Hello!
Confused at the counter? Don’t worry, I’ve tried my best to give you a guide to each finish and a few swatches of my own M.A.C lipstick collection and honestly, It’s pretty simple really.
In order of how pigmented the finishes are from least to greatest:
1. Glaze
The only finish I didn’t purchase any lipsticks from. Why? Little to no color pay off and a quiet sheen. It’s too sheer, it’s a bit useless actually but it does have a bit of moisturizing power. It’s like a tinted moisturiser. They look hot in the tube but it’s like the chiffon on top, maybe its that lipstick you use when you don’t want to wear anything that day and just want a little boost or as an addition to another lip color. Here’s a swatch from (www.beautyliciouslove.com), an external blog so you get what I mean:
& honestly, looking at this swatch, she must have ran the lipstick a few times on her hand for that amount of colour. A sheer glaze if you’re up for it.
2. Lustre
The Lustre finish is a step up in pigmentation if you compare it to the glaze and I love this finish. I own three – Syrup, Sweetie and the much loved Plink! You’re still talking sheer but you can see colour. A bit like the glaze, your lips will still have a shine to it so if you’re not up to a moist look, this isn’t probably for you. I love the feeling, smooth, easy to apply and moisturising. Great for everyday wear.
Sweetie is like a rosy color with purple undertones, I know weird, but it’s a great color if you’re talking fall & winter and I have received so many compliments for wearing it. One of my favourites.
I was recommended Syrup by the MAC artist if I liked the blush in blushbaby. Well, that’s a seller since that is one of my favourite blushes but the lipstick color is alright. Sometimes I’m afraid to use it because it looks a little too purple in some lightings, but in others, it looks like the picture I swatched. A warm syrupy pink.
Plink! is a pearlescent pink, the sheerest of all but it gives that really natural soft chiffon look if you’re going for that. It does have a silver sheen to it when you tilt your lips to the side. A good colour, but not an absolute cult product.
3. Frost
Frost lipsticks are here to give you a medium color payoff, level up in pigmentation for sure. You’re talking glitter, pearled, chrome or iridescence and semi-metallic depending on the lipstick. I do like the feeling of these lipsticks and its a bit creamier than the lustre finish. Metallic.
Angel is a weird one because it’s best for pink undertones because it does have a little bit of a blue undertone but it makes for a good nude pink. A must have by allthatglitters21, or Elle on Youtube, I got it. I like it sometimes. It’s one of those lipsticks that you like sometimes but other times when you look in the mirror, you think..what was I thinkin?
Colour me Coral is one of the limited editions from the Spring Color Forecast. The most metallic frost of my collection and one of my least used ones. A metal peach.
4. Cremesheen
This is a bit drying. Beautiful color payoff, but it’s not something I’d like to whip on and feel nothing on my lips because you do. And throughout the day the lipstick can stick into your fine lines and it might be a bit drying. It’s creamy for a bit and then it dries. I don’t exactly like the finish of this lipstick, I do like the color, Shy Girl though.
Shy Girl is a beautiful neutral pink and peach lipstick, great for everyday but just know that it is a cremesheen finish and it’s not going to be super moisturizing like the lustre is. I do like this colour and I do intend to keep it in my collection but it’s not something I would repurchase.
5. Satin
Dislike. Beautiful finish but its one of those finishes that really like the lines after a while. Great colour payoff and it’s a step up in the shine factor from Matte..which has no shine factor whatsoever. Not something I look forward to keeping on me the whole day and staying perfect. It becomes a little drying and sinks into my lines before my next trip to the restroom to rub the stuff off and put another on.
Brave is a neutral brick brown, very similar to YSL Beige Ultime if I may say so myself.
6. Matte
Beautiful. I thought these babies were going to be ultra drying, even seeing them on the MAC rack made me cautious because I thought they were going to be the most drying. Well I expected wrongly, it feels creamy when applied and dries to a powdery finish. It’s very very pigmented and the fact that it’s matte makes the colour seem somewhat more natural and part of your face than if you were to put a gloss over it. I love this finish but beware that it doesn’t dry too pretty after a while but the staying power is more than average.
Kinda Sexy is a peach matte. I used this for my Lost in Atlantis Tutorial. Absolutely love this colour, great for everyday or that poster finish.
I don’t like this colour, they should call it Purple Plaid rather than Pink Plaid. Looks purple at home, not at the MAC store, period.
Please Me is one of my favourites. Beautiful cloud 9 pink in matte so it looks like its part of your face. Natural but pigmented.
7. Amplified
The pigmented of the pigmented, and very creamy. This is the stuff that you use if you want a wicked colour boost especially for a photoshoot I reckon. Very long lasting power, probably due to the fact that it might stain your lips after a while. Its hard to apply too, so pigmented that you should use a lip brush, applying it with the tube makes it difficult to manoeuvre around your lip contours and the pigmentation makes your mistakes obvious. Great for a night out, I reckon.
Dark Side was use for the Prada Fashion Shows that MAC did the makeup for as said by my sales assistant. You usually just lightly tap the colour onto your lips for a deeper lip stain. I do like it, great for fall and winter and I can use it for a standard red lip.
So, I hope it’s now less confusing for you to approach that MAC counter! Do I rec you getting MAC lipsticks? Honestly, there’s better out there and it might just be a big youtube hype, but if you want it, get it. The decision is ultimately yours.
I needs to go sleep now, Good Luck!
xx Roseanne