Archived Post

MAC Art Supplies Collection: Lipstain Markers Review, Photos, Swatches

MAC Art Supplies Collection
Lipstain Markers: A Classic, Full of Flare, Modern Mocha, Point of View,
Purposefully Red, Runway Ripened, Stylesetter, Sunset, Tomorrow’s Coral

MAC Art Supplies Collection: Pro Longwear Lipstain Markers Review, Photos, Swatches

There are nine new and limited edition shades of Pro Longwear Lipstain Marker ($16.00) in MAC’s Art Supplies Collection. I really, really wanted to love these–I have been wanting a good lip stain forever–a superb formula in various shades, not just one great shade (e.g. Benetint). I was most excited for the Lipstain Markers when I first read about Art Supplies, but they just didn’t work well for me.

Update @ 4/1: Reviews, photos, & swatches for ALL shades now available.  Enjoy!

Pro Longwear Lipstain Marker ($16.00)

  • Full of Flare is a brightened coral with a tinge of orange-red in it.  Probably one of the loveliest shades of the five I’ve tried so far!
  • Runway Ripened is a raspberry-ish red, but it’s still fairly red.  It gives good coverage and applies evenly.
  • Modern Mocha is slightly reddened coffee brown.  It’s not the most flattering color on my skin tone, but I could see some deeper skin tones using it for a natural lip tint.
  • Point of View is a darker and redder version of Modern Mocha.  It’s a rasberry-ish brown.
  • Purposefully Red is a vibrant cherry red.  I think this and Full of Flare are the best bang-for-your-buck colors of the nine.  If you love red but hate reapplying, bleeding, etc., Purposefully Red might be worth trying.
  • Sunset is a darkened, slightly reddish, coral.  This would look nice on both cool tones and deeper skin tones, because it’s not an overtly warm coral, which isn’t always easy to find.
  • Tomorrow’s Coral is a rich red with only a smidgen of coral in it. It’s definitely redder than I anticipated–I don’t think I’d have even picked up on any coral tones to it if it wasn’t for the name!
  • Stylesetter is a brightened pink with blue undertones. Reminded me a bit of Impassioned, perhaps, but more blue-based.
  • A Classic is a muted red–significantly lighter/less bold in comparison to Tomorrow’s Coral.

The good: The color applies quite evenly from the marker tip. I didn’t experience problems getting the color to apply evenly onto my lips. The stain will also last for hours if you don’t eat or drink (sounds like lipstick/gloss, eh?) and doesn’t come off on skin (or someone else’s lips…). You can layer a lip balm on top to keep it from looking so dry without disturbing the color itself as well. I also didn’t find that the lip stain would bleed on my lips, which is always a good thing!

You can wear the lip stain as a way to add more color or deepen color of your lipglosses and lipsticks.  They seem to work and look best when layered underneath something, rather than worn alone, which is kind of how I like to wear my lip stains–just a shift in natural lip color that looks exactly natural, no heavy gloss, no sheen, no shimmer, no weight.  To use it as a layering product, it acts a lot like a lip pencil or lip liner.

The bad: If you have dry, cracked, peeling, or otherwise imperfect lips, these are going to be a pain in the behind to use. I don’t consider myself to have any lip issues, and I even made sure to exfoliate promptly before applying these, but they are brutal on my lips. They’re incredibly unforgiving and will accentuate any dryness on your lips. If you wear a lip stain, make sure to exfoliate lips and moisturize well beforehand so that lips are hydrated before applying the stain on top. You may want to layer clear lip balm or a gloss on top to keep lips from drying out during the day as well.

Like other stains, the color will also have a tendency to deposit more in lip lines, but the effect of this isn’t noticeable until after two or three hours of wear when the stain starts to fade a bit. I’m not sure if perhaps my lips are more sensitive than others, but I found the marker tip to be more abrasive than I’d expect in a lip product. It really does feel like a regular marker on the lips–it’s not like sandpaper, but it’s not like a sponge-tip lipgloss wand either. It made my lips tingle and feel a bit irritated for about twenty minutes after application.

