Temptalia

MAC Office Hours Pro Longwear Lipglasses Reviews, Photos, Swatches

Christine — Mon, 10 Sep 2012 18:42:36 +0000

MAC Boundless Beige Pro Longwear Lipglass

The Goldilocks of Long-Wearing Lipgloss

MAC Pro Longwear Lipglasses ($19.50 for 0.06 oz.) sees the introduction of six new shades and two repromoted shades: Boundless Beige (light warm beige with pearl), Driven by Love (red-blue with slight pearl), Everlasting Nude (mid-tone warm nude), Forever Rose (mid-tone neutral rose), Long Love Love (light cool pink), Next Fad (mid-tone cool pink), Patience Please (light pink-blue), and Persistent Peach (light warm peach). The only shade that is limited edition is Everlasting Nude.

MAC describes these as, “A longwearing Lipglass that goes on smooth and lasts for up to six hours! Envelops lips with shine and colour and pro-longs the hours between re-application.”

Boundless Beige is a semi-sheer pale beige with gold and beige shimmer. This is the one shade out of the eight launched that doesn’t look much like the rest of the range (which is more opaque). It wore four hours on me. MAC Jana is less warm. MAC Almond Blossom is less shimmery.

Driven by Love is a rich, blue-based medium-dark red with brightened ruby red micro-shimmer. It has opaque color coverage, and it applies beautifully–even, smooth, and it doesn’t seem to bunch up on itself if you happen to press your lips together. It continues to be one of the best-performing shades from this formula. It wore six hours and still looked rather good at that point. MAC Restless is similar but doesn’t have the shimmer. MAC Russian Red is slightly less deep.

Everlasting Nude is a warm peach with a hint of beige and no shimmer. It delivered mostly opaque color, and I was able to get even color overall, but it did move and bunch up on itself if I pressed my lips together even fleetingly. This shade lasted five hours. MAC Whoops! is darker. MAC Temper Tantra is just a smidgen darker and less glossy. MAC Fold and Tuck Lipglass is shimmery. Korres Natural Purple is similar in color.

Forever Rose is a strawberry-red with warm undertones. It’s not red, but it’s not quite pink–it’s almost coral-tinged. It applied mostly evenly, didn’t settle into lip lines too noticeably, and had opaque color coverage. This shade does not have any shimmer, and it lasted for six hours on my lips with some color still intact at that point. Revlon Strawberry is more muted, sheerer, so it’s not that close even though they seemed that way in the tube. MAC Star Quality is pinker, sheerer. MAC Galaxy Rose is pinker, less red.

Long Love Love is a blue-based light-medium pink. It has opaque color, but it’s a pain to apply, because it is very streaky and has a tendency to settle into lip lines. This one was really high maintenance, as the color so easily moved around and would look uneven. This shade wore for four and a half hours. MAC Snob is similar, perhaps a fraction darker. MAC Enchantee is grayer.

Next Fad is a light-medium pink with subtle yellow undertones and white shimmer. This one has more semi-opaque color coverage, as the natural lip color does come through. It lasted for four hours on my lips. MAC Viva Glam Nicki is yellower. MAC Please Me is lighter and doesn’t have the shimmer.

Patience Please is a pale beige that has a hint of pink and has a creamy finish. It settles into lip lines and does not apply as evenly as I’d like. It has a tendency to bunch up on itself if you press your lips together. The color coverage is opaque, and it wore for five hours on me. NARS Spring Break has shimmer and is more beige. MAC The Wee Coquette is similar but sheerer.

Persistent Peach is a medium peach with a hint of pink. It has a creamy finish and mostly opaque color. It settles into lip lines somewhat, and it does have some unevenness issues. It will fold over itself if you press your lips together (even briefly). This shade lasted five hours. MAC So Vain is a bit darker. Benefit Spiked Punch is a smidgen darker and has shimmer. MAC Perennial High Style is lighter.

Some people will like the formula for its long-wearing properties, but I know a lot of people already dislike MAC Lipglass for its thick, tacky consistency. These are thicker, less movable, and sticky. It’s almost gluey when worn. There’s something about the texture that’s not quite comfortable. They come with a pinched foam applicator, which worked fine for me, but it is a bit large, so those with thinner lips may find it cumbersome.

One of the problems that seems to stem from the consistency is that these do not apply evenly and are even harder to keep even. This is a problem that varies in its intensity from shade to shade. Driven by Love applies and stays even, but shades like Patience Please (so aptly named) and Long Love Love are high-maintenance. Overall, these shades were an improvement over last year’s.

These wear about as long as advertised; the light shades tend to get between four and five hours, while darker shades get the full six. The wear is impressive overall, and I really appreciate that MAC only says six hours–they don’t go nuts and say something crazy like 14, you know? I think most consumers would be pleasantly surprised and happy to see six hours of wear with their gloss. Would we love longer? Sure. But only if they can deliver

They’re vanilla-scented but don’t have a discernible taste. A (somewhat) hidden downside is these only have a measly 0.06 oz. of product in them; Lipglass contains 0.17 fl. oz. (almost three times as much) and costs $4.50 less. They don’t appear small, as the tubes look much larger than Lipglass.

The Glossover

	MAC Office Hours Pro Longwear Lipglasses Reviews, Photos, Swatches B-
	For longer-wearing gloss, it seems like you have to sacrifice some evenness in color. It's going to be a personal preference as to what is or isn't a deal-breaker. Shades like Driven by Love and Forever Rose performed the best and were more low-maintenance.
	Product 8.5/10 Pigmentation 8.5/10 Texture 7/10 Longevity 9/10 Application 4/5

Login or Register to be able to add this to your Vanity or Wishlist! Plus rate and review!

See more photos & swatches!

MAC Boundless Beige Pro Longwear Lipglass

MAC Driven by Love Pro Longwear Lipglass

MAC Everlasting Nude Pro Longwear Lipglass

MAC Forever Rose Pro Longwear Lipglass

MAC Long Love Love Pro Longwear Lipglass

MAC Next Fad Pro Longwear Lipglass

MAC Patience, Please Pro Longwear Lipglass

MAC Persistent Peach Pro Longwear Lipglass

MAC Office Hours Pro Longwear Blushes Reviews, Photos, Swatches (Part 1)

Christine — Mon, 10 Sep 2012 13:00:23 +0000

MAC Baby Don’t Go Pro Longwear Blush

Where’s Your Blush?

This review focuses on four new shades of MAC Pro Longwear Blushes ($23.50 for 0.21 oz.) from the latest launch, Office Hours: Baby Don’t Go (light cool beige), Blush All Day (light dirty rose beige), Eternal Sun (warm brown), and Rosy Outlook (light yellow pink).

This is a new product that has been added to the permanent range. MAC describes it as, “A lightweight blush with extreme colour perfection and non-fading, eight-hour wear. Ultra fine, silky powder glides on and blends easily to provide a moist, flawless, natural finish or with layering, a brighter, more dramatic look.”

Baby Don’t Go is a light beige brown with a barely-there sheen. It’s sheer when applied, and I can only see this showing up on very fair-skinned individuals–even that you may require some layering! In the full face photo of me, I applied about four layers of blush–and I’m not even sure you can really see it on. The texture is so soft, but it is powdery. Tarina Tarantino Neopolitan Lane is slightly pinker. Burberry Russet is a bit darker, browner.

Blush All Day is a soft pink with subtle yellow undertones and a golden shimmer. On the skin, the shimmer isn’t very noticeable. This shade is on the sheerer side and required layering, but it wasn’t as powdery as Baby Don’t Go. I did have to apply four layers of product to get noticeable color on my skin tone, so again, this is a color better suited for someone with very fair skin. MAC Brit Wit is grayer. Chanel Pink Cloud is lighter. MAC Pet Me has a stronger yellow undertone.

Eternal Sun is a subdued orange with a satin-like finish. It looked more matte on the skin. This one seemed to swatch better than the others, but when applied to the cheeks, it still took four layers of product to achieve noticeable color, so it’s a shade that would suit very light complexions. MAC Worldly Wealth is browner, less orange. MAC Sun Power is very similar.

Rosy Outlook is a pale pink with subtle yellow undertones and a gentle sheen. Even though I see there’s shimmer in the product, it doesn’t translate onto skin. I think that’s because these have a powdery texture, that it tends to look more matte on the skin. Illamasqua Naked Rose is darker. MAC Crew is very similar. Chanel Brompton Road is more blue-based. Chanel Horizon de Chanel is darker. MAC Stunner is comparable.

The texture of these is very different from their regular blush formula. It’s incredibly soft and feels silky, but all four shades were also incredibly powdery. There was just a lot of excess powder that billowed in the wind and sat upon the skin. If you have oilier skin, it might not be as noticeable on, but on my normal cheeks (at least, when swatching and testing these), they looked almost caked on and visibly powdery. Part of that is undoubtedly due to how much product I have to apply to get any color to show up on my medium skin color. If you have really fair skin, you should be able to get away with (somewhat) less product.

It feels lightweight, even though it doesn’t look that way on. The finsh is more matte than natural on; the powderiness contributes to giving it a mostly matte appearance. Though MAC says you can layer these, I did not find them very buildable, because they disappeared so readily. When you applied the product and went to layer on more product, it just swept away what you originally put on, so despite going through the steps, the result looks about the same as when initially applied. I have to emphasize: every swatch (whether on the arm to on the face) is layered three or four times for visible color payoff–this is three or four times the amount of product I use for 95% of swatches.

I’ve been testing the wear on these for a few days now, and the wear was disappointing. I had similar problems with the blushes that I did with the eyeshadows. Baby Don’t Go wore visibly for three hours and was gone by six; Blush All Day managed not to fade until the fourth hour, but by six, it, too, had disappeared. Eternal Sun started to fade after five hours, and it had gone into the ether after seven hours (best-wearing so far!). Rosy Outlook started to fade after four hours and was totally missing after six hours.

Not every color is going to be as wearable on every skin tone, which isn’t unexpected. What’s odd is that some of these colors I’ve come across before (by other brands) and have been able to get those to show up on my skin tone (which is medium, around NC30), but you can’t really see any of these on me except Eternal Sun. Even in cases of lighter shades (including other blushes by MAC), I can get the same color payoff in one sweep of color as I did with four sweeps of color of these. For all of the swatches, I had to pile on the product; it’s not just a normal swatch but a swatch of desperation. The first round of swatches I took, you couldn’t even see, so I had to re-do them and really pack each one on.

I can only see these working (as far as payoff goes) on very pale skin tones (NC/NW15 or lighter)–again, Eternal Sun was more buildable, so light to light-medium complexions could get it to show up with enough packing on of the color. And that’s assuming that you’re able to get a better wear-time out of them than I did. Unfortunately, they wore consistently poor and faded faster than many other blushes I’ve reviewed. I usually find blushes last between six and eight hours to varying degrees, but so few of them actually disappear entirely.

The Glossover

	MAC Office Hours Pro Longwear Blushes Reviews, Photos, Swatches (Part 1) F
	These wore marginally longer (on average) than the eyeshadows from the collection, but they suffered from a similar set of problems: poor payoff that required multiple layers of product just to yield visible color, very powdery/dusty textures (despite the softness), and an inability to build/layer the color to true-to-pan color. MAC's permanent blush range is much, much better.
	Product 4/10 Pigmentation 6/10 Texture 6/10 Longevity 6/10 Application 3/5

Login or Register to be able to add this to your Vanity or Wishlist! Plus rate and review!

See more photos & swatches!

MAC Baby Don’t Go Pro Longwear Blush

MAC Blush All Day Pro Longwear Blush

MAC Eternal Sun Pro Longwear Blush

MAC Rosy Outlook Pro Longwear Blush

MAC Office Hours Pro Longwear Eyeshadow Reviews, Photos, Swatches (Part 2)

Christine — Sun, 09 Sep 2012 23:05:33 +0000

MAC Bloom On Pro Longwear Eyeshadow

Three Pinks to Think Twice About

This review focuses on three new shades of MAC Pro Longwear Eyeshadows ($21.00 for 0.11 oz.) from the latest launch, Office Hours: Bloom On (light burnt rose), Endless Passion (mid-tone rose), and More Amour (mid-tone red).

Bloom On is a pale rose-beige with neutral undertones and a matte finish. The color applies rather sheer; I had to layer it just so the swatch would show up. It requires a lot of product on the lid, and I had to use it over a primer to boost the impact (or else it wasn’t visible). It was very dusty. MAC Pink Frontier has a stronger yellow undertone and a shimmery finish. MAC Hush is lighter.

Endless Passion is a pinky-mauve with a soft, satiny finish. It had so-so color payoff when layered, but it was on the softer side, so it was prone to disappearing if you made any sweeping motions. It just didn’t sit well on the lid–imagine a “Do Not Disturb” sign hanging off your lid when you wear this. This shade also darkened when it was applied (compared to how it looked in the pan). NARS Douce France is lighter. Wet ‘n’ Wild Bright Idea is more shimmery. MAC Rose is a smidgen lighter and more shimmery.

More Amour is a muted pink-red with a matte finish. This was the most pigmented shade out of all the ones I’ve seen so far. It was also the least powdery, though it still had a fair amount of dustiness. MAC Passionate is a bit brighter. MAC Sushi Flower is quite similar.

Here’s how MAC describes these: “A unique longwearing Eye Shadow with a silky, creamy texture formulated for maximum colour impact. Easily blendable and buildable; lids are visibly smooth no matter how intense the application. Lasts 8 hours.” These should have a great texture, be nicely pigmented and blendable, while wearing for eight hours.

Out of these three shades, More Amour was the only one that was visible after six hours of wear (both over a primer and directly on bare lids); Bloom On and Endless Passion both looked faded after three hours and were missing in action after six hours. These three had the same dusty, powdery texture that makes them difficult to use. When you apply the color, it’s barely there, and when you attempt to layer or build the color up, it disappears very easily. The more you attempt to build the color, the more powdery it looks, which resulted in lids looking kind of dry. More Amour may have been the best out of a bad hand, but it’s still just a so-so eyeshadow. It was somewhat powdery, and it faded substantially after six hours.

To reiterate: when MAC released this formula originally (about a year ago), it was a lovely formula that was nicely pigmented, blendable, and long-wearing (seriously, they lasted 12-hours without a primer). The texture of these doesn’t feel like the ones from last year. They feel like different formulas entirely.

The Glossover

	MAC Office Hours Pro Longwear Eyeshadow Reviews, Photos, Swatches (Part 2) F
	If you like sheer eyeshadow, you might consider purchasing some feathery brushes--most eyeshadows can be used sheerly, with the right tool. Because these disappear after six hours (as in, nothing remains), even as sheer eyeshadow, I could not recommend them.
	Product 4/10 Pigmentation 6/10 Texture 6/10 Longevity 5/10 Application 3/5

Login or Register to be able to add this to your Vanity or Wishlist! Plus rate and review!

See more photos & swatches!

MAC Bloom On Pro Longwear Eyeshadow

MAC Endless Passion Pro Longwear Eyeshadow

MAC More Amour Pro Longwear Eyeshadow

Bloom On, Endless Passion, More Amour (over a primer, initial application)

MAC Office Hours Pro Longwear Eyeshadows Reviews, Photos, Swatches (Part 1)

Christine — Sun, 09 Sep 2012 16:00:43 +0000

MAC Always Sunny Pro Longwear Eyeshadow

What a Difference a Year Makes

This review focuses on four new shades of MAC Pro Longwear Eyeshadows ($21.00 for 0.11 oz.) from the latest launch, Office Hours: Always Sunny (light yellow brown), Ever Ivory (pale ivory), Fashion Fix (dark cool slate grey), and Linger Softly (light frosted grey blue).

