MAC Daphne Guinness Nail Lacquers ($15.00 for 0.34 fl. oz.) include three limited edition shades (all to be launched on December 26th in-stores): Blueblood (deep eggplant), Endless Night (pale gray pink with iridescent pearl), and Hyperion (light gray blue-green).
Endless Night is a pale beige with iridescent pink shimmer. It’s not opaque in two coats, but with three, you’d probably get there (swatches are with two, so there is some visible nail line). It’s a bit grayer and has shimmer compared to MAC Quiet Time.
Hyperion is a pale aqua blue with more blue than aqua. It’s opaque in two coats, but the formula was harder to work with; it seemed to pull easily, and I think a ridgefiller might be necessary–you can see the lines of my natural nail and I rarely see those through polish. It’s more opaque and bluer compared to Rescue Beauty Lounge Bikini Bottom. China Glaze Sea Spray is darker. Chanel Riva is bluer.
Blueblood applied easily and without trouble; the formula was on the thinner side but not problematic. Endless Night was on the sheerer side, which may be a good or bad thing, depending on how you like your nudes–the iridescent shimmer makes it more interesting, though. Hyperion was the hardest to apply, as the initial coat streaked, and even though I waited between coats, the second one still seemed to pull at the first coat. MAC Nail Lacquers typically wear a week on me with minor tip wear but no chips.
Blueblood is really dupeable, while Endless Night and Hyperion are less so. Hyperion had the most troublesome formula, while Blueblood had the best one.
Product
8.5/10
Pigmentation
9/10
Texture
9/10
Longevity
9/10
Application
4/5
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Where to Buy
This product can be purchased at the following retailers:
MAC Cosmetics on December 26th, $15
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.
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MAC Inert Nail Lacquer ($23.00 for 0.30 fl. oz.) is described as a “creamy mid-tone greyed nude” with a cream finish. It’s a neutral light-medium gray with a cream finish. It’s mostly opaque after two coats, but the consistency of the formula is on the thicker side. It’s not quite goopy or gloppy, but it’s just a few steps before it. China Glaze Pelican Grey is similar but a little grayer and has shimmer. Zoya’s Dove is also grayer but has a cream finish.
Just to reiterate, this comes in a square glass bottle compared to MAC’s rounded jar, and the cap is a glossy black rather than a rubberized black. These are slightly smaller (0.30 vs. 0.34 fl. oz.) and $8.00 more because of the “couture” aspect of the launch. Though I have not tested the polishes specifically from this collection, MAC’s nail lacquer formula generally wears for a week with minor tip wear but no chips.
The formula could be thinner--it's a bit too thick, so it is easy to apply too much product on each nail. It does have good pigmentation, though. It's not exactly the same as other shades I have seen, but it seems dupeable enough.
Product
9/10
Pigmentation
10/10
Texture
8.5/10
Longevity
9/10
Application
4/5
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Where to Buy
This product can be purchased at the following retailers:
MAC Cosmetics stores and maccosmetics.com, November 23rd, $23
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 Hyper Nail Lacquer ($23.00 for 0.30 fl. oz.) is described as a “deep blue with violet pearl” with a frost finish. It’s a really inky blue with fine blue shimmer and a violet edge. It flashes blue and violet, depending on the light. It’s a really cool shade, and it was the one that wowed me the most out of the three from this launch. China Glaze Blue Year’s Eve is a much lighter variation, but it’s more vibrant. It also reminded me of Orly Lunar Eclipse except a bluer variation with finer shimmer. It was opaque in two coats, and the formula had a good, fluid consistency that flowed evenly across the nail without bubbling or streaking.
Just to reiterate, this comes in a square glass bottle compared to MAC’s rounded jar, and the cap is a glossy black rather than a rubberized black. These are slightly smaller (0.30 vs. 0.34 fl. oz.) and $8.00 more because of the “couture” aspect of the launch. Though I have not tested the polishes specifically from this collection, MAC’s nail lacquer formula generally wears for a week with minor tip wear but no chips.
The color is gorgeous, and I don't have an exact dupe for it, but it definitely comes at a much steeper price. The formula has a good consistency, applies well, and gives opaque results in two coats, though!