I also found that these stains wore off significantly when drinking or eating. I actually brushed my teeth wearing one of these, and it was almost completely gone. It’s surprisingly easy to remove, but that’s not exactly why you’d opt for a stain, is it? I did several wear tests since receiving these on Friday morning, and I did wear tests with two of the three shades I currently have. I wore Tomorrow’s Coral while sleeping (approximately eight hours total), which allowed me to wear it without eating/drinking. I didn’t wake up with perfectly stained lips, but there was still a good amount of color left–too bad my lips looked like raisins left out in the sun to further dry out! I also wore Stylesetter for another eight-hour test, but during the day, to see how it would survive eating/drinking–it didn’t. I’d say about 80% of it disappeared by the time I had finished lunch.

They smell like vanilla, but they have kind of an odd taste. It’s not gross or chemical-y, but there’s something about it that’s a little unpleasant (but not wholly so). The packaging is cute and sleek, but they look 95% like CoverGirl’s Outlast Lipstains, which I thought was interesting.

My picks: None at this time. Based on lack of long-wearing power, I don’t think any of these shades are must-haves. I’ll be buying the other six shades to photograph and swatch so you can see what they look like when it launches in-store, so perhaps one of those shades will wow me enough to recommend it!

See photos & swatches!

MAC Art Supplies Collection
Lipstain Markers: A Classic, Full of Flare, Modern Mocha, Point of View,
Purposefully Red, Runway Ripened, Stylesetter, Sunset, Tomorrow’s Coral

MAC Art Supplies Collection
Lipstain Markers: A Classic, Full of Flare, Modern Mocha, Point of View,
Purposefully Red, Runway Ripened, Stylesetter

MAC Art Supplies Collection
Lipstain Markers: Modern Mocha, Point of View, Purposefully Red, Runway Ripened,
Stylesetter, Sunset, Tomorrow’s Coral

MAC Art Supplies Collection
Lipstain Markers: A Classic, Full of Flare, Modern Mocha, Point of View,
Purposefully Red, Runway Ripened, Stylesetter, Sunset, Tomorrow’s Coral

MAC Art Supplies Collection
Lipstain Markers: A Classic, Full of Flare, Modern Mocha, Point of View,
Purposefully Red, Runway Ripened, Stylesetter, Sunset, Tomorrow’s Coral

MAC Art Supplies Collection
Lipstain Markers: A Classic, Full of Flare, Modern Mocha, Point of View,
Purposefully Red, Runway Ripened, Stylesetter, Sunset, Tomorrow’s Coral

MAC Art Supplies Collection
Lipstain Markers: A Classic, Full of Flare, Modern Mocha, Point of View

MAC Art Supplies Collection
Lipstain Markers: Modern Mocha, Point of View, Purposefully Red, Runway Ripened

MAC Art Supplies Collection
Lipstain Markers: Runway Ripened, Stylesetter, Sunset, Tomorrow’s Coral

MAC Art Supplies Collection:  Lipstain Markers
MAC Tomorrow’s Coral Lipstain Marker

MAC Art Supplies Collection:  Lipstain Markers
MAC Tomorrow’s Coral Lipstain Marker

MAC Art Supplies Collection:  Lipstain Markers
Wear test: 8 hours (no eating/drinking–I just went to bed, ha!) with Tomorrow’s Coral

MAC Art Supplies Collection:  Lipstain Markers
Keep lips from looking dry with some lip balm (applied over color after 8 hours)

MAC Art Supplies Collection:  Lipstain Markers
MAC Stylesetter Lipstain Marker

MAC Art Supplies Collection:  Lipstain Markers
MAC Stylesetter Lipstain Marker

MAC Art Supplies Collection:  Lipstain Markers
MAC A Classic Lipstain Marker

MAC Art Supplies Collection:  Lipstain Markers
MAC A Classic Lipstain Marker

MAC Art Supplies Collection:  Lipstain Markers
MAC Full of Flare Lipstain Marker

MAC Art Supplies Collection:  Lipstain Markers
MAC Full of Flare Lipstain Marker

MAC Art Supplies Collection:  Lipstain Markers
MAC Runway Ripened Lipstain Marker

MAC Art Supplies Collection:  Lipstain Markers
MAC Runway Ripened Lipstain Marker

MAC Art Supplies Collection
MAC Modern Mocha Lipstain Marker

MAC Art Supplies Collection
MAC Modern Mocha Lipstain Marker

MAC Art Supplies Collection
MAC Point of View Lipstain Marker

MAC Art Supplies Collection
MAC Point of View Lipstain Marker

MAC Art Supplies Collection
MAC Purposefully Red Lipstain Marker

MAC Art Supplies Collection
MAC Purposefully Red Lipstain Marker

MAC Art Supplies Collection
MAC Sunset Lipstain Marker

MAC Art Supplies Collection
MAC Sunset Lipstain Marker

182 Comments

Comments that do not adhere to our comment policy may be removed. Discussion and debate are highly encouraged but we expect community members to participate respectfully. Please keep discussion on-topic, and if you have general feedback, a product review request, an off-topic question, or need technical support, please contact us!

