MAC Quite Cute: Overall & Recommendations
MAC Quite Cute: Overall & Recommendations
OVERALL, Quite Cute is a cool-toned, pastel-themed collection that will prove tricky for those with warmer and/or darker complexions. The lipsticks, nail lacquers, and plushglasses are the better products from the collection, based on quality, with Playing Koi being a total miss within the lipsticks launched (very dry, clingy texture). Plushglasses are relatively sheer, as designed to be, and so they’re easier to wear and more suitable across skin tones than some of the other products from Quite Cute. I found the mineralize blushes from this launch rather powdery, and combined with the pastel color palette, the blush can easily look more powdery and almost ashy on medium to dark complexions.
On the surface, Quite Cute is reminiscent of Sugarsweet, but this launch lacks balance. Too many pastels, too many cool-toned colors without brighter, warmer, or contrasting colors to support the color palette of Quite Cute. This collection will best suit those with paler skin tones, because pigmentation is lower overall, and then naturally, cooler undertones will find this more flattering than warmer skin tones. Please understand that by no means am I saying warmer or medium/dark skin tones cannot wear this collection–but you may find it less flattering right out of the box and need to figure out how to pair it and with what–most likely products outside of the collection. I’m a firm believer in anyone can wear any color–it’s about having confidence and how you wear it that matters.
If you love pastels, I think you may still like this collection–but the quality seems lower here and makes this a less-than-impressive collection.
Photos, Reviews, Swatches
- Blushes: Giggly, Miss Behave, Sakura
- Cutie Eyeshadow Quad
- Lip Pencils
- Lipsticks
- Nail Lacquers
- Plushglasses
- Video Review
Check out recommendations, what to check your stash for, what to skip, and recommendations by skin tone!
Temptalia’s Recommendations
must-haves: In Synch lip pencil
nice-to-haves: Candy Yum Yum, Playtime lipstick
skip: Cutie Eyeshadow Quad (poor quality)
Check your stash for…
SAINT GERMAIN (permanent), BOLDLY BARE (repromote)
IN SYNC (repromote)
NAKED (repromote).
Skip if you have…
- Skip I LOVE U if you have EVER SO RICH; the former is slightly more pigmented but they are similar.
- Skip PLAYTIME if you have STYLE CURVE; though slightly different, they are comparable enough.
- Skip LITTLE GIRL TYPE if you have CHINA GLAZE LIGHT AS AIR; they’re very similar.
Recommendations by Skin Tone
Please note that this section is merely suggesting shades that would complement a particular skin tone better than other shades, but these lists are meant to be rather exhaustive of the entire collection; it’s not reflective of must-haves for your skin tone or products recommended to purchase at all. When it comes to cooler/warmer skin tones, these are products that lean noticeably cool/warm and therefore complement the corresponding skin tone better (but it does not mean you can’t wear a warmer product if you’re cooler!).
- light skin tones: Playing Koi, Saint Germain, Quite Cute lipsticks; Girl Loves Boy, I Love You plushglasses; Cutie Eyeshadow Quad; Sakura blush
- medium skin tones: Giggly blush;
- dark skin tones: Giggly blush
- cool undertones: Saint Germain, Quite Cute lipsticks; Girl Loves Boy, I Love You plushglasses; Cutie Eyeshadow Quad; Sakura blush; Ice Cream Cake, Little Girl Type, Mischievous nail lacquers;
- warm undertones: Giggly blush; Mischievous nail lacquer;
- universally flattering shades: Candy Yum Yum, Play Time lipsticks; Miss Behave blush; Bubble Tea, Fashion Fanatic plushglasses; Boldly Bare, In Sync, Naked lip pencils;
Thanks for the recs! After more and more things from Quite Cute were reviewed recently I’m pretty sure I don’t want anything…and I’m NC15. I bought some permanent blushes I didn’t have instead like Blushbaby and Well Dressed. Giggly seems too dark for me, Sakura might look weird on my skintone, and Miss Behave is kind of bland. I already have pastel colors similar to the ones in the quad. The lipstick colors are either strange or too bright for everyday use. The plushglass looks too sheer/boring and I’m afraid of a bad reaction. I think I’ll be happy with my Blushbaby and Well Dressed though. Can’t wait for them to arrive in the mail! 🙂
When will this debut online? Xo
This afternoon or tomorrow – MAC doesn’t have exact times for online, but it is usually two days before.
not this time! it’s already the 6th and it’s not up on mac’s site yet
Interesting recommendations. I’ll consider them when I’m picking stuff up!
Thanks for your recommendations, Christine! We appreciate all of the time and effort you put into your reviews!!! ^_^
A great review as always!! Thank you so much!!
I also have a request!! (blushing right now!!) Is it possible for you to add to the blushes reviews, the pictures of your face (like you did at the end of the review for the cremeblend blushes)?? I think it is easier to compare the final look for each product… well I found it very very useful… =D
your overalls and recommendations are always very informative and helpful!thank you..i may get candy yum yum!
