Temptalia

MAC Styleseeker Nail Lacquers Review, Photos, Swatches

Christine — Sat, 18 Aug 2012 10:00:17 +0000

MAC Gadabout Girl Nail Lacquer

Three Nail Lacquers for Style Seekers

MAC Styleseeker Nail Lacquers ($16.00 for 0.34 fl. oz.) come in three shades: Gadabout Girl (blackened plum), Mean & Green (purple with teal multi-changing pearl), and Styleseeker (duochrome orange-red). Quick note: the press release indicates these are $16, and normal polish price is $16 at MAC, but online, these three are listed at $15.

Gadabout Girl is a deep blackened burgundy with a hint of purple. The color wasn’t completely opaque after two coats, mostly because it had some streakiness, so the color just wasn’t even everywhere. As you can see, there’s no real visible nail line, but it’s not opaque. The formula was thin. China Glaze Urban Night is lighter, more eggplant-purple. Rescue Beauty Lounge Recherche is cooler-toned. Rescue Beauty Lounge Atame is redder/browner in tone. Rescue Beauty Lounge Moulin Rouge is very similar but applies more opaque. Deborah Lipmann Single Ladies is redder. MAC Blueblood was rather close. China Glaze Velvet Bow is redder. Urban Decay Wrecked is a smidgen redder. MAC Purple Majesty is very similar. Zoya Anja is rather close. Rescue Beauty Lounge Drifter is also quite similar.

Mean & Green has a murky blackened olive base color with green and purple sparkle/micro-glitter. It has a duochrome, so it flashes from pink-purple to olive-green. This shade was originally released with Venomous Villains (which is the bottle I swatched here), and it has since been added to the permanent range. It wasn’t quite opaque after two coats. Orly Space Cadet is exactly the same.

Styleseeker is a rich orange-red with metallic threads of ruby shimmer. The duochrome on this is very subtle, and that’s partially because the colors are just so similar that it’s hard to see. It’s no Bad Fairy. There are some noticeable brush strokes, but they’re subtle, and it was opaque after two coats. It has a longer drying time. Nubar Bronzo is darker. I think Nubar might have a dupe of this, as they have several duochromes, but I wasn’t able to remember/find the shade that I’m thinking of.

Mean & Green is now part of the permanent range, so you don’t have to rush out to get it. Gadabout Girl seems extremely dupeable, so it’s not a shade that seems worth dealing with a thin formula for. Styleseeker was the best overall and the shade I couldn’t think of a great dupe for. I typically get a week of wear with no chipping and just minor tip wear with MAC’s formula. MAC’s polishes are more expensive than they seem they should be (for a mid-end brand), especially since you only get 0.34 fl. oz.

The Glossover

	MAC Styleseeker Nail Lacquers Review, Photos, Swatches B+
	Mean & Green is now part of the permanent range, so you don't have to rush out to get it. Gadabout Girl seems extremely dupeable, so it's not a shade that seems worth dealing with a thin formula for. Styleseeker was the best overall and the shade I couldn't think of a great dupe for.
	Product 8.5/10 Pigmentation 9/10 Texture 9/10 Longevity 9/10 Application 4/5

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MAC Gadabout Girl Nail Lacquer

MAC Mean & Green Nail Lacquer

MAC Styleseeker Nail Lacquer

MAC Nail Lacquers – Preview Photos & Swatches

Christine — Thu, 21 Jun 2012 13:00:17 +0000

MAC Nail Lacquers

MAC Nail Lacquers — Preview Photos & Swatches

MAC Nail Lacquers ($16.00 for 0.34 fl. oz.) has thirty-one new (well, some newer than others) shades being added to the permanent range. I don’t have any of the brand spankin’ new ones to share with you, but I did receive a press kit that included a set of swatches on plastic nails. Since I didn’t do the swatching, I have no idea how many coats were used or anything like that. As soon as I’m able to purchase the polishes, I’ll do so and have swatches for you at that time. For official descriptions, please see this post. For now, here are my descriptions of them based on the included swatches:

Deep Sea is a deep, dark blue-teal with a hint of green. It has a cream finish. I reviewed it here when it first released.
Midnight Tryst is a bluish gunmetal gray with fine teal and silver micro-shimmer–there appears to be some brushstrokes in the swatch. This is a new shade.
Formidable is a dark purpled burgundy base with a duochrome of blue-teal to fuchsia-purple. It has a pearl finish. I reviewed it here when it first released.
Mean & Green is a dark olive green base with a duochrome of rosy plum to golden olive green. It has a pearl finish. I reviewed it here when it first released.
Vintage Vamp is a dark burgundy-red cream. It has a cream finish. I reviewed it here when it came out during the holidays.
Rougemarie is a medium-dark blue-based red. It has a cream finish. I believe this was always part of the permanent range, but I don’t think I have it.
Flaming Rose is a brightened medium red with a cream finish. This is a new shade.
Sparks on Screen is a red glitter polish with multi-sized particles of ruby red, crimson, and lighter red. It has a pearl finish. It is a new shade.
Shirelle is a brightened orange-red cream. I believe this was always part of the permanent range, but I don’t think I own it.
Impassioned is an orange-coral with a cream finish. I reviewed it here, though it seems slightly pinker on the plastic nail (my natural undertones could make a color appear more or less warm). I’ll have to pick up a new bottle to see how they compare.
Morange is a brightened medium orange with a cream finish. I reviewed it here.
Fiestaware is a lightened tangerine orange with a cream finish. I reviewed it here.
Soiree is a champagne and copper shimmered shade with a frost finish. I reviewed it here.
Skin is a light peach-orange with a cream finish. This is a new shade.
Faint of Heart is a soft ivory with a hint of warmth. It has a cream finish. This is a new shade.
Delicate is a pale white-pink with a cream finish. I reviewed it here.
Snob is a slightly warm, mostly neutral light-medium pink with a jelly-like finish (but it is a cream finish). I reviewed it here.
Girl Trouble is a silvered, pale purple with a pearl finish. This is a new shade.
Screaming Bright is a muted metallic gold-champagne–possibly a little pewter. This is a new shade.
Saint Germain is a light-medium pink with blue undertones. I reviewed it here.
Steamy is a medium-dark blue-based pink with a cream finish. I believe this has been part of the permanent range for sometime, but I haven’t reviewed it previously.
Girl About Town is a rich, nearly-neon fuchsia pink with blue undertones. It has a cream finish. I reviewed it here.
Quiet Time is a gray–tinted light-medium beige with a cream finish. I reviewed it here.
Coffee Break is a medium-dark gray-tinted brown with a cream finish. This is a new shade.
Anti-Fashion is a subdued, smoky purple with subtle red-brown undertones. It has a frost finish. This is a new shade.
Dark Angel is a deep purple with red undertones and a cream finish. I reviewed it here.
Spirit of Truth is a brightened navy blue with a cream finish. I reviewed it here.
Discotheque is a metallic light silver with silver shimmer. It has a pearl finish. This is a new shade.
Nightfall is a dark, gunmetal gray with silver shimmer. It has a frost finish. This was released previously, but I don’t think I have it.
Nocturnelle is a glossy black cream. I reviewed it here previously.

Some MAC nail lacquers are great, while others are less stellar (some being notorious for poor application). The majority of these shades, from what I remember, were easy enough to apply. I know the lacquers from the recent Fashion Sets collection were fairly good overall. Formidable and Mean & Green were two highly coveted shades from MAC’s Venomous Villains collection, even though both have several exact dupes on the market (Bad Fairy was the harder one to dupe).