Please help us streamline the comments' section and be more efficient: double-check the post above for more basic information like pricing, availability, and so on to make sure your question wasn't answered already. Comments alerting us to typos or small errors in the post are appreciated (!) but will typically be removed after errors are fixed (unless a response is needed).

We appreciate enthusiasm for new releases but ask readers to please hold questions regarding if/when a review will be posted as we can't commit to or guarantee product reviews. We don't want to set expectations and then disappoint readers as even products that are swatched don't always end up being reviewed due to time constraints and changes in priorities! Thank you for understanding!

Comments on this post are closed.
Lince Avatar

You have a pair of lovely lips, for sure. And I usually love MAC stuff. But if those stain look terrible on your lips, what would they do on mine? Guess I just have to skip them.
Thank you so much for the review, Temptalia.

Jackers Avatar

Well. At least I don’t feel the urge to spend $14, although I’m a little sad, I was hoping this would FINALLY be a good stain. Thanks for the great review!

Cherie Avatar

How disappointing. I didn’t really like CG’s lipstains much and was hoping these would be great.. Oh well, at least I’ll be saving some money 🙂

Thanks Christine for the review! Can’t wait to see what you think of the others in the collection.

SoVeryFabulous Avatar

Hmm this doesn’t sound like something I should try. I tend to have dry lips and I certainly don’t want to be using a product that can accentuate or further dry them out! Too bad, I think Stylesetter is a pretty colour. Oh well, more money to spend on Greasepaint sticks and Pearlglides!

StyleByEmma Avatar

Thanks for the review, Christine- my lips tend to get dry so I will unfortunately be skipping on this! Good to know. This was previously one of the most exciting products in the Art Supplies collection for myself as well, self hyped. 🙂

Natalie Avatar

Hey Christine, do you have Posietint or Benetint? If you do, how would you like MAC lip stain compare to Benefit’s? I love Benefit lip tints and even my lips are dry and flaky, those Benefit lip tints kinda cover them and my lips look gorgeous as long as I put a gloss on top (clear lipglass). Thanks for the review though. Loved reading them as your opinion and review count a lot to me 🙂

Ellie Avatar

im very disappointed 🙁
i was so excited for these, but looks like i’ll be skipping them.
now i can spend more money on greasepaint sticks i guess!!!

Sylvie Avatar

When I first heard about these lipstain markers, it made me instantly think of the lipstains that mac has released in the past – for example, the Ungaro collection or the Rose Romance collection. Those didn’t agree with me much since they made my lips feel very dry and tight once they had dried down. Besides augmenting any imperfection on your lips, did these lipstain markers have that effect too?

Shortiee31 Avatar

Ahh, they looked oh-so promising from the sneak peak swatches! What a shame 🙁 My lips tend to be perfect every morning but by night they may play up a bit – I will be skipping these then! Thank-you for the brilliant review Christine! 🙂 x

Ally Avatar

Gah, my lips are awful they always seem dry and flaky. I was gonna buy atleast 4 of these so I guess i’ll be saving money but I wanted these to work. I guess I’ll have more money for shoes 🙂

Ellie Avatar

Hm, these don’t look too great. I think I’ll be trying the ones from Tokidoki that Sephora just started selling. They have good reviews and cute looking colors.

Catherine Avatar

Aww man. I have dry, flaky lips 90% of the time (and I adore the Laura Mercier Stickglosses because they’re the only lip product I’ve found that doesn’t accentuate the dryness and liplines I have) so I guess I’ll have to skip these… =/

amy Avatar

Hmmm i will have to test these out myself because I have chronically dry lips and would have to remember to wear a lip conditioner every night to prepare my lips for lipsticks and lipglosses. These look nice but it doesn’t wear off really nice though.

Carrie Avatar

I never like these supposed long-lasting markers, so I’ll probably skip MAC’s. They always make your lips feel dry and once they fade, they usually leave a weird outline on your lips that is not attractive. Also, the colors tend to be too dark for my taste. I prefer gloss or a creamy lipstick. 🙂

mileena Avatar

I don’t really know what to think now because you hated these and toomuchblush absolutely loved them. I guess I’ll just have to try them out for myself

Cody Avatar

Oh no, I was really excited for these and I’m so disappointed now! Thank you for the honest review though, good thing I didn’t go out and buy five of these only to find out it was a total waste later.

Can you recommend any other lip stains that are a bit better than these? I didn’t mind the ones that came out with A Rose Romance but I only have one and it’s nearly gone.

Chrissie Avatar

Hey Christine,
I think Tomorrow’s Coral looks beautiful on you but it’s not worth getting if when it fades it accentuates lip lines – I’m not convinced that it’s any better than Cover Girl’s.
Since you don’t like this formula, I can’t believe you’re willing to go out and buy the rest of the colours anyways to swatch just for us! Thank you! What do you do with all the makeup that you buy for the blog and don’t end up liking?

Christine Avatar

Hi Chrissie,

I tried one of the CoverGirl Lipstains last night, so I’ll be working through those a bit in the next week or so. (I also have regular lipstick/gloss I want to try, too, LOL, and lip stains kind of take up the whole day.)

I keep them for use later – whether it’s in a look, comparisons, etc. Sometimes a reader will ask if X is a dupe of Y, so I hang onto products so that I can go back and check. I don’t (usually) have the time to photograph and swatch a specific comparison, but at least I can walk over and check it real fast!

I also donate makeup/skincare/haircare to battered women’s shelters and give some things to away to friends/family 🙂

If I never use something that I buy (which happens, LOL), then I might save it for a giveaway for readers as well. Usually I just buy a few extras when I go to the MAC store of whatever collection I’m buying from that day to set aside for giveaways later on.

scarlettholly Avatar

they look too similar to covergirl’s lipstains for me to bother with these. I was super excited about them as well. The thing that concerns me most is something we won’t know for a while – how long before they dry out? CG’s only last 3 or 4mths for me, which is why I never have more than one color of them at a time now!

Christine Avatar

You don’t even KNOW how similar they are. Same size, same width, same thickness… same design. The felt tip on CoverGirl is a lil’ longer (less stumpy), but even the inside of the cap is SO SO similar.

I’ve had a bunch of the CG Lipstains to test on my desk for awhile, so I think this is motivation to try them, lol!

Hannah Avatar

I’ve been wanting a really nice lip stain that added a bit of colour to my lips without looking like I had been sucking an ice lolly!
i was hoping these with loads of different colours would be my best bet…more money for other makeup then!

happybadfish Avatar

I was so excited for these, too bad. I can’t believe you are going to buy the remaining colors just to show us swatches. Very thoughtful of you, considering you don’t really care for them!!

forever on the hunt for a good lipstain!

make_up_maven Avatar

If I were a betting girl – I’d say these are purchased by MAC from the same source as Cover Girl and private labeled for MAC. Been there, done that. I’m going to pass on these.

queenfrostine Avatar

I have really pale lips naturally and look completely washed out without lipstick or decently pigmented lipgloss so I was really hoping these would turn out to be better than they sound. 🙁 I need something than can last through drinking and talking at least. I don’t mind having to reapply after a meal, but I typically am sipping on something all day!

GAO Avatar

Aww dang! thats so sad how they wear off like that, I still wanna get these though LMFAO, I reapply things on my lips constantly anyways so wella see how I like em.. I’ll just buy 1 . hahah but the colors loook SOOO NIICEE!!

Sarah Avatar

i love lipstains. normally, if my lips are a little too dry after i put one on, i just dab some clear lip gloss or even plain lip balm (like burt’s bees, because i like the tingle). it will help fill in the lines a bit and even out the color without adding much extra.

cmferrets Avatar

i like the color of stylesetterrr. i think ill just buy one from this collecton, just to have . ill wait for all the swatches first though.
i have all 3 of the lip stains from the sugarsweet collection. how do these compare christine? better worse. i know that one is a marker and one is a gel, but how do they last on the lips/ difference> ?

Christine Avatar

These are more opaque and go on more evenly — I find the regular ones tend to be a little more splotchy. I think the wear is better with the Lipstain Markers if you aren’t eating/drinking, but the other ones I don’t remember having trouble getting to stay on through a meal, but they were also much lighter.