I cat’t wait for this collection, haven’t been interested in the previous Mac collections for the longest time, now finally it attracts my eyes, I love cute packaging especially the minerilized blush, wanna get it! Since I have paler skin, I guess it might have flattering effect on me, can’t wait to try them this week!
I bought Playing Koi Lipstick & Girl Loves Boy Plushglass, and I have to say: I’m quite happy about them!
Playing Koi is quite dry indeed, but I think it can be prevented if you moisturize your lips in advance (when you are applying the rest of your makeup for instance, so it can ‘dry’).
I have never seen a color similar to Playful Koi (this can be me ;)), but I love it, especially when I wear Girl Loves Boy over it!
(I agree that it’s a quite stronger plumping factor! I didn’t have an allergic reaction, but it’s quite strong indeed)
(Btw; I’m NW25m although it’s a bit darker than my actual skin tone + I’m neither warm/cold-based, from my experience :P)
Just my opinion on those two!
I love your reviews Christine, bless the day I found your site! 😀
thanku christine i have been waiting for ur reccomendatiions. although i preordered sakura i might actually return it. the ma did put it on me wet and it did look pretty but i do feel that i have to have a certain look to pull it off. i am a dark tanned skin gal and i do feell that like u said anyone could wear these colors but u just have to love pastels. if i found a mac free shipping code i might get the nice to have lipsticks,thanku we always appreciate ur hard work.
Im just getting candy yum yum and synch. This has to be the worse collection by far. Thank you christine your a nice lady! lol
This collection is not for me.
I am very fair (MAC doesn’t have a foundation light enough for me) and very cool toned so I’m liking a lot of things from this collection! Thank you so much for your time and your effort Christine. You are the best!
I have this thing with collections from MAC, I try to always find something new to try from each collection, but I’ve been really disappointed this year ! I got a polish from Cham Pale that I adore, a gel liner from Stylishly Yours, LOADS of stuff from Mickey Contractor, but otherwise I’ve been super disappointed and haven’t bought a thing ! I’ve decided my final shopping list for this collection is In Synch, Naked, and Playtime lipstick. Hopefully MAC will redeem themselves with Surf Baby ! xx Thank you so much Christine !
I am so disappointed in this collection 🙁 Oh well, I can save my money. Thanks for the reviews, as always!
I plan to get Play Time lipstick and Sakura & Miss Behave Mineralize Blushes. I’m not sure about Playing Koi anymore and though I’m interested in I Love U Plushglass, I feel that it might not be worth the price. If it were the same price as a Lipglass, I’d probably get it.
im gonna get the pink nail polish maybe the mint too
My wallet was surely relieved when all the reviews and swatches came out… what a disappointment. I had a bad reaction to lip fusion, I think the plushglass might have similar ingredients so I’m gonna skip it. just getting candy yum yum and happy about it!
I wish they wouldve brought back cutester lipstick from hello kitty 🙁 the name goes perfectly too…
second that!! instead of playing koi…
Candy Yum Yum is waaay too bright for pale-skinned me lol, and I think Playing Koi would just drain any colour I have from my face and lips. I got Play Time, though, and love it! The lilac in the quad doesn’t swatch at all on my hand or arm, but shows up perfectly well on my lids – no idea why.
Looking at the first pictures of this collection I was like: OMG!!
But now, I’m sure that I’ll be passing on this completely. Nothing spoke to me! So sad….
btw, LOOOVE your reviews Christine!!
Hm, shouldn’t it go up on the site this morning? I contacted MAC and all they said was that I would have to sign up for newsletters and all, yadda yadda. 🙂
Yet another MAC collection I’ll be skipping. *sigh*
As everyone have different skin tone and lip colour, blushes and lipsticks won’t show the same colour. On me candy yum yum doesn’t look pink but more magenta and I applied just a little bit. On Christine playtime looks great but on me it ‘s like a super dark violet, I look ugly with these on my lips! But the blushes giggly and Sakura, both work so great on me they look really pinky ! So for me the star of this collection would be the blushes.
ONLINE @ Macys.com 🙂
Just ordered Giggly and Sakura blushes & Play Time and Quite Cute lipsticks!
Hey Christine, is Playtime close to/comarable to Up the Amp?
They look quite similiar in the swatches!
Mac Berkeley is out of candy yum yum : ( and Macys online : ( but I got it on Nordstroms online!! : )
This is the first major MAC collection in AGES that I haven’t bought a single thing from. I already own Naked and In Synch liners and nothing else interested me, even though I’m pale and cool toned.
Christine, is there anyway you could swatch Candy Yum Yum next to Petals and Peacocks? I have P&P but I’m curious if I should pick up Candy too.
i’m dying to get the quite cute lipstick. 🙂
This has to be one of the worst Mac collections ever. The idea of this collection could have been great, but this was poorly executed. What a bunch of purple and pink pastel crap. If any Mac executives are reading this blog…QUALITY NOT QUANTITY. Thanks Christine, great job as always.