Always Sunny is a muted orange with a matte finish. It had so-so pigmentation an felt soft to the touch, but it was on the powdery side. This was one of the “best” performing shades out of the four. Chanel Tigerlily is brighter, more tangerine. Inglot #368 is a bit lighter. MAC Samoa Silk is a smidgen lighter.

Ever Ivory is a pale white with a matte finish. It had decent color payoff, but it disappears if you attempt to blend it out. It was very powdery. MAC Laundry Daze is darker, less ivory. Bobbi Brown White is cooler-toned. Inglot #351 is similar, slightly less beige.

Fashion Fix is a gray-tinged brown–taupe–with a mostly matte finish. It had some powderiness, but the color payoff was the best out of the four. Chanel Premier Regard is browner. MAC Satin Taupe is darker and frostier. Inglot #363 is darker and more pigmented–if used lightly, I think you would get rather close.

Linger Softly is a pale medium-dark blue with silver micro-shimmer. It had so-so color payoff, and it was rather dusty. This shade had a tendency to disappear when you applied and blended it. MAC Bright Moon is similar. MAC Frozen Blue has a more frosted finish.

These shades are not very pigmented, and they’re barely buildable. Trying to layer the color on doesn’t intensify the color, but it does add a layer of powdery dust to your lid that serves to make the lid look drier and drier. I couldn’t yield visible color with the majority of shades without some sort of eyeshadow base/primer underneath, which is really a shame. To show you the products in action, I had to use them over a primer. When I tested the wear, I wore them without and with a primer. Funny enough, you wouldn’t even believe I had applied eyeshadow–after six hours, it looked like I had bare lids–so the reality is they wear for about three to four hours in sum. It was the same wear for alone or over primer.

I actually quite enjoyed MAC’s Pro Longwear Eyeshadow formula! Most of the shades from Styledriven were excellent–rich color payoffs, soft, blendable textures, and long-wearing. The previous shades lasted a full 12-hours (without primer!). I don’t know what MAC did here. The texture feels different; these have a very thin, dusty texture that kicks up so much powder. They’re prone to fall out during application (because it’s so powdery), and often with powdery eyeshadows, they fade once applied–and these do that. Entirely, completely. I’m so puzzled, because I thought I could count on these being pretty good, as they were a surprise to see last year.

At least, because of how soft and powdery the shades are, they are blendable. It could be worse; they could yield patchy payoff with a stiff, dry texture that didn’t want to budge (a la Carbon from Carine Roitfeld). But these are a poor showing after MAC seemed to do so well when they introduced the formula last year. The finishes of all of these is nearly matte, whereas last year’s were more satin to frost. I don’t know if they had to muck around with the formula to accomplish the finish, but something was lost in the translation. At this price point, you can grab top notch matte eyeshadows by brands like Make Up For Ever and Illamasqua (not to mention, at a lower price point, Inglot and Sugarpill).

Sheer eyeshadow has its place, and the most important thing that a brand has to do is make sure to let buyers know that it’s sheer. Then, they still need to deliver color that applies evenly, easily, blends well, and stays in place. Sheer eyeshadow doesn’t have to be bad eyeshadow–these just leave so much to be desired (but of course, these aren’t described as sheer). I’m devestated that what was once a great formula was manipulated into something very different. I don’t think these feel, look, or perform at all like the ones released last year (which are permanent, so you can still grab ‘em).

The Glossover

	MAC Office Hours Pro Longwear Eyeshadows Reviews, Photos, Swatches (Part 1) F
	If you like sheer eyeshadow, you might consider purchasing some feathery brushes--most eyeshadows can be used sheerly, with the right tool. Because these disappear after six hours (as in, nothing remains), even as sheer eyeshadow, I could not recommend them.
	Product 4/10 Pigmentation 6/10 Texture 6/10 Longevity 4/10 Application 3/5

Login or Register to be able to add this to your Vanity or Wishlist! Plus rate and review!

See more photos & swatches!