JayJay Avatar

I’ve had a hard time with stains. I don’t like the taste, the texture, or that feeling they leave on my lips. I was really hoping that these ones would be different.. 🙁 Oh well, at least I can keep the money I was going to spend on them.. hahaha

Christine, what is your favourite brand of lipstain?

Tatyana Avatar

Wow, these lipstains don’t look good at all. I don’t know if I want to waste my money on those. I will definitely, however, get the grease paintsticks. ALL!

Valene Avatar

So, even though you didn’t get the rest of the stains do you not know what the colors and their descriptions are at least? This is disappointing that they don’t last the girls at the mac counter said they couldn’t scrub them off even with soap and water and a day later they were still on. Kinda strange that both of u are at opposite sides of a review on these product I will have to try them myself because i love lip stains on their own.

VJNS Avatar

I see what you mean about how they flake off. However, compared to regular lipstick, I have to apply almost hourly, so which is better? I’ve always liked lipsticks over lipstains, but now I’m wondering. What about cost effectiveness?

JillyB Avatar

Wow, thanks so much, it really makes a difference seeing them with your whole face. A much better idea of what the color really looks like.

Katie Avatar

Love the new format! Think I might skip the lip stains (the Pearlglides/Greasepaints are calling my name though) but it was great to see how they look on your whole face!!

phuongk Avatar

wow, i love the new additional photo shot, it helps to see the color better. it’s a keeper christine! 🙂 also, i can see why you’re not loving the markers…no buy for me either!

Bits Avatar

I won’t be getting these but thanks for the review! I really like how you included a face picture wearing the lipstains, it gives me a much better idea of how they look!

Jennifer Avatar

Thanks so much for all the work you put into this swatch post!

I ordered “Full of flare” but I’m thinking I might enjoy Stylesetter more or as well.

Alex Avatar

awesome!!! its probably more work but its greatly appreciated because its so much easier to see a color based on how it livens up ur whole face…or not! especially for me since we have similar skin color, type, eyes, and even thick dark eye brows…….so thank you!!!! btw I love lip stains and I kind of want them all and am willing to put up with the woes of application…would you say the full of flavor is your favorite so far? the thing is though that oddly enough they ALL look great on you!

p.s. if you guys dont like these bc ur lips arent as perfect as christine’s but want this popsicle look for summer try this: http://www.qvc.com/qic/qvcapp.aspx/view.2/app.detail/params.item.A199220.desc.smashbox-Lip-Blush-Lip-Color-Palette.
Looks like a stain but feels like a balm.
cons: you HAVE to apply with a brush and the price.
pros: u get 4 colors in 1 and qvc has an awesome return policy!
thats my 10 sec review!

dolce aria Avatar

May I say I like the new swatch style? The full face is SOOOO much more helpful to me than the really really close ups.

I doubt I’ll buy any of these- I love a few of the colors, but with the texture issues, and the fact that I chew my lips, I’m better off sticking to my UD lip stain. Side note-is this a similar stain formula to some of their previous LEs, just a different applicator? I have Tender Tryst(from A Rose Romance) and haven’t had the wear issues with the formula(though it doesn’t stain as evenly as I’d like). Just trying to place t his formula with the stain formulas I’ve had luck with before….

dolce aria Avatar

Heh yeah, the extra time WOULD be a pain-you already take such nice product photos anyways!(I have a hard time getting the lighting right-no clue HOW you do it!)

I wonder why they left off their old formula. I mean, it wasn’t the best, but it was pretty serviceable, and the stain DOES hold up a lot better! Which is WEIRD if these are MORE drying?!

Amanda Avatar

Not too crazy about these… however I LOVE THE WAY YOU DID LIP SWATCHES, where we get to see the lip color on your face!! Amazing! I’m sure it is more work, but will you continue doing lip swatches this way?
Love ya!

Ceriene Avatar

No perfect lips, so I’ll be skipping these, which helps in saving up for that Guerlain quad.

I love the addition of pictures of the lip swatches from farther away, by the way. It gives me a better idea of what they’ll look like on my lips. Thanks so much for these, Christine. 🙂

Lynniekae Avatar

Thanks for the review. I know I’m getting the eyestuff, but I was hoping to get into lip stains as well. Guess it won’t be these. Thanks!

Alannah Avatar

What a bummer–none of these shades would work for me (I need a pink or plum). Sounds like I’m not necessarily missing much, quality-wise though! They do look nice on you!

