MAC Embrace Me Lip Pencil ($15.00 for 0.05 oz.) is described as a “vivid pinkish fuchsia.” It’s a bold, bright fuchsia pink with a matte finish and blue undertones. I couldn’t think of a dupe for this, but if you have any ideas, I’d love to hear from you! This shade was also launched twice previously–first in 2011 with Tour de Fabulous and then re-released with MAC for Beth Ditto.
I was able to apply this shade evenly and also with mostly opaque color coverage. The consistency wasn’t as creamy as I would like, so it did still pull and tug at the lips. It requires a lot of back and forth motions to color in the entire lip with it. MAC’s Lip Pencils can wear like iron on me–six hours or longer, no problem–but are very drying when worn alone. I find that I have to wear them underneath a lipstick or gloss to make them tolerable.
MAC's Lip Pencil lacks creaminess, so it can be hard to apply evenly and smoothly (and it can be rough on lips, as it tugs and drags a lot). If you only intend to line the outer edges, then it is a lot less painful to use.
Product
7.5/10
Pigmentation
9.5/10
Texture
7.5/10
Longevity
10/10
Application
4/5
Login or Register to be able to add this to your Vanity or Wishlist! Plus rate and review!
Where to Buy
This product can be purchased at the following retailers:
Sometimes products are discontinued or limited edition, which means that a product may no longer be available at one or more retailers so you may need to shop around for those hard-to-find shades! We try to update products as they become discontinued, and if you discover a product has been discontinued, please help us help others by letting us know.
Disclosure: Temptalia uses affiliate links, which give us a small commission when you make a purchase (given to us by the retailer, at no cost to you). Your purchases help to support the site!
MAC Embrace Me Lipstick ($15.00 for 0.10 oz.) is described as “bright fuchsia cream.” It’s a medium-dark fuchsia pink with blue undertones and a satiny finish (almost like a matte with a hint shimmer). There are a lot of shades that are similar to this–and unsurprisingly, MAC makes most of them, but Maybelline Fuchsia Flash is just a touch less blue-based and has a glossier finish but is otherwise very similar. MAC Pink Pigeon is a touch darker. MAC Daddy’s Little Girl is less bright, slightly more magenta. MAC Candy Yum Yum is brighter, cooler-toned. MAC Dear Diary is a touch bluer-based. MAC Quick Sizzle is darker, pinker.
It applied with rich, opaque color, and it was lightly creamy but less so than other recent matte lipsticks that MAC has released. It didn’t tug exactly, but it just didn’t glide on as well. I tested this shade yesterday as my last of the day, and it wore for five and a half hours well, and then a stain lingered for another hour so. It was neither drying nor hydrating. Because it does have more of a matte finish, make sure you’ve hydrated and exfoliated your lips prior to applying and wearing this shade.
Sometimes products are discontinued or limited edition, which means that a product may no longer be available at one or more retailers so you may need to shop around for those hard-to-find shades! We try to update products as they become discontinued, and if you discover a product has been discontinued, please help us help others by letting us know.
Disclosure: Temptalia uses affiliate links, which give us a small commission when you make a purchase (given to us by the retailer, at no cost to you). Your purchases help to support the site!
It has good color payoff in a single stroke, and it is certainly buildable and yields a fair amount of color. The problem is the texture of the lip pencils is rather dry, so it can be hard to get even, opaque color on the lips. I just find the formula drags and tugs and pulls – I feel like I have to press so hard to deposit the color. I was able to apply this one enough that it looked mostly even, but it definitely took some doing to get it there. My experience with MAC’s Lip Pencils is that they tend to be rather drying when worn alone, but they work better when used underneath another lipstick or gloss to either prolong the wear or add oomph.
I just find the formula drags and tugs and pulls - I feel like I have to press so hard to deposit the color. I was able to apply this one enough that it looked mostly even, but it definitely took some doing to get it there.
Product
7.5/10
Pigmentation
9.5/10
Texture
7/10
Longevity
10/10
Application
3.5/5
Login or Register to be able to add this to your Vanity or Wishlist! Plus rate and review!
Where to Buy
This product can be purchased at the following retailers:
Sometimes products are discontinued or limited edition, which means that a product may no longer be available at one or more retailers so you may need to shop around for those hard-to-find shades! We try to update products as they become discontinued, and if you discover a product has been discontinued, please help us help others by letting us know.
Disclosure: Temptalia uses affiliate links, which give us a small commission when you make a purchase (given to us by the retailer, at no cost to you). Your purchases help to support the site!