I am loving the stuff I bought from this collection. I have Sakura blush which I am finding quite beautiful and not too powdery. I also bought Ms. Behave which could have a little more peach to it, but I am still very happy with it. As for lipsticks. Playtime, CYY and Quite Cute are amazing on me. I honestly feel a cream or amplified finish would have been better for QC & Playtime. QC Is very light, but it’s a beautiful color. You can mix it with other colors you have in your lipstick stash. That is all I bought. I stayed away from the quad even though I’ve been lusting after it for a long time. I’m hearing to many different reviews for it both good & bad. I may have to check it out in person.
Hoping that MAC will re-evaluate their lipsticks, blushes & shadow formulas for the upcoming collections. I prefer better color payoffs for the money. I still love MAC though, but they are really testing me.
I wanted to let everyone know that the MAC Quite Cute collection products are up on the MAC website. You just have to search for them individually. Just thought I would let everyone know!
I bought Candy Yum Yum and Playtime after work today, sooo glad I did because they only had less than 10 of each items (that was all the mac counter was sent!!) Prom is coming up, and plus, make people shop for an outfit/makeup for the weekend so I bought today because it will definitely sell out over the weekend.
Candy Yum Yum is BRIGHTER than Nars Schiap.
It looks kind of like Madly Magenta (cream color base)
But Sciap is more of a blue based pink, so it works for me (i’m an NC45 in studio teck foundation) or shade 44/18 in MUFE face and body.)
Whereas Candy Yum Yum is more on the cooler side so its a little harder to pull off..
and I got playtime its so gorgeous! It looks nothing like Style Curve. Style Curve is a darker purpele and Play Time goes on really sheer and has a pastel-like finish to it. So it works for me, too….
I played with the Quad and didn’t have problems getting a swatch. It swatched well on my fingers with one touch. Didnt buy it tho, too pricey.. hope they still have it next week…
And the nailpolishes.. the pink is really cute, I like the mint green but the purple is so pale it looks almost white.
I went to my nearest Mac store yesterday to check out the line. I wanted to love it, even though I had read and watches all of the beautiful “Christine’s” reviews and swatches. This line really lacked quality, and pigment! I did buy Candy YUM YUM and I will buy Play Time but everything else was lame. I loved the color scheme and really wished they had a team of people to properly execute this idea. I’m so bummed because their colors scheme is my favorite colors together (aqua/mint, pink, purple) I really think Mac is going to downhill? I wasn’t too big on the last collection “wonder woman”…. boo MAC!!!
Thanks Christine for all the hard work you put into this awesome website, I visit at least once a day to see what you’re thoughts are on products and it’s helped a ton 🙂 HAVE A GREAT WEEKEND!
I think telling people to skip playtime lipstick if they have style curve is totally off, they look NOTHING alike. I know these aren’t your favorite colors but I think the same level of accuracy, care and thought should go into the reviews and recommendations as this makes me think twice about them (I have used your summaries a lot).
I think they’re similar based on my experience with them when worn. I’m sorry you feel that I didn’t spend any time on this, but ironically, I spent much, much longer writing these recommendations than I usually do. It’s upsetting to hear that.
I’m sorry, I honestly didn’t mean to upset you, you do a great job. I have come to really rely on your summaries, which means you influence how I spend my money, and I found this very inaccurate. I trust your work and would like to continue to, but this was uncharacteristic and I j
just wanted to really make a point, and lately it seems that only the pewter, coral and Gold items get the highest marks. But again, thank you for all you do, I will always be a frequent visitor.
I don’t give grades based on whether I like a color or a product but on how it performs. Did you read the reviews for the MAC collection? For instance, none of the plushglasses are colors I like (and they gave me a reaction), but they received a fine grade? Estee Lauder’s Sea Star blush lacked quality and received a C+, yet that’s coral. It’s confusing when you say I do a great job and then accuse me of lying.
I did not accuse you of lying! I said it was inaccurate, these were 2 wildly different colors, that’s all.
Hi Lia,
I apologize for misunderstanding your comment. Temptalia is very important to me and I take it very seriously – I put so much of myself into each post, so it is really hard for me to not take what you said personally because, well, it IS me – my words, my experience, you know? My response was largely because of my understanding of your comment, which had more to do with that I am only giving high marks to certain products – and I read it that I’m giving high marks to certain colors and if it is not a certain color, it doesn’t get high marks even if it is a good product. To me, this means that I must be lying.
I re-read my statement in this post, and I stand by it, though – I said that they are slightly different but comparable. I think if you own Style Curve, you can skip Quite Cute. It’s totally fine if you disagree, but that is why we are both entitled to our own opinions – that I have no problem with whatsoever 🙂
I’m absolutly inlove with the lavender nail polish, but there is’nt a Mac near where I live, is there a good dupe you could recommend?? Thanks so much 🙂
will you post comparisons and dupes for this collection?
I posted possible dupes in the reviews, but I won’t be able to do swatch comparisons for this one – there aren’t a lot of dupes here.
I am around medium dark skin, do you think Miss Behave would work for me? It was under universally flattering shades so I was wondering. I mostly want it because I love the way it looks lol! But yeah, I just want to know if it would work.
Maybe as a highlighter, but it’d probably be ashy!