Jessica Allison Avatar

what a bummer! I was crossing my fingers that these would be better than the Cover Girl version- which was a huge disappointment. Just like the CG ones, these look fantastic on, but I know the CG one I got literally licked right off. I even let it “set” for a full 10 minutes- being VERY careful not to wet my lips. As soon as I did, I ended up with a mouth full of red stain- there was more on my tongue and teeth than on my lips.

I didn’t hear you mention that particular aspect in the MAC version, so perhaps they’re a slight upgrade, but not enough. Believe it or not, Victoria’s Secret made a pretty good lip stain pen a couple of years back. I’m not going to say it wasn’t a bit drying, but at least it stayed on past a lick of the lips! I’m pretty sure it’s been discontinued, but it’s something to look out for when they have their semi-annual sales (January & June!) since they’ll likely be 75% off!!!

StellarStace Avatar

Christine I like the new lip swatch photos that show your whole face! I think it gives a better idea of how the color works on a face and you’re so pretty, why not? Thanks for taking the time to do this!

ModeCrazyMakeUpOn Avatar

I like your new way to swatch it is very helpful! My fav’ of the five is Full of flare, i may be getting this one, I’m waiting for the others to actually decide 😉

Anitacska Avatar

I’m still not sure about these markers, to me they just look like felt tip pens, but wanted to say how much I like the new full face pictures added to the lip swatches, I was always wondering how it would look altogether, because sometimes just a lipswatch or an eye alone don’y look as nice as the full face does. (If that makes sense?)

Eve Avatar

They seem more intense in the full-face pics, that’s interesting! And by the description, they’re a definite pass for my dry, peeling lips.

But I seem to remember Givenchy has or will have lip markers too, gotta try out those. 😀

Hend Avatar

these are very good for lip stains ..
some othesr are really horrible ( they look exactly like u’re wearing some white board markers ur lips)
thanks for the swatches

Laura Avatar

I would love a review of the new Tarte lip stains! There is a mixed response, but your lips are almost as pigmented as mine, so I trust lip products done by you more than pictureless reviews.

aquarianrabbit Avatar

Long time lurkster, here: Oh my goodness, Christine! You are the best. I love the lip swatches you do (one of my reasons for your blog being my fave beauty blog), but now that you have your face showing with the lip color, you have just been deemed epic! Epically awesome, that is. Thanks so much for all your hard work – it really helps me when I shop! =) And it’s a treat to see all the beauties, and your gorgeous face wearing them!

Annie Siegel Avatar

Thank you SO much for putting up pics of your full face with the lip swatches! i love this because when i look at just your lips, i love the color but i never know how it will look with the whole face, like too overbearing or not able to be pulled off sorta thing… this is a huge help and makes me like colors i never thought would look good!

Andrea Avatar

I’m still not crazy about these!!! My lips are far less nice than yours, so I really don’t think these will look good on me at all!

Also – I really love the full face photo!!!!

Lindah Avatar

Love the new style of swatches! 🙂 Hopefully you will keep these! I know some swatches look different from just the lips versus the full face! ^_^ I think I will pass on these lipstain markers because of my dry lips and because they don’t seem like they’re “all that”. Thanks for taking the time to do these <3

Aniela Avatar

These colors look great and I would definitely get the pinkish one and wear it on special occasions, but I do find lip stains are very harsh on my lips so I’d rather stick to regular lipsticks I guess.

Jillian Avatar

LOVE the new swatch views. I have often wanted to see your whole face when looking at a color…somehow it helps put it in perspective a bit more, even if we are different skin tones.

Carolina Avatar

Oohh, I LIKE the new swatch dynamic with the four different photos. Looks really good, definitely magazine level in terms of professional presentation. Well done.

kelliegonzo Avatar

i really really really like you having pictures of your face with the shades on included in this post!!! i’ve been wanting to see that, haha i guess i just didn’t know what to ask for? seriously, it makes the biggest difference. i know maybe it wouldn’t seem like it because obviously we all look different, but it helps to see the shade in perspective to the entire look/face. thanks again and i hope you continue to add shots like this to more posts 😀

cmferrets Avatar

yeah i totally agree about the face pictures. its does make a diff and is aweseome. now seeing what the lip swatches look like in the full face pic, i can finally tell a slight diff in the original review of the tomorrows coral and a classic lip marker.
so far i want stylesetter and full of flare.

