MAC Gritty Girl, Cold Hard Cash, Secret Number Lipsticks Reviews, Photos, Swatches
Gritty Girl
MAC Gritty Girl Lipstick ($17.00 for 0.10 oz.) is muted, medium brown with neutral-to-warm undertones and a semi-matte finish. It was richly pigmented with a creamy, thicker texture that seemed to emphasize the texture of my lips slightly. The color went on evenly and adhered well to my lips, so the color managed to last for a solid five hours despite being a lighter shade. It was slightly drying over time, though.
FURTHER READING: Formula Overview for details on general performance and characteristics (like scent).
Top Dupes
- MAC Flesh Stone (LE, $21.00) is darker, less glossy (90% similar).
- Obsessive Compulsive Cosmetics Spike (DC, $17.00) is warmer, glossier (85% similar).
- MAC Café au Chic (P, $21.00) is darker (85% similar).
Formula Overview
$19.00/0.1 oz. - $190.00 Per Ounce
MAC Lipstick comes in a variety of finishes, and the pigmentation and wear tend to be dependent on the finish. The sheer finishes, like Lustres, tend to wear for only a couple of hours and have sheer coverage (as designed) and are non-drying.
Some of the original Matte shades have a stiffer, drier formula, while newer ones have a more velvety, silicone-feel to them, and the latter are creamier, more comfortable to wear, and easier to apply, but most Matte shades are quite pigmented and long-wearing, though some are drying.
The Amplified and Satin finishes tend to have good pigmentation, lightly creamy to moderately creamy consistencies with a bit of shine, and moderate to long wear with deeper, richer shades wearing longer. The Frost and Metallic finishes have the most variance between shades with coverage ranging from semi-sheer to opaque with average wear and non-drying to slightly drying formulas. All MAC lipsticks are vanilla-scented but have no discernible taste.
Browse all of our MAC Lipstick swatches.
Gritty Girl
LELimited Edition. $19.00.
Cold Hard Cash
MAC Cold Hard Cash Lipstick ($17.00 for 0.10 oz.) is a light-medium, rosy brown with warm undertones and a soft sheen. It had nearly opaque pigmentation that applied evenly and smoothly without dragging on my lips. The texture was a bit thicker, and it separated near my deeper lip lines slightly. The formula was comfortable to wear and neither drying nor hydrating over the five hours the lipstick lasted.
FURTHER READING: Formula Overview for details on general performance and characteristics (like scent).
Top Dupes
- ColourPop Mess Around (P, $7.00) is darker, glossier (90% similar).
- ColourPop Mrs. Norris (LE, $10.00) is less shimmery, lighter, warmer (95% similar).
- MAC Café au Chic (P, $21.00) is more muted, cooler, less glossy (90% similar).
- ColourPop Pillow Talk (P, $6.00) is lighter (90% similar).
- Fenty Beauty I Quit (P, $18.00) is less shimmery, darker (85% similar).
- MAC Stone (P, $19.00) is less shimmery, cooler (95% similar).
- Sephora Vacation Goals (59) (P, $8.00) is less shimmery, darker, glossier (80% similar).
- Pat McGrath Lust Angeles (LE, $40.00) is lighter, brighter, glossier (85% similar).
- MAC Styled in Sepia (LE, $19.00) is lighter, brighter, warmer (85% similar).
- NYX Butter (P, $6.00) is lighter (80% similar).
Formula Overview
$19.00/0.1 oz. - $190.00 Per Ounce
MAC Lipstick comes in a variety of finishes, and the pigmentation and wear tend to be dependent on the finish. The sheer finishes, like Lustres, tend to wear for only a couple of hours and have sheer coverage (as designed) and are non-drying.
Some of the original Matte shades have a stiffer, drier formula, while newer ones have a more velvety, silicone-feel to them, and the latter are creamier, more comfortable to wear, and easier to apply, but most Matte shades are quite pigmented and long-wearing, though some are drying.
The Amplified and Satin finishes tend to have good pigmentation, lightly creamy to moderately creamy consistencies with a bit of shine, and moderate to long wear with deeper, richer shades wearing longer. The Frost and Metallic finishes have the most variance between shades with coverage ranging from semi-sheer to opaque with average wear and non-drying to slightly drying formulas. All MAC lipsticks are vanilla-scented but have no discernible taste.
Browse all of our MAC Lipstick swatches.
Cold Hard Cash
LELimited Edition. $19.00.
