MAC Powder Kiss Lipstick Swatches
MAC Powder Kiss Lipstick ($19.00 for 0.10 oz.) is a new formula that is supposed to have a “zero-shine look of a matte lipstick with the cushiony, lightweight feel of a balm.” As you might garner from the swatches alone, “zero-shine” didn’t seem true across the board; some were more semi-matte to matte but several were more of a satin with very faint sheen. If I smiled or you saw me from a normal viewing distance, the ones with light shine did look mostly matte.
Heads up, these smelled like rubber and had a very sweet, slightly fruit taste and smelled sweet and rubbery simultaneously when initially applied. The scent did seem to fade over time (from the limited time I have worn any of the shades thus far).
These look pretty bad… and I had high hopes
Agree!!
Really disappointed with this, the shades were lack lustre and the colour pay off & texture were underwhelming. I got quite excited too, what an anti climax. I think the bullets of colour look better than the product on the lips. Out of the 3 shades I got, I only liked 1. Shame.
I like lightly blotting regular matte or satin matte lipstick to achieve this effect.
I was looking forward to these because I love the idea of a light-weight matte, but that scent sounds so off-putting…
My husband didn’t really get rubber out of it, though I wouldn’t put either of our noses at the upper echelon of smelling ability, lol.
It’s funny that the scent is question is rubber, because several times in my life I’ve smelled things that others have described as rubber, and I got something else from it. I think “rubber” is the olfactory version of “tastes like chicken.” The most recent was a lip gloss that my office mate disgustedly described as “hot rubber” and which smelled exactly like burned sugar to me.
I think the scent/taste alone would prevent me from trying these. I don’t even like the scent of MAC’s regular lipsticks, but it’s certainly tolerable. Sweet and fruity rubber is going to remind me slightly of play-dough, which makes me shudder. LOL!
These look chalky and patchy…the rubber smell would make these a hard pass for me. Colors are so pretty in the tube, though!
I’m interested in the last two, which look like the best! Somehow the vampy color has it together.
Nope – these look awful, uncomfortable and there are far too many nude shades.
These don’t look so good to me. Kinda dry. Pass.
Well, that very last part got my attention (and made my stomach turn). Smells of rubber with sweet fruit sounds so gross! Not sure if I could handle that. As for the shades themselves, I am actually quite taken by the richer and brighter hues as opposed to the lighter end of the range. Hopefully, I’ll have dupes of whichever shades I fall for!
Only a few of these shades look promising? From the few that look decent I have multiple dupes…money saved
I got an email from MAC about these and was interested in the idea of a matte lipstick that isn’t dry-feeling but even in the email, the look of these was unappealing to me – they just looked like dry cookie dough, almost. Hearing that they smell like rubber is another turn off although some of these look so much applied nicer on your lips, Christine, than they do in their “bullets”.
I watched Shaaanxo do a try-on of these and most of them looked so gorgeous on her. What a bummer that they don’t look so pretty up close. She said they were very comfortable though.
Love Shaaanxo lipstick swatches! But for lipsticks it’s not just about how they looked just applied on the lips, it’s also about how they wear.
I would just be curious where the ones Shaaanxo reviewed were manufactured, versus were the ones Christine reviews were. I do find some ‘inconsistencies’ in MAC products depending on the place they are manufactured in. I moved to US two years ago and some eyeshadows and lipsticks I purchased here (manufactured mainly in Canada) do perform somewhat differently than same product purchased in Europe (I think I remember those were manufactured either in Germany or Switzerland). MAC Matte lipsticks manufactured in Canada seem more hydrating to me, while Matte eyeshadows are `stiffer` (the ones I purchased in Europe have more kick-off).
I tried these in store and I love the formula! I didn’t really smell rubber but I did notice the sweet taste and thought it was strange that nothing had mentioned they were sweet before, thought it was just me! I actually like this to be honest! None of the colours appeal to me, I want more cool bubblegum pinks and lilacs.
It’s all I smell 🙁 I was gagging while swatching these (as they were all open, lol), and I was like, “That can’t be the lipsticks… what is that scent…” and thought it was coming from a press box (glue)!
I had higher hopes for these, especially Fall in Love and a couple of the nudes. That part about smeling like rubber, nope! Keeping me on my low buy!
Thanks for the heads up about the smell! ?
Apparently I’m a minority of one, as I think these look beautiful. It’s nice to see a new finish option, and these are much more appealing than the hideous chalky mattes everyone’s wearing.
Make that a minority of 2! ?
Standing with you–I can’t wait to try these in store tomorrow! Hopefully the smell won’t drive me away.
Minority of four! I don’t like the look of all of them, but some of them do look very nice and the finish seems interesting.
The medium to darker ones are appealing to me (from A Little Tamed onwards), and I even like the looks up close. I’ve been complaining forever about glossy colored balms and wanting matte-r choices — I feel like MAC was listening.
Hello everyone! I tried “Burning love” in store and I liked it, it looks darker on my pigmented lips but the feel of it was a pleasant surprise! Very different from any other lipstick I had tried before! Comfortable and smooth, not hydrating but definitely not drying on me! I think that the color selection is more limited here as in the US, or maybe the shop did’t have all the available colors. If they become permanent I might give them a try with the “back to mac”..
I agree with the others about the rubber smell…MAC lost me there! I usually don’t mind a bit of a smell or flavor in my lip products but I draw the line at rubber!!! That just nauseates me when I think of it.
