Temptalia

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 Fashion Sets: Nail Lacquer Review Round-up

Christine — Sun, 29 Apr 2012 18:00:53 +0000

MAC Pink Nouveau Lipglass over Lipstick; Nail Lacquer

MAC Fashion Sets: Nail Lacquer Review Round-up

MAC is not known for an excellent nail polish formula. Sometimes they do it right, but they often create some major misses that tend to suffer from too thin/too thick consistencies, streaking, and poor pigmentation. As is generally the case, the set of sixteen matching nail lacquers was a mixed bag but with more winners than real losers. Pigmentation wasn’t a problem with most of the shades, but I found several of them to be on the streakier side with some more readily covered with a thicker second coat. There were also a handful of shades that were lovely to apply!

The other downside was that a few of the nail lacquers did not match well with the lipstick/lipgloss (Angel, Impassioned, Razzledazzler, Rebel, Snob, and Spice were among the least matching, particularly in tone, not just slightly lighter/darker).

I think MAC has accelerated the price point of their nail lacquers far too quickly–$16 is more than a lipstick or a gloss! It’s $2 less than NARS, the same or $2 less than Deborah Lippmann (depending on the type of polish, as some of hers are $16 and others are $18), $2 MORE than Illamasqua (one of the best polish formulas I’ve ever tried), and $2 more than Butter London. And frankly? At that price tag, MAC is giving you less than the brands I just mentioned–0.34 fl. oz. vs. 0.50 fl. oz. 0.50 fl. oz. is the standard lacquer size (China Glaze, Essie, OPI, etc. all have this size as well). This formula needs to be on point to command a $16 price tag when there are nail polish niche brands where all they do is nail polish have excellent formulas. The nail lacquers have increased in price faster than other comparable price points at MAC (e.g. lipsticks, glosses, and eyeshadows go up $0.50 every year).

I very specifically removed price from the overall rating so that a $30 formula can be compared to a $3 formula with no boost/decrease because of the price–you are the only one who can decide what is too expensive, just right, or not worth it. As a buyer, I’m most interested in quality, and then I’ll figure out if the quality-to-price-ratio is worth it to me or maybe the color is so original that I’m willing to pay a higher price — or maybe it’s so cheap that I’ll accept that it streaks or is powdery. I try to shed light on situations where the price seems out of line with the brand’s position in the market, against competitors, or if the price/quantity ratio is unusually low or high.

MAC’s lacquers are packaged in a cylindrical bottle (though it has some tapering) and a rubberized cap, and this type of cap normally brings packaging scores up to 5/5, but because it’s awkward to hold (it’s stubby and oddly shaped when gripped), it ends up being a wash. Though it has been an issue in the past, I didn’t have any problems with the brush–they all seemed fine and didn’t have any splaying issues.

The best shades were: Chestnut, Girl About Town, Morange, Pink Nouveau, and Russian Red (A). A good but not great shade was Impassioned (A-). The most under-performing shades were: Saint Germain (C+) and Snob (B-). The rest were middle-of-the-road shades with mostly Bs and a few B+s.

Availability: Based on the information I have received from MAC, the distribution of these shades is regional. I cannot confirm the extent of non-regional shades being available online for your region (e.g. whether all of these will be available on the UK website). I can confirm only that for North America, all shades are available for purchase online. Only the North America-specific shades will be available in-stores on May 3rd, 2012. Select Macy’s will also carry Latin America & Middle East region-specific shades.

North America: Chestnut, Girl About Town, Myth, Rebel, Russian Red, Snob, Spice; all are limited edition at this time, but MAC will be adding Girl About Town and Snob to the permanent range in July
Asia Pacific: Angel, Morange, Impassioned, Peachstock, Ravishing, Razzledazzler, Saint Germain; all are limited edition at this time, but MAC will be adding Girl About Town, Impassioned, Morange, Saint Germain, and Snob to the permanent range in July
Europe & Africa: Impassioned, Morange, Myth, Rebel, Russian Red, Saint Germain, Spice; all are limited edition at this time, but MAC will be adding Impassioned, Morange, and Saint Germain, to the permanent range in July
Latin America & Middle East: Girl About Town, Impassioned, Morange, Pink Nouveau, Please Me, Russian Red, Snob; all are limited edition at this time, but MAC will be adding Girl About Town, Impassioned, Morange, and Snob to the permanent range in July

Reviews, Photos, Swatches

The Glossover

	MAC Fashion Sets: Nail Lacquer Review Round-up B+
	One major downside was that a few of the nail lacquers did not match well with the lipstick/lipgloss (Angel, Impassioned, Razzledazzler, Rebel, Snob, and Spice were among the least matching, particularly in tone, not just slightly lighter/darker). I think this is important, because the concept of the collection is very matchy-matchy, you know? Being a little lighter/darker is acceptable, but getting the undertone wrong is less so.
	Product 9/10 Pigmentation 9/10 Texture 9/10 Longevity 9/10 Application 4/5

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Please note that the photos included in this post are for summary purposes only–there are four additional photos for each lipstick shade that have been excluded in this post but are available in the set’s original post: one product photos, one swatch (diffused flash), and two swatches (studio lighting).

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MAC Angel Nail Lacquer

MAC Chestnut Nail Lacquer

MAC Girl About Town Nail Lacquer

MAC Impassioned Nail Lacquer

MAC Morange Nail Lacquer

MAC Myth Nail Lacquer

MAC Peachstock Nail Lacquer

MAC Pink Nouveau Nail Lacquer

MAC Please Me Nail Lacquer

MAC Ravishing Nail Lacquer

MAC Razzledazzler Nail Lacquer

MAC Rebel Nail Lacquer

MAC Russian Red Nail Lacquer

MAC Saint Germain Nail Lacquer

MAC Snob Nail Lacquer

MAC Spice Nail Lacquer

MAC Snob Lipglass, Lipstick, Nail Lacquer Review, Photos, Swatches

Christine — Sat, 28 Apr 2012 22:45:43 +0000

MAC Snob Nail Lacquer, Lipglass, Lipstick

MAC Snob Lipglass, Lipstick, Nail Lacquer

MAC Snob Lipstick ($14.50 for 0.10 oz.) has been such a top-seller that it has now inspired a Lipglass ($14.50 for 0.17 fl. oz.) and Nail Lacquer ($16.00 for 0.34 fl. oz.) to complement it. This shade is part of the North America and Latin America/Middle East regions of the collection, so it will only be available both online and in-stores for North American buyers. Snob is described as “light neutral pink.”

The lipgloss is a little warmer, not quite as gray/cool-toned, which is partially due to the semi-opaque color. It has a milkier, paler appearance, too. The nail lacquer is actually the closest to the description of “neutral pink,” as it appears just slightly warm against the lipstick and lipgloss, but it is closer to neutral than it is a warm pink. The nail lacquer doesn’t match the lipstick or lipgloss very well because of the change in undertone.

Snob Lipglass is light pink with a little gray-tinge to it; it looks a bit cool-toned to me, even though MAC describes it as neutral. It applies mostly opaque on lips, but it does settle into lip lines and doesn’t have perfectly even coverage. MAC Angel is much yellower. MAC Enchantee is similar but a little grayer. MAC Infinitely Likeable is grayer, more beige. (8, 8.5, 9, 8.5, 3.5, 4; B)

Snob Lipstick is a cool-toned light-medium pink with a subtle gray-tint. It has a satin finish, and it is part of the permanent range. It yields opaque color coverage, though the texture is just a smidgen drier than other satin finishes. Revlon Strawberry Shortcake is a little pinker and darker but fairly similar. MAC Enchantee is lighter and less blue-based. MAC Dress It Up is less blue-based. MAC All Styled Up is a bit pinker. (9, 10, 9, 8.5, 4, 4; B+)

Snob Nail Lacquer is a slightly warm, mostly neutral light-medium pink with a jelly-like finish, even though it’s officially a cream finish. It’s semi-opaque after two coats, but there is visible nail line. The formula on this was just okay; it was a little thick, and there was some streakiness. MAC Angel is darker and more yellow-toned. Chanel May is darker and more cool-toned. OCC Femme is similar, a touch more yellow-toned. (8, 8, 8.5, 9, 3.5, 4; B-)

MAC Lipsticks are vanilla-scented but taste-free. Snob wears around four hours, which is fairly typical of satin finishes–some of the deeper, more red/berry shades will last closer to six hours and often stain lips, but Snob’s lighter coloring means it doesn’t stain. MAC Lipglasses are also vanilla-scented but taste-free. They are very sticky and have a thick, borderline-goopy consistency. If you prefer gel-like, cushion-y glosses that feel lightweight on, I don’t recommend MAC Lipglass. Because of the tackier texture, MAC Lipglasses do tend to wear a full four hours on me, with some of the darker shades lasting up to six hours (with mostly the color lingering at that point).

Note: I am reviewing each “set” together. After I’ve reviewed all sixteen sets, I will do round-ups for each product type (so all lipsticks together) to deliver an overall Glossover rating. This rating is more indicative of the product type, as the rating that follows this post is an average across three totally different types of products. You can also see the individual scores listed after each product, which are listed in the same order as they are in the Glossover.

The Glossover

	MAC Snob Lipglass, Lipstick, Nail Lacquer Review, Photos, Swatches B
	I wish the nail lacquer performed better (the lack of opacity was one thing, but the streaky application is more difficult to overlook), because it's a very flattering shade across skin tones, and it is a work-friendly shade with a little more pop. The lipglass was the worst out of the three.
	Product 8/10 Pigmentation 9/10 Texture 9/10 Longevity 8.5/10 Application 3.5/5

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MAC Snob Lipglass, Lipstick, Nail Lacquer

MAC Snob Lipglass layered over Snob Lipstick, Snob Nail Lacquer

MAC Snob Lipglass layered over Snob Lipstick (Diffused Flash)

MAC Snob Lipglass layered over Snob Lipstick (Studio Lighting)

MAC Snob Lipglass layered over Snob Lipstick

MAC Snob Lipglass

MAC Snob Lipglass (Diffused Flash)

MAC Snob Lipglass (Studio Lighting)

MAC Snob Lipglass

MAC Snob Lipstick

MAC Snob Lipstick (Diffused Flash)

MAC Snob Lipstick (Studio Lighting)

MAC Snob Lipstick

MAC Snob Nail Lacquer

Temptalia

MAC Nail Lacquers – Preview Photos & Swatches

MAC Nail Lacquers — Preview Photos & Swatches

See more photos & swatches!

MAC Fashion Sets: Nail Lacquer Review Round-up

MAC Fashion Sets: Nail Lacquer Review Round-up

Reviews, Photos, Swatches

The Glossover

MAC Fashion Sets: Nail Lacquer Review Round-up

Product

Pigmentation

Texture

Longevity

Application

See more photos & swatches!

MAC Snob Lipglass, Lipstick, Nail Lacquer Review, Photos, Swatches

MAC Snob Lipglass, Lipstick, Nail Lacquer

The Glossover

MAC Snob Lipglass, Lipstick, Nail Lacquer Review, Photos, Swatches

Product

Pigmentation

Texture

Longevity

Application

See more photos & swatches!