MAC Midnight Media Mattene + MAC Blackfire Glimmerglass

Pucker Up: Glitzy Midnight Media

Again, applying MAC’s Midnight Media Mattene does yield better results when used with a lip brush than straight outta the tube. (To reiterate:  it’s important to know that distinction–you want to know just how much work you have to put in to get what you want out of a product.) Like Black Knight, this color took about five minutes to layer on to my satisfaction, but it never quite gave the color opaqueness I was after.  It always looked a little faded.

Everything that can be said about Midnight Media, I already said in my Black as Knight post (which is right below this one, so I don’t want to just regurgitate it).  It is necessary to point out that Midnight Media isn’t a true black lip color; it is near-black, but there is burgundy in it, which is noticeable.

I liked this combination better, because I felt like both products worked well together.  The burgundy-ish tone from the mattene was emphasized and played up by the red shimmer in Blackfire.  The glossiness of Blackfire helped to minimize some of the imperfections of the mattene alone.  (Seriously, totally exfoliated my lips right before putting it on — why so clumpy?)

Bottom Line: Apply a thin layer of concealer or foundation (or MAC Lip Erase, which serves the same purpose) to lips. This helps to neutralize your natural lip color and make whatever you’re applying much more pigmented, but it also evens out the surface a little more and adds a dry layer.  Midnight Media isn’t totally opaque, so the concealer base will help the color pop more. Use either a very dark or a clear lip liner all around the edges of the lips to help prevent the intense color from bleeding. Then, apply Midnight Media using a lip brush. Layer until satisfied. Be cautious when applying gloss, because the gloss tends to shift the color around in a slip-slide fashion.

See progression…

MAC Midnight Media Mattene

MAC Midnight Media Mattene + MAC Blackfire Glimmerglass

MAC Style Black: Glimmerglass Review, Swatches, Lip Swatches

MAC Style Black is a deep, dark collection with the rich tones of black as inspiration.  MAC introduces a new lipgloss formula, Glimmerglass, and launches three shades:  Blackware, Bling Black, and Blackfire.

Glimmerglass

• Blackware is a sheer gray-black tinged gloss.  It is a creamy finish with no real shimmer.
• Bling Black is a sheer black that casts a little green from the gold-green-olive shimmer.
• Blackfire is a sheer black that casts slightly burgundy, which probably comes from the burgundy-red shimmer.

All three shades are incredibly sheer and not even close to being opaque.  The only way to get something more than sheer is to layer with a base lip color or to really slather on the gloss (which doesn’t work well either).  It’s a thick, jelly-textured lipgloss with a non-sticky feel.  These feel thicker than cremesheen glass and nowhere near as gritty as dazzleglass.  I liked Bling Black the most, because I felt like the green-gold cast was different and fun to see.

• Product: 8/10
• Value: 8/10
• Ease of Use: 9/10
• Packaging: 8/10

Recommendation:  Gloss fiends will likely enjoy this non-sticky new gloss from MAC.  They’re not the best in value relative to other MAC glosses, but they’re not out of line with other competing brands.

Availability: MAC Cosmetics

See more photos, swatches, and lip swatches…

MAC Blackware Glimmerglass, Bling Black Glimmerglass, Blackfire Glimmerglass

Swatches: Blackware Glimmerglass, Bling Black Glimmerglass, Blackfire Glimmerglass

Blackware Glimmerglass

Bling Black Glimmerglass

Blackfire Glimmerglass

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