MAC Always Sunny Pro Longwear Eyeshadow

MAC Ever Ivory Pro Longwear Eyeshadow

MAC Fashion Fix Pro Longwear Eyeshadow

MAC Linger Softly Pro Longwear Eyeshadow

Ever ivory, Always Sunny, Linger Softly, Fashion Fix

MAC Office Hours Collection for Fall 2012

Christine — Tue, 04 Sep 2012 23:20:06 +0000

MAC Office Hours Collection

MAC Office Hours Collection for Fall 2012

She’s a glamorous go-getter with a real head for business and beauty who loves M·A·C Pro Longwear — advanced products that set the standard for enduring colour. With a base of SPF 10 Foundation and Concealer, Pro Longwear Blush lasts for eight hours with a weightless, bright natural finish. Creamy-smooth Pro Longwear Eye Shadow in new soft and dramatic colours brings superior depth and dimension, and Pro Longwear Lipglass shines from Persistent Peach to Everlasting Nude.

Pro Longwear Lipglass ($19.50 U.S. / $22.50 CDN)

Everlasting Nude Mid-tone warm nude (Cream) (Limited Edition)
Patience Please Light pink-blue (Cream) (Repromote)
Long Love Love Light cool pink (Cream)
Next Fad Mid-tone cool pink (Frost)
Persistent Peach Light warm peach (Cream)
Boundlessly Beige Light warm beige with pearl (Frost)
Driven by Love Red-blue with slight pearl (Cream) (Repromote)
Forever Rose Mid-tone neutral rose (Cream)

Pro Longwear Eyeshadow ($21.00 U.S. / $25.00 CDN)

Ever Ivory Pale ivory (Limited Edition)
Bloom On Light burnt rose
Always Sunny Light yellow brown
Uninterrupted Dark camel
Endless Passion Mid-tone rose (Limited Edition)
More Amour Mid-tone red (Limited Edition)
Mauveless Dark dirty mauve
Fashion Fix Dark cool slate grey
Linger Softly Light frosted grey blue

Pro Longwear Blush ($23.50 U.S. / $28.00 CDN)

Stay By Me Light peach coral
Baby Don’t Go Light cool beige
Rosy Outlook Light yellow pink
Stay Pretty Light bright blue pink
Blush All Day Light dirty rose beige
Whole Lotta Love Light blue pink
Eternal Sun Warm brown
Stubborn Mid-tone rose plum

Availability: Online at maccosmetics.com September 6th, in-stores September 13th (North America), September 2012 (International)

See more photos!

MAC Office Hours Collection

Temptalia

MAC Office Hours Pro Longwear Lipglasses Reviews, Photos, Swatches

The Goldilocks of Long-Wearing Lipgloss

The Glossover

MAC Office Hours Pro Longwear Lipglasses Reviews, Photos, Swatches

Product

Pigmentation

Texture

Longevity

Application

See more photos & swatches!

MAC Office Hours Pro Longwear Blushes Reviews, Photos, Swatches (Part 1)

Where’s Your Blush?

The Glossover

MAC Office Hours Pro Longwear Blushes Reviews, Photos, Swatches (Part 1)

Product

Pigmentation

Texture

Longevity

Application

See more photos & swatches!

MAC Office Hours Pro Longwear Eyeshadow Reviews, Photos, Swatches (Part 2)

Three Pinks to Think Twice About

The Glossover

MAC Office Hours Pro Longwear Eyeshadow Reviews, Photos, Swatches (Part 2)

Product

Pigmentation

Texture

Longevity

Application

See more photos & swatches!

MAC Office Hours Pro Longwear Eyeshadows Reviews, Photos, Swatches (Part 1)

What a Difference a Year Makes

The Glossover

MAC Office Hours Pro Longwear Eyeshadows Reviews, Photos, Swatches (Part 1)

Product

Pigmentation

Texture

Longevity

Application

See more photos & swatches!

MAC Office Hours Collection for Fall 2012

MAC Office Hours Collection for Fall 2012

Pro Longwear Lipglass ($19.50 U.S. / $22.50 CDN)

Pro Longwear Eyeshadow ($21.00 U.S. / $25.00 CDN)

Pro Longwear Blush ($23.50 U.S. / $28.00 CDN)

See more photos!