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MAC 5 Naughty Little Vices Nail Lacquer Review, Photos, Swatches (Tartan Tale)


Nail Lacquer: Asiatique, Beyond Jealous, Nocturnelle, Vice is Nice, Vintage Vamp

MAC Tartan Tale: 5 Naughty Little Vices Nail Lacquer

This year, MAC has created a miniature set of nail lacquers, which includes two new (and exclusive) shades as well as three repromotes. The set itself is limited edition.

This includes: Asiatique (creamy classic red), Beyond Jealous (blackened blue green), Nocturnelle (black-as-night black), Vice is Nice (classic metallic gold), and Vintage Vamp (deep black wine).

  • Asiatique is a bright, cherry red cream. It applied opaque in two coats, and it went rather smoothly–not streaky at all. This is a repromote.
  • Beyond Jealous is a green-teal tinged black cream. This applied rather streakily; I needed three coats to get an even, smooth look. I think three coats was necessary just to achieve total opacity, too. This looks rather black regardless of the lighting, though. This is a repromote.
  • Nocturnelle is a dark black cream. Three coats. It’s come out a few times before.
  • Vice is Nice is a shimmering lightened gold with soft yellow tones. The finish looks like a metallic frost to me. It did need a full three coats to get an opaque result, and you can see some brush strokes. It is golder than China Glaze Midnight Kiss.
  • Vintage Vamp is a deep burgundy-red cream. Like several of the other shades, I did need three coats for this, and the first two layers applied on the streakier side.

Each vial contains 2.5g/0.09 oz., while a full-size polish contains 0.34 oz. There is a total of 0.45 oz. worth of polish in the set, which is just under a polish and a half worth of product. MAC’s Nail Lacquer retails for $38.24/oz., while this set works out to be $56.67/oz.  I would expect a bit more given the price tag.

Given some of the application issues and the overall uniqueness of the colors (low), I don’t know if this would be the best introduction to MAC’s nail lacquers or even a great deal. MAC has done some really interesting shades, but this set does not include those. A black, red, and dark red cream just feel too standard. There’s no reason to settle for streakier, less pigmented formulas at this price point when competitors in this price range do it better. Just from the quality issues I had, it’s not a must-have based on my experience.

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  • Product: 24/30
  • Value: 7/10
  • Ease of Use: 4/5
  • Packaging: 4/5

RECOMMENDATION: The formula on these is just so-so; the majority needed three coats, and a couple had streaky application.

AVAILABILITY: MAC


Nail Lacquer: Asiatique, Beyond Jealous, Nocturnelle, Vice is Nice, Vintage Vamp


Nail Lacquer: Asiatique, Beyond Jealous, Nocturnelle, Vice is Nice, Vintage Vamp


Nail Lacquer: Asiatique, Beyond Jealous, Nocturnelle, Vice is Nice, Vintage Vamp



MAC Asiatique Nail Lacquer (Natural Light)


MAC Asiatique Nail Lacquer (Natural Light)


MAC Asiatique Nail Lacquer (Natural Light)


MAC Asiatique Nail Lacquer (Flash)


MAC Beyond Jealous Nail Lacquer (Natural Light)


MAC Beyond Jealous Nail Lacquer (Natural Light)


MAC Beyond Jealous Nail Lacquer (Natural Light)


MAC Beyond Jealous Nail Lacquer (Flash)


MAC Nocturnelle Nail Lacquer (Natural Light)


MAC Nocturnelle Nail Lacquer (Natural Light)


MAC Nocturnelle Nail Lacquer (Natural Light)


MAC Nocturnelle Nail Lacquer (Flash)


MAC Vice is Nice Nail Lacquer (Natural Light)


MAC Vice is Nice Nail Lacquer (Natural Light)


MAC Vice is Nice Nail Lacquer (Natural Light)


MAC Vice is Nice Nail Lacquer (Flash)


MAC Vintage Vamp Nail Lacquer (Natural Light)


MAC Vintage Vamp Nail Lacquer (Natural Light)


MAC Vintage Vamp Nail Lacquer (Natural Light)


MAC Vintage Vamp Nail Lacquer (Flash)

31 Comments

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Comments on this post are closed.
babyinacorner Avatar

Your assessment of this collection as a bit dull is definitely on the mark. Maybe mac are trying to appeal to a general audience rather than make loving mac fans like us?

Keen Janine Avatar

The colors are nice, it’s just that MAC charges so much for their Nail Lacquers and they chip after a day. Horrible quality. I can’t justify spending the money on pretty colors that will not stay on my nails for even a week. I’d rather spend the cash on China Glaze or OPI.

Ameera Avatar

Completely agree with you girl. OPI, which costs a lot less than Mac, has much better quality, much better color selection, and the polish stays on for at least a week (much longer on toes).

I won’t be buying Mac polishes ever. It’s a waste of my money.

Sarrah T Avatar

My husband bought these for me as a Christmas present, so I’m still pretty excited about them coming in the mail. He knows my love for MAC and nail polish, so I think that it’s the thought that counts.

Marcela Avatar

i was really excited for the mini nailpolish set as i think it’s MAC’s first time releasing one… but all these colors are sooo boring! too bad but at least my wallet gets a break.

chibaraki Avatar

I always like the colors MAC comes out with for their nail lacquers but it seems like the formula is pretty much never up to par so I never wind up buying it. Considering how inexpensively you can get polishes with a great formula, it seems silly to pay more for something mediocre to crappy. (Even if I did LOOOOOOOVE the color of Imperial Splendour…)

Eileen Avatar

This is the first item I was attracted to in this Tartan Tale collection cause it’s just so darn cute but too many vampy colours for me so I’m passing. Haven’t bought a mac nail polish yet, sorry I didn’t buy Bad Fairy when I had the chance at Mac but I’m not going to pay 3 times the price & outrageous shipping on ebay …. guess I’ll just wait till until gem comes along.

Carrie Ann Avatar

I thought it was clever that MAC released a mini nail lacquer set this year. I don’t remember them ever doing that before. The price is also decent, but MAC nail lacquers aren’t known for their quality. The colors are nice, but I think this set is definitely easy to skip. It might be good for someone who doesn’t have any MAC nail polishes and just wants to try them out, though.

MARGO Avatar

holy mackeral..with the holidays coming I thought they could do better. All seem dark and more Halloweenish. Not a really nice platinum or a forest green duochrome or jelly finish. ugh……………

Quinctia Avatar

I can kinda see why you’d include a black in this set of colors, especially given the overall collection theme. But why have essentially TWO of them in such a small set, especially considering two of the other colors are reds? (At least they’re different reds?)

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