This is such a lovely gloss from MAC–it had mostly opaque color coverage, but more importantly, it applied beautifully. The color went on evenly and didn’t bunch up on itself or slide around too much. It also seemed glossier than the average Lipglass. It’s a darker, deeper orange, so it doesn’t look neon, but it is still a bolder shade selection. I’m testing this shade right now, and we’re almost at the three-hour mark; based on how it’s wearing, it looks like it will last around four hours (typical of MAC Lipglass).
This is such a lovely gloss from MAC--it had mostly opaque color coverage, but more importantly, it applied beautifully. It is more orange than the lipstick, though!
Product
9/10
Pigmentation
10/10
Texture
9/10
Longevity
8.5/10
Application
4.5/5
Login or Register to be able to add this to your Vanity or Wishlist! Plus rate and review!
Where to Buy
This product can be purchased at the following retailers:
Sometimes products are discontinued or limited edition, which means that a product may no longer be available at one or more retailers so you may need to shop around for those hard-to-find shades! We try to update products as they become discontinued, and if you discover a product has been discontinued, please help us help others by letting us know.
Disclosure: Temptalia uses affiliate links, which give us a small commission when you make a purchase (given to us by the retailer, at no cost to you). Your purchases help to support the site!
MAC Ablaze Lipstick ($15.00 for 0.10 oz.) is described as a “bright apricot cream.” It’s a medium-dark coral-red with a barely-there sheen (not quite a flat matte). I actually think it looks very much like MAC Lady at Play, and if there was any detectable difference, it would be that Lady at Play is ever-so-slightly lighter (and of course, it has a more luminous finish). Guerlain Nahema is pinker, more subdued, shimmery. MAC Watch Me Simmer is pinker. MAC Hibiscus is redder, darker, shimmery. Wet ‘n’ Wild #909D is slightly darker. MAC Toxic Tale is a smidgen darker but very similar.
It’s bold and bright but not neon–there is a lightness to it. Ablaze had rich, opaque color coverage. Though it’s technically a matte finish, it felt more like a satin or amplified creme finish–creamy without being thick or slick, so it applied evenly, smoothly, and didn’t tug or pull at the lips. I tested this one first thing, and it lasted five hours well and did leave a very subtle reddish stain behind. It was, unfortunately, a bit drying but not terribly so.
Ablaze had fantastic color payoff, but it was slightly drying when I wore it, which was disappointing. MAC's Lady at Play is very close in color but a more hydrating formula.
Product
8.5/10
Pigmentation
10/10
Texture
9.5/10
Longevity
9.5/10
Application
5/5
Login or Register to be able to add this to your Vanity or Wishlist! Plus rate and review!
Where to Buy
This product can be purchased at the following retailers:
Sometimes products are discontinued or limited edition, which means that a product may no longer be available at one or more retailers so you may need to shop around for those hard-to-find shades! We try to update products as they become discontinued, and if you discover a product has been discontinued, please help us help others by letting us know.
Disclosure: Temptalia uses affiliate links, which give us a small commission when you make a purchase (given to us by the retailer, at no cost to you). Your purchases help to support the site!
MAC Heroine Lip Pencil ($15.00 for 0.05 oz.) is described as a “bright purple.” It’s a magenta purple with a matte finish. I’m not as familiar with lip pencils as I am with other lip products. I don’t have it, but from what I remember, MAC Magenta should be somewhat similar–perhaps a bit purpler, rather than as red as Heroine. If you know of any potential dupes, feel free to sound off in the comments!
It had excellent color payoff, even in a single pass, and it applied mostly evenly. It was the creamiest of the four pencils released in Fashion Sets, but it’s not my favorite lip pencil formula just because it pulls and drags on the lips. I usually save lip pencils for the end of a swatch session, because they’re rather rough on lips. This was the last shade I swatched from the collection, and it really was creamier than the others. It is a really good match for the lipstick, though, and if I had to say they differed in any way it would be that the pencil pulls redder. MAC’s Lip Pencils wear like iron normally, but they’re uncomfortable and drying over time–underneath a lipstick, I don’t experience these issues, but alone, I can’t wear them without paying for it later.
The formula is easiest to use if you're only lining the outer edge of lips, but if you want to fill them in entirely, it's best used underneath a more opaque lipstick (and preferably, one that is slightly hydrating!).
Product
7.5/10
Pigmentation
9/10
Texture
8/10
Longevity
10/10
Application
4/5
Login or Register to be able to add this to your Vanity or Wishlist! Plus rate and review!
Where to Buy
This product can be purchased at the following retailers:
Sometimes products are discontinued or limited edition, which means that a product may no longer be available at one or more retailers so you may need to shop around for those hard-to-find shades! We try to update products as they become discontinued, and if you discover a product has been discontinued, please help us help others by letting us know.
Disclosure: Temptalia uses affiliate links, which give us a small commission when you make a purchase (given to us by the retailer, at no cost to you). Your purchases help to support the site!