I think the biggest issue I have with MAC’s nail lacquers is that they’re priced as if the brand were high-end, rather than mid-end. For example, NARS’ lacquers are $18 a pop, while their lipsticks are $24–MAC’s lacquers are $16 a pop, while their lipsticks are $14.50. Additionally, most high-end nail brands still give you 0.50 fl. oz., but MAC bottles contain only 0.34 fl. oz., so you’re really getting squeezed on both ends. For some reason, the price of MAC’s nail lacquers seems to have accelerated far faster than the rest of their product’s price tags. So without a stellar formula, they’re absolutely not worth it. If the formula is on point and the color up your alley, they’re certainly worth a look.

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MAC Nail Lacquers

MAC Nail Lacquers: Deep Sea, Midnight Tryst, Formidable, Mean & Green, Vintage Vamp

MAC Nail Lacquers: Vintage Vamp, Mean & Green, Formidable, Midnight Tryst, Deep Sea

MAC Nail Lacquers: Vintage Vamp, Rougemarie, Flaming Rose, Sparks on Screen, Shirelle

MAC Nail Lacquers: Shirelle, Sparks on Screen, Flaming Rose, Rougemarie, Vintage Vamp

MAC Nail Lacquers: Shirelle, Impassioned, Morange, Fiestaware, Soiree

MAC Nail Lacquers: Fiestaware, Morange, Impassioned, Shirelle, Sparks on Screen

MAC Nail Lacquers: Morange, Fiestaware, Soiree, Skin, Faint of Heart

MAC Nail Lacquers: Faint of Heart, Skin, Soiree, Fiestaware, Morange

MAC Nail Lacquers: Delicate, Snob, Girl Trouble, Saint Germain, Steamy

MAC Nail Lacquers: Girl About Town, Screaming Bright, Quiet Time, Coffee Break, Anti-Fashion

MAC Nail Lacquers: Steamy, Girl About Town, Screaming Bright, Quiet Time

MAC Nail Lacquers: Coffee Break, Anti-Fashion, Dark Angel, Spirit of Truth, Discotheque

MAC Nail Lacquers: Quiet Time, Coffee Break, Anti-Fashion, Dark Angel, Spirit of Truth

MAC Nail Lacquers: Dark Angel, Spirit of Truth, DIscotheque, Nightfall, Nocturnelle

MAC Nail Lacquers: Anti-Fashion, Dark Angel, Spirit of Truth, DIscotheque, Nightfall, Nocturnelle

MAC Venomous Villains: Maleficent Review, Photos, Swatches

Christine — Sun, 15 Aug 2010 04:05:50 +0000

MAC Disney Venomous Villains Collection: Maleficent Review, Photos, Swatches

As we continue on, we move to Maleficent‘s (from Sleepy Beauty) “collection,” which includes two mineralize eyeshadow duos, two lipsticks, two lipglasses, one beauty powder, and three nail lacquers.

All of the character images are stamped on the products; they are not stickers. You can find official promotional imagery and color descriptions here. The collection launches on September 30th, 2010 at all MAC locations, October 2010 internationally, and approximately September 28th for online. You may also want to check your local store to see if they are holding an unveiling/preview party for the collection.

Lipglass ($15.50 U.S. / $18.50 CDN)

Revenge is Sweet is a sheer, jelly-ish medium pink with fuchsia micro-shimmer. It has a very wet look to it but seems to settle into lip lines.
Wrong Spell is a semi-sheer, burnt burgundy with pinky-plum and copper shimmer. I thought Liqueur was similar, but it’s much, much lighter and bronze, not burgundy.

Lipstick ($15.50 U.S. / $18.50 CDN)

Violetta is a brightened fuchsia-violet with an amplified finish. This is a PRO color.
Dark Deed is a darkened blood red with blackish-brown with an amplified finish. It’s a ever-so-slightly redder version of Media (but they are very close), and Dark Deed has a wetter/glossier finish.

Mineralize Eyeshadow Duo ($21.00 U.S. / $25.00 CDN)

My Dark Magic is a duo that features a blackened purple with a frosty finish and a violet-tinged blue with a navy-black base. Young Punk (Style Black) has a stronger black base with more of a glittery finish than the shimmer finish of this product.
She Who Dares is a combination of a darkened navy-black base with medium-dark blue shimmer and a dirty green and gold shimmered over a blackened, forest green base. The blue side does resemble Blue Flame (Style Black) with the finish being smoother in this product.