Product
9/10
Pigmentation
10/10
Texture
10/10
Longevity
9/10
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:
MAC Cosmetics stores and maccosmetics.com, November 23rd, $23
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 Ascension Nail Lacquer ($23.00 for 0.30 fl. oz.) is described as “grey with blue-violet reflective pearl.” It’s a murky grayish-green with a grayish-purple iridescence that comes together in a duochrome finish. The duochrome is definitely there, but I think some of the sheerness prevents it from really shining. When you look at the nails head-on, it is mostly a murky purple-gray, and then when you tilt and angle your nails, the murky green-gold comes through. It’s very, very similar to Wet ‘n’ Wild Grey’s Anatomy, which is a known dupe for the pricier Deborah Lippmann Wicked Game. MAC’s version is more pigmented than Grey’s Anatomy, where three coats was almost opaque, while there was still a lot of visible nail line at three coats with Grey’s Anatomy.
It’s only a smidgen less than regular MAC lacquers–0.34 oz. for $15.00 normally–although, I guess going from 10ml regularly to 9ml is a 10% decrease! The packaging is a heavy, square glass bottle with a glossy black cap. The bottle is rather large–larger than Deborah Lippmann–but the actual polish is just enclosed in a thicker glass surround.
I haven’t tested the Gareth Pugh polishes for wear, but I usually get a week of wear with minor tip wear with MAC’s nail lacquers. The formula wasn’t too thick or thin, and it flowed evenly across the nail. It does have a more metallic finish, so you will see some brush strokes.
It's a funky color overall, and even though there are other shades like it, I could see this being one of the more popular shades out of the three nail lacquers in the launch.
Product
9/10
Pigmentation
7/10
Texture
9/10
Longevity
9/10
Application
4/5
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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 Nail Lacquer: Unconditionally Fabulous, Festive Finery, Get Noticed
MAC Glitter & Ice Nail Lacquer Review, Photos, Swatches
MAC Glitter & Ice Nail Lacquers ($16.00 for 0.34 fl. oz. each) include three limited edition shades for the holidays. These will hit stores on October 27th, 2011, but luckily I was able to snag the collection through an unveiling party (had to find a store that would ship to me!) to get swatches and photos for you. The three shades are: Unconditionally Fabulous (super sparkle white), Festive Finery (dirty mid-tone greyed violet), and Get Noticed (true bright red).
Unconditionally Fabulous has multi-colored glitter with both circular and hexagonal shapes suspended in a clear base. The consistency is fairly thin, so you could feasibly do three coats of it, though I did just two for swatching purposes. It’s just like China Glaze Snow Globe (to be reviewed) and similar to Deborah Lippmann Stairway Heaven.
Festive Finery is a grayed purple with a cream finish. It was opaque in two coats, and it was really easy to work with–no trouble with this one. China Glaze Below Deck is less purple and lighter but much purpler and lighter compared to Chanel Paradoxal.
Get Noticed is a darkened medium red with blue undertones and a cream finish. I used two coats and had opaque color. The formula was nice on this one; flowed evenly and no bubbling. It reminded me of MAC Obey me but darker–more like Rescue Beauty Lounge Glamourpuss.
Compared to the last batch of MAC polishes, these are much, much better. I feel like I’ve seen shades like Unconditionally Fabulous several times this holiday season, so while it is very pretty and fun for layering, it seems rather dupeable. I would say the same about Get Noticed, as it is a clean red, which most brands have done and continue to do. Festive Finery is the most unique out of the three. I typically get a week of wear with minor tip wear with MAC’s polishes.
The application of all three was nice--the formulas were consistent and easy to work with. Both the creams were opaque in two coats and flowed evenly across the nail, while the glittery shade wasn't too thick or gel-like and distributed well over the nail with each coat.
Product
9/10
Pigmentation
9.5/10
Texture
10/10
Longevity
9/10
Application
4/5
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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 Immortal Gold Nail Lacquer Swatches, Photos, Reviews
MAC Immortal Gold Nail Lacquer ($15.00 for 0.34 oz.) is described as a “pale gold” with a frost finish. Honestly, nothing about this screams “pale gold!” This is more like liquid, molten gold. It’s full-on gold to me with a rather metallic finish. It’s a yellowed gold with a burnt antique gold base color. It has depth, because it’s not all yellowy, but the formula was less impressive. I couldn’t think of a dupe for this shade, except China Glaze Tarnished Gold, which is a crackle polish, so it’s not much of a dupe at all. Would love to hear from you if you have a dupe!
The formula is thick, almost goopy, so it’s easy to get far too much polish on the nail than is appropriate for one coat. I only needed two coats for opaque color, which was great, but the thickness of the coats acted to emphasize the brush strokes in the finish. I really tried to even them out, but this shade also has a rather quick drying time (reminded me of how glitters dry so quickly). When you get it just right, it’s great (my ring finger looked the best, while my middle finger looked terrible). I generally have good luck with MAC polishes (I haven’t had a bad experience with wear that I can remember) – they wear a solid week on me with minor tip wear but no chipping.
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!
