MAC Style Black: Lipstick/Mattene Review, Swatches, Lip Swatches

MAC Style Black is a deep, dark collection with the rich tones of black as inspiration.  Included in the launch that’ll hit stores on the 24th are two mattenes, Midnight Media and Night Violet, as well as one lipstick in Black Knight.

Mattenes

• Midnight Media is a near-black, creamy semi-matte lip color that goes on semi-opaque.  It’s a red-toned or burgundy-toned black.  It appears mostly black on lips, but there’s a bit of a burgundy punch that keeps it from going monotone.  I don’t recommend applying this without a lip brush — it is not forgiving!  (My lip swatch is evidence of thus.)
• Night Violet is a burgundy-wine shade with a creamy, semi-matte finish and goes on mostly opaque.  It doesn’t bleed nearly as much as Midnight Media and is much more forgiving when you apply it directly from the tube.

Lipstick

• Black Knight is a slightly creamy, monotone black with a glossy sheen.  It’s a cremesheen finish, which can be drying at times, but this one didn’t feel that way to me.  I had a terrible time getting this to apply even remotely evenly.  Up close (as in the lip swatch), every flaw is enhanced.  I assure you it looked relatively even in the mirror.   I’d probably pass on this and just use Bat CCB on my lips (but I gotta double-check the safety on that).

Out of the three, Night Violet is the most wearable, and then Midnight Media is more wearable than Black Knight, because it has that reddish tone to it.  I don’t personally love any of the three, but I do like Night Violet enough to own.  If you don’t have any black lipstick, Midnight Media isn’t a bad way to go.

• Product: 7/10
• Value: 8/10
• Ease of Use: 7/10
• Packaging: 8/10

Recommendation: If you love yourself dark and vampy lip color… this is for you!

Availability: MAC Cosmetics

See more photos, swatches, and lip swatches…

MAC Night Violet Mattene

MAC Black Knight Lipstick

Midnight Media, Night Violet, Black Knight

MAC Midnight Media Mattene

MAC Night Violet Mattene

MAC Black Knight Lipstick

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Pucker Up: Shimmery Purple Lips

I wanted to use Night Violet mattene, which is an up and coming shade MAC Style Black, slated for release on September 24th. Night Violet has come out previously (which is why/how I have it). I then wanted to see if Violetta lipstick would give it a cool, brighter purple sheen (not really–the camera shows more of this effect than is visible in person, to be certain). Since Violetta didn’t quite kick it up a notch, I added Pink Opal pigment to the center of the lip (just patted on), which gave it a funky iridescence. I’m about a glossy lip, so I couldn’t resist adding Nice Kitty lipglass on top (which is mostly shimmer on me, not a lot of color).

In real life, the lips looked rather solid-colored, no real demarcation between colors, but there was just an extra sheen towards the center of the upper and lower lips and where they met. I liked it, but I’d probably recommend omitting Violetta or Night Violet — either will work great as a base; Violetta for a very bright look, Night Violet for a deeper, darker look (more like this one).

See the progression…

Night Violet Mattene

Violetta Lipstick layered on top

Pink Opal pigment layered on the center

Nice Kitty Lipglass layered all over

Night Violet mattene, Violetta lipstick, Pink Opal pigment, Nice Kitty lipglass