MAC Quite Cute: Overall & Recommendations

OVERALL, Quite Cute is a cool-toned, pastel-themed collection that will prove tricky for those with warmer and/or darker complexions.  The lipsticks, nail lacquers, and plushglasses are the better products from the collection, based on quality, with Playing Koi being a total miss within the lipsticks launched (very dry, clingy texture).  Plushglasses are relatively sheer, as designed to be, and so they’re easier to wear and more suitable across skin tones than some of the other products from Quite Cute.  I found the mineralize blushes from this launch rather powdery, and combined with the pastel color palette, the blush can easily look more powdery and almost ashy on medium to dark complexions.

On the surface, Quite Cute is reminiscent of Sugarsweet, but this launch lacks balance.  Too many pastels, too many cool-toned colors without brighter, warmer, or contrasting colors to support the color palette of Quite Cute.  This collection will best suit those with paler skin tones, because pigmentation is lower overall, and then naturally, cooler undertones will find this more flattering than warmer skin tones.  Please understand that by no means am I saying warmer or medium/dark skin tones cannot wear this collection–but you may find it less flattering right out of the box and need to figure out how to pair it and with what–most likely products outside of the collection.  I’m a firm believer in anyone can wear any color–it’s about having confidence and how you wear it that matters.

If you love pastels, I think you may still like this collection–but the quality seems lower here and makes this a less-than-impressive collection.

Photos, Reviews, Swatches

• Blushes: Giggly, Miss Behave, Sakura
• Cutie Eyeshadow Quad
• Lip Pencils
• Lipsticks
• Nail Lacquers
• Plushglasses
• Video Review

Check out recommendations, what to check your stash for, what to skip, and recommendations by skin tone!

Temptalia’s Recommendations

must-haves: In Synch lip pencil

nice-to-haves: Candy Yum Yum, Playtime lipstick

skip: Cutie Eyeshadow Quad (poor quality)

Check your stash for…

SAINT GERMAIN (permanent), BOLDLY BARE (repromote)
IN SYNC (repromote)
NAKED (repromote).

Skip if you have…

• Skip I LOVE U if you have EVER SO RICH; the former is slightly more pigmented but they are similar.
• Skip PLAYTIME if you have STYLE CURVE; though slightly different, they are comparable enough.
• Skip LITTLE GIRL TYPE if you have CHINA GLAZE LIGHT AS AIR; they’re very similar.

Recommendations by Skin Tone

Please note that this section is merely suggesting shades that would complement a particular skin tone better than other shades, but these lists are meant to be rather exhaustive of the entire collection; it’s not reflective of must-haves for your skin tone or products recommended to purchase at all. When it comes to cooler/warmer skin tones, these are products that lean noticeably cool/warm and therefore complement the corresponding skin tone better (but it does not mean you can’t wear a warmer product if you’re cooler!).

• light skin tones: Playing Koi, Saint Germain, Quite Cute lipsticks; Girl Loves Boy, I Love You plushglasses; Cutie Eyeshadow Quad; Sakura blush
• medium skin tones: Giggly blush;
• dark skin tones: Giggly blush
• cool undertones: Saint Germain, Quite Cute lipsticks; Girl Loves Boy, I Love You plushglasses; Cutie Eyeshadow Quad; Sakura blush; Ice Cream Cake, Little Girl Type, Mischievous nail lacquers;
• warm undertones: Giggly blush; Mischievous nail lacquer;
• universally flattering shades: Candy Yum Yum, Play Time lipsticks; Miss Behave blush; Bubble Tea, Fashion Fanatic plushglasses; Boldly Bare, In Sync, Naked lip pencils;