Beauty Powder ($25.00 U.S. / $30.00 CDN)

Briar Rose is a cool-toned, blue-based medium pink. It’s kind of like a bubblegum pink to me–like perhaps Snob lipstick in blush form. It is also reminiscent of a less purple, less cool version of Pink Swoon–perhaps if Pink Swoon and Well-Dressed had a baby. It does apply rather sheerly, though it can be built up.

Nail Lacquer ($13.00 U.S. / $15.50 CDN)

Bad Fairy is a stunning shade of duochrome polish that’s both ruby red, molten lava copper, and gold, depending on how the light hits it.
Formidable! shimmers teal, blue, violet, and reddened purple, depending on the light. It is, however, a dead-on dupe for ORLY Galaxy Girl. There is nothing that I can distinguish as different between the two brands–formula feels the same, it wears the same. MAC may take just a minute longer to dry.
Mean & Green flashes burgundy, green, and gold and is totally full of shimmer. It is a dead-on dupe for ORLY Space Cadet.

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Please note: As a press event attendee, I received samples of the full collection packaged in a “tower” with four boxes (one for each character), and as far as I know, it’s press packaging — therefore not something you will see or be able to purchase in-store.

Cover of Maleficent Press Box

Maleficent Pop-up

Lipglass: Revenge is Sweet, Wrong Spell

MAC Revenge is Sweet Lipglass

MAC Wrong Spell Lipglass

Evil Queen Lipsticks

Lipstick: Violetta, Dark Deed

MAC Violetta Lipstick

MAC Dark Deed Lipstick

MAC My Dark Magic Mineralize Eyeshadow Duo

MAC My Dark Magic Mineralize Eyeshadow Duo (Dry/Wet)

My Dark Magic (Wet/Dry/Wet/Dry) (left four swatches), Young Punk (Wet, right)

MAC She Who Dares Mineralize Eyeshadow Duo

MAC She Who Dares Mineralize Eyeshadow Duo (Dry/Wet)

Blue Flame (Wet, left), She Who Dares (Wet/Wet/Dry on right)

MAC Briar Rose Beauty Powder

Summer Rose (left), Briar Rose (right)

Wearing MAC Briar Rose Beauty Powder (Dark Deed on lips)

Nail Lacquer: Bad Fairy, Formidable!, Mean & Green

MAC Bad Fairy Nail Lacquer (Natural Light)

MAC Bad Fairy Nail Lacquer (Flash)

MAC Formidable! Nail Lacquer (Natural Light)

MAC Formidable! Nail Lacquer (Flash)

MAC Formidable! Nail Lacquer (Flash) — these duochromes do WEIRD! things to cameras

MAC Mean & Green Nail Lacquer (Natural Light)

MAC Mean & Green Nail Lacquer (Flash)

Temptalia

MAC Styleseeker Nail Lacquers Review, Photos, Swatches

Three Nail Lacquers for Style Seekers

The Glossover

MAC Styleseeker Nail Lacquers Review, Photos, Swatches

Product

Pigmentation

Texture

Longevity

Application

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MAC Nail Lacquers – Preview Photos & Swatches

MAC Nail Lacquers — Preview Photos & Swatches

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MAC Venomous Villains: Maleficent Review, Photos, Swatches

MAC Disney Venomous Villains Collection: Maleficent Review, Photos, Swatches

Lipglass ($15.50 U.S. / $18.50 CDN)

Lipstick ($15.50 U.S. / $18.50 CDN)

Mineralize Eyeshadow Duo ($21.00 U.S. / $25.00 CDN)

Beauty Powder ($25.00 U.S. / $30.00 CDN)

Nail Lacquer ($13.00 U.S. / $15.50 CDN)

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