Connie Avatar

Love, love, love the full face shots – and that is why your blog is the best. I might spring for the Full of Flare but not all that excited about these as I was at first. I have lip stains I don’t use although I might try your tip about layering.

starr Avatar

ooh I the runway ripened colour looks gorgeous. sigh i wasnt going to buy anything to save cash when i heard they were hard to apply but sigh i love lipstains. thanks for the swatches christie 🙂

Catherine Avatar

LOVE the new way of posting the swatch pics. I always wonder how lip swatches look with the whole face in mind. Please keep it up!

Sara Avatar

i’ll be skipping these.. i was lloking forward to them though =(
i love your new swatching pictures (the full face pic) i’ve been meaning to ask if you could start doing that because sometimes the colour looks overwhelming close up and i wanted to know how it would look from a normal distance. THANK YOU CHRISTINE!

Becky Avatar

thanks for the review, probably skipping these for the greasepaints and pearlglides but HAD to say that i LOVE the new style of swatching! it’s great to see how the color affects the rest of your face 🙂

Stef Avatar

Your new swatch set up is great Christine. Really helpful. But wow, I bet it’s time consuming! (Especially with lip stains! Did your lips hurt after all this?) It just goes to share how much you care about bringing everyone the best blog that you can.

I guess I’m in the minority here, cause I think these look pretty great.
Not such a huge difference between most of the colors though…

Christine Avatar

I think with stains it’s hard to get dramatic differences — ultimately they’re likely going to have to be on the darker side in order to change up your pucker, so I definitely see it difficult to go too wild (so perhaps they didn’t need to release 9 shades!). They look great at first, but man, so much of the stain comes off with the first sip of water!

Thanks, Stef!

Michaela Avatar

I REALLY like the new lip swatch style. It helps enormously to have a full face to see the color on- I have no idea why, but it just seems to give me a more accurate mental picture of the shade.

Haydyn Avatar

Wow I LOVE how you showed the color on you with your whole face showing. That is so much more helpful because I can see how the color works with the entire look. Please keep doing these for lipstick reviews!
Love you christine!

Teresa Avatar

LOL this proves my first thought when I saw this 😀
I felt this new look (the pink/purple..) really made it POP out to me. I really love it. It works and it’s pretty, too! 🙂

Teresa Avatar

None of these colours are what I was looking for 🙁
But I just want to say, this new lip swatch idea is GREAT! 🙂 I’ve always wanted full faces for lip swatches as to get a better idea, because it’s very easy to fall in love with just about any product when shown on your lovely puckers alone! 😀

liz Avatar

just wanted to say that i like the new style of swatching. i like the close up pics, but the ones a little farther back shows better how itll lay on the face.

also, you and karen from makeupandbeautyblog are making me really want some of these. im somewhere between both of your skintones so i can interpolate what things would look like on me.

abby Avatar

Wow Christine!!! your website is by far the very best! I love it how you show swatches alone, then on lips then the whole face, it’s awesome!!

talora Avatar

I love, love, love your website. Seriously. I often take it for granted, but the truth is, whenever there is a new Mac launch I come straight here to see if you’ve got a swatch and you almost always do. And sometimes I’ll buy something even though I’ve seen the photo and I know *intellectually* that it’s probably wrong for me and EVERY time your photo was right. I should have believed it. Both good (I’ve bought some keepers based on your photos) and bad (I’ve bought some stinkers thinking they’d look differently on me — they don’t even though my coloring is totally different). So, I guess this is just a long winded thank you! 🙂

I Avatar

I actually tried these on during the weekend and they worked really well for me. They did not set in the cracks of my lips or anything (I dont do anything special for my lips, just apply fresh’s SUGAR lip balm every night). I also wore them for at least 5 hrs without any fading while eating and drinking! so I am not sure if they just will work differently with everyone.

Petra Avatar

Sadly these colours seem too bright for me – and too similar. I may end up picking up 1, if i really like it in person, but possibly i’ll just either save the money or spend it on another pearlglide eyeliner. i use those daily. I always feel like stocking up on those, but well, MAC is bound to launch them around twice a year, or make them permanent someday. I’ll just hol out. 🙂 Thanks for the amazing new installment of the face shot, it really helps! You’re such an angel! 🙂

Mickee Avatar

I completely agree with everyone else. I was really hoping these would be the amazing lip stain I have been looking for.
Also, I appreciate that you post your before/after lips AND your whole face now. Sometimes, it’s difficult to picture the product as a whole, so thanks! 😀
Hope you have a great day!!