Some of these look quite nice to me. They seem to work better in the darker and brighter shades, rather than the beiges and pastels. As far as the smell goes, I’ll have to see for myself, as it can be a pretty subjective thing, though rubbery sounds pretty off-putting. I hope you review them!
Personally, I love the trend of the matte blotted lip, so I’m excited to swatch these in person.
Really need to test them in store! Especially since you mention the scent (I hate scented make-up and skincare)… although the classic `vanilla` MAC lipstick scent never bothered me (I barely smell it).
I’m usually a big fan of MAC Matte and Satin finishes (they stay put many hours, while being quite comforting and somewhat hydrating); I tried the others, but they simply aren’t my things… they’re too `balmy` for my taste. So I’m actually very interested how the new formula wears. Because color wise, I can definitely identify a close shade in Matte or Satin to any of the shades in the Powder Kiss formula; there’s no unique shade ringing my bells.
I thought this too. I like the classic scent, and just generally don’t care that much about how my lipstick smells. But this was like being next to a tire fire.
Is it just me or does the shade selection seem underwhelming and a bit boring?
EEsh. I was excited for this lipstick. Disappointing. I don’t love the swatches and the smell is a no go. I don’t get either the perfume or other smells. Tom Ford and MAC i like the vanilla smell. That’s fine, but perfume (Gucci tasted like you sprayed it in your mouth, same to with with YSL and Burberry). And rubber is definitely a deal breaker!@
I ordered Devoted to Chili as soon as they were online, because I’ve wanted that type of a red recently, and I love newer matte formulations that brands do. It just came, and I’m super into it, yes it’s a stronger scent than normal mac lip, but it’s not that different to me, I’m into it. I like the way I can blot it and diffuse it easily, though that’s not something I’d do with an orangey color as much as a cooler tone (on me). I’ll probably buy another color.
I bought Burning Love today. The colour is beautiful.
The smell of it is different than regular MAC lipstick (which I guess is vanilla) , but not any stronger. I suppose scent is a subjective thing, but I wouldn’t say it’s overpowering or offensive. I didn’t smell rubber but it does smell sweet.
It’s definitely not dry -it’s less dry than MAC’s Retro Matte and most liquid lipsticks. It feels a lot like powder, light and airy. And the MAC artist showed me how they can be layered and blended like eyeshadow and make new shades on the lips. Given that they are the same price as a regular MAC lipstick, I would say go check them out, smell them. They are kind of weird, but not bad.
I bought A Little Tamed yesterday and really like it so far. I don’t smell anything but the usual MAC vanilla and some fruit. They feel like nothing on the lips–and since I love the Korean gradient lip, I’m looking forward to trying that out. They are absolutely not drying at all.
I didn’t like the look of the nude shades, but I love the colourful shades.
Been wearing them the last few days. Didn’t notice any weird scent when applying on my lips (but yeah, there’s an odd scent when you sniff the bullet). No scent throughout the day so if your nose isn’t super sensitive, this may not be an issue for you.
If you want intense colour, this formula might not be your favorite. Takes a few swipes to build up the colour. But I love being able to vary the intensity and I love the soft focus look it has.
When it wears off, the colour seems to settle a bit in the lines of the lips. Potential minus.
Still going to go back to the store to buy more though. Hahah.
Smells like BURNT RUBBER!!! Thankfully can’t really smell it when I wear it… How the f can I use this on my clients??? This smells horrible! Every MAC lipstick I use on my clients they comment on the nice vanilla smell! What will they think when I put this horribly smelling thing on their lips??? Nothing because I won’t even try to explain to them that a huge company like MAC would make such a vile-smelling lipstick, this does NOT go in my kit that’s for sure.
This would be the best lipstick if it would smell like regular vanilla because the texture, wear, everything is nice (I bought “A Little Tamed”).
WHY do companies try to be edgy and change up things that were fine and loved to begin with? If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it! Actual burnt rubber, what the hell…
Well, at least someone else smelled it, LOL. I’m wondering if there’s a particular ingredient in it that causes the scent.
I bought one of these in the store — despite having read the Temptalia page and tried it on, but the store has so many other smells going on that I didn’t really notice the rubber scent. Then I tried it on at home: Oh. My. God. I actually had to return it the next day, the smell was that strong and, well, poison-flavoured. I’m not even particularly sensitive, but it was impossible to enjoy the lipstick.
Does this compare at all to Make Up For Ever’s Artist Lip Blush formula? That was a staple for me and now it’s discontinued! If I could find a comparable formula it would be a big deal!!
Sorry, I don’t have that!
Christine you were dead accurate about the smell. I completely forgot about that and bought one last night. I even smelled and tasted it while walking around the mall – I had tried it in store. Then I smelled the actual lipstick and recoiled. Thankfully I was still at the mall when I figured it out. MAC said there is an ingredient that is off putting to some sensitive people. Yeah right. IMO I think they should pull these. It’s that bad.
Interesting! It is plausible – my husband didn’t get rubber; he could tell it wasn’t the signature MAC vanilla, but it wasn’t off-putting to him. I wouldn’t say either of us has a fantastic nose, and I can dial in better than he can on nuance. There are also some readers who’ve commented as much – that they didn’t have any issues with the smell – so I wonder if it’s in the vein of how some people can smell synthetic fragrