “The colour of Lip Pencils is protected by Vitamin E, which acts as an anti-oxidant, and they contain emollients that moisturise the lips.” I find these pencils less dry than other, cheaper lip-liners but if it is worn on it’s own it is still too dry and gives your lips that ‘puckered’ look rather than a smooth plump look. It really does need to be worn with lipstick, gloss or a slick of Vaseline.

On the subject of usage. The lip liner does go with practically any shade, it works well applied sharp with nude lipstick, and it also looks good applied and then smudged with a cotton bud with red or a berry shade. It really does even out your lip-line without looking like you are wearing lip liner. I tend to wear it applied all over my lips with lip gloss or, more often, Vaseline on top. I really like the neutral shade.

Where to buy

I buy my Mac from Harvey Nichols in Leeds but you can also buy in in Selfridges. If you are in the US you can buy from the website (as mentioned above) however, us in the UK can’t currently buy from there. The website is an excellent resource for looking at the colours and products that they have in their ranges.

About Mac: Animal testing policy

Mac is an American company. I know this worries many people as the US don’t have the same animal cruelty policies as we do. However Mac state on their website that they are cruelty free and do not test their products on animals. They claim to use tests such as in-vitro human skin and eye models
“In these methods, tiny samples of viable skin cells are used to evaluate the potential for both skin and eye irritation. The models are good indicators of how human skin and eyes will react to a substance.” (Mac website, see their FAQ for more details)

The MAC AIDs fund also supports people living with HIV/ AIDS globally through the sale of their ‘viva glam’ lipstick, produced once a year. Every penny of the sale of these lipsticks goes to the AIDS Fund. For more information, and a list of whom they support see the website.

Worth the money?

But was it worth the money? I think so, I have not had to buy another in four years and it has become my only lip-liner. I don’t need to sharpen It very often because of it’s consistency and so I have only actually used 2cm of it. I do only use it 1-2 times a week though because despite being a make-upaholic, I don’t actually wear make-up that often! (it disturbs the kids if they see anything new!)

Personally I think that if you want a lip liner that you can use with anything, on its own or with a range of shades, then it is worth splashing out on this one. In my opinion it’s worth every penny.

This was the product that led to my expensive make-up habit. I’m now such a regular at HN in Leeds that the assistants know what I like…it does lead to loads of freebies though!