Hilana Avatar

Mmmmm, this is probably the most unpopular test I have ever seen you do according to the comments! 🙂

Fact is, lipstains are not easy to wear. I friend once gave me two from a local brand here in SA, and I love them. Sadly, I’ve had them for so long now, I cannot even make out the name on them anymore! LOL!
But I always wear a clear gloss over them and they never leave me with just a weird outline on the lips, so I guess I am one of the very few who enjoys a stain. 🙂

Torie Avatar

I might have to try stylesetter. I have a couple of the Cover Girl lip stains but what i’ve really been looking for in a shade is the Mac Stylesetter. I have dry lip issues and the Cover Girl lip stains don’t bother me so are Mac’s more drying?

Bonita Avatar

ohhh MAC…i love you but was this “art supplies” collection necessary?
Marker on the lips? sorry – doesn’t sound so hot to me.
BUT regardless, it still looks fantastic on you christine! =)

aradhana Avatar

hi christine
i really like the new style of lip swatch…it helps visualise the overall impression!
i don’t know if you mentioned this somewhere already, but how do you feel about the applicator tip? it seems like it would wear down quickly….a bit like those markers from art class…does anyone find that to be a problem with these or cover girl ones?

candace Avatar

honestly, my covergirl cinnamon kiss lasted longer on my lips then MAC’s Sunset. The problem I had with covergirl was how quickly the lipstain marker dried out.

Meesh Avatar

These are a great idea, but I don’t have the time to carefully exfoliate and then layer these on. I figure these are kind of a need to go, grab and apply. On that note, the stila lip stain is very good.

Gao Avatar

awww, now that you put up all the other colors, I’m really disappointed with these, they don’t look as amazing. man! even stylesetter doesn’t
looks appealing to me anymore either : ( I’ll pass on these.
Thanks for your review <3!

aaj83 Avatar

i am not a big fan of the markers themselves….but i LOOOOOOOOOVE your new layout for showing lip swatches!!
VERRRRRY useful….you know how to keep getting better girl..LUV your website..hugz!! 🙂

The Rotund Avatar

I’ve been salivating over these and I am sorry they were not quite working for you. I wonder if you have very dry or even just sensitive lips. I know the other lipstains MAC has done haven’t seemed to work as well for you either. Meanwhile, I have purchased three of these and am seriously considering getting the other colors as well just because they go on so smoothly, the color layers gorgeously, and they don’t come off when I eat. So weird how the results vary! As it is, I massively appreciate you swatching as that was the deciding factor in me going to the pro store tonight.

Christine Avatar

Hmm, I wouldn’t say I have dry or sensitive lips — I’d say they’re pretty well-maintained. Do wear these alone or with a balm or gloss on top (or under)? If I wear them with a gloss or balm on top, they don’t dry out my lips too much, but then it’s not really a stain IMO! (My idea of a stain is a flat finish–look exactly like my lips in texture and feel but alter the color.)

I drank water after putting these on (maybe about 30 minutes later), and 70% of the stain washed into the glass (totally gross!).

I’m glad they’re working for you!

candace Avatar

Great review! I purchased modern mocha and sunset because the colors were great in the store. However, wearing them in real life…the color wears of super quickly! I was left with faded, almost zero color after 45 minutes…without having anything to eat or drink. Sigh…

lylyoo Avatar

hmm that is interesting.
i read the reviews here and tried some of them myself at the shop (i can’t remember which ones i tried). the first one i tried was the easiest to remove with the wet tissue from the shop. i tried the second and after cleaning it left a bit stain. then i tried the third and when i cleaned there was more stain left. so i put on stylesetter (bought that and full of flare) and after i left the shop around 6 pm i ate my dinner, went for drinks, and left it on till 11ish-12 and i used mac face wash (remover) and it was still there. in the morning it was still there. i took a shower in the noon and finally it was gone. i tried the same with full of flare and same, stayed there for so long, like newly put on. my lips are normally dry and a bit wounded but these never gave trouble – my lips looked perfectly normal. not only me but also people i was with noticed it – so imho these are not too different than lip pencils used as lipsticks and even lipsticks themselves. i recommend them.

We try to approve comments within 24 hours (and reply to them within 72 hours) but can sometimes get behind and appreciate your patience! 🙂 If you have general feedback, product review requests, off-topic questions, or need technical support, please contact us directly. Thank you for your patience!