Secret Number
MAC Secret Number Lipstick ($17.00 for 0.10 oz.) is a dark taupe brown with subtle, warm undertones and a satin finish. It had semi-opaque color coverage that went on fairly evenly, though I wasn’t able to apply it as evenly or as opaquely on the inner area of my lips (I tried a few times and it kept applying the same). The texture was creamy, not too thin or too thick, and applied without tugging. It wore well for five hours and was non-drying.
FURTHER READING: Formula Overview for details on general performance and characteristics (like scent).
Top Dupes
- MAC Esspresso (P, $21.00) is darker, less glossy (90% similar).
- Anastasia Griffin (P, $18.00) is lighter, cooler (80% similar).
- Sephora Backstage (60) (P, $8.00) is more shimmery, lighter (85% similar).
Formula Overview
$19.00/0.1 oz. - $190.00 Per Ounce
MAC Lipstick comes in a variety of finishes, and the pigmentation and wear tend to be dependent on the finish. The sheer finishes, like Lustres, tend to wear for only a couple of hours and have sheer coverage (as designed) and are non-drying.
Some of the original Matte shades have a stiffer, drier formula, while newer ones have a more velvety, silicone-feel to them, and the latter are creamier, more comfortable to wear, and easier to apply, but most Matte shades are quite pigmented and long-wearing, though some are drying.
The Amplified and Satin finishes tend to have good pigmentation, lightly creamy to moderately creamy consistencies with a bit of shine, and moderate to long wear with deeper, richer shades wearing longer. The Frost and Metallic finishes have the most variance between shades with coverage ranging from semi-sheer to opaque with average wear and non-drying to slightly drying formulas. All MAC lipsticks are vanilla-scented but have no discernible taste.
Browse all of our MAC Lipstick swatches.
I would have expected “Cold Hard Cash” to be one of the green shades 🙂
I know!
I’m usually not a fan of dark brown lipstick on lighter skin, but I have to say that Secret Number looks excellent on you.
Gritty Girl looks interesting to me. MAC used to have a cooler brown in their permanent line that I loved in the 90’s, (brain isn’t forthcoming atm). This reminds me of it a bit.
Thank you, Wendy!
Cold Hard Cash is right up my alley!
Awesome!
Me too!!
Gritty Girl is one of the colors I picked up! I love it 🙂
Yayy!
Wow, I’m surprised there aren’t more dupes for Espresso, it’s well named LOL
Oh I meant Secret Number!
I was surprised!
What a great array of colours! I love MAC’s formula’s and this is no exception! These aren’t colours that I’d normally wear but they are undeniably worth the price!
Glad you liked ’em!
These aren’t for me, but cold hard cash was more interesting to my eye.
Cold Hard Cash is interesting!
Difficult colors! Definitely not for me.
Totally understand!
OOOH these all look fabulous. Gritty Girl looks amazing but I know it will ash me out however the other two are gorgeous. I am not a huge MAC fan but their nudes have the best ranges for my skin.
So glad you found a brand that has the shades you need 🙂
Of these 3, Cold Hard Cash looks like something I could pull off. But I will likely be getting KVD Sanctuary as my one darker greigey type of color. I had a chance to try both that and Bite Thistle on yesterday, and even though they really are very cool-toned, I love both! Just not sure what I’d pair them with for eyeshadows to help them “fit” my warm-toned skin? (They didn’t look good with the intense blue and teal look I did with KVD MM palette, though.)
Maybe taupes/mauves?
That would likely look much better. Sort of a monochromatic look as opposed to anything that clashes, as my skintone already does a great job at clashing with cool tones. I’ll try that out!
Love Cold Hard Cash on you
Thank you! 🙂
Cold hard cash is ?. I love it!
Enjoy it 😀
Interesting colours. I don’t think they are for me, but I will have to try them on. Just for fun. If I hate the look, it’s just to tissue it off and it I sort of like it, I’ll wear it and let people stare at the crazy old woman 🙂
Looking forward to seeing if you try any, Helene!
Not really a fan of these shades – I think they would look really unnatural on many complexions, although Secret Number is probably the best.
I really love your eye makeup Christine.
Thank you, Genevieve!
These look so fabulous on you, Christine!!!
Of all three, I’m drawn to Secret Number the most, but I’m not sure it’s a wearable shade for me. It looks amazing on you, Christine! Cold Hard Cash is probably the best one for me. I just love brown lipsticks, for some reason 🙂
These shades really take me back to the beginning of my make-up wearing journey. I just might go for Secret Number or Cold Hard Cash just for nostalgia’s sake.
I **just** noticed how few dupes Gritty Girl and Secret Number have. Secret Number is a really interesting color — I like it!
I cant find them on the UK official MAC website 🙁 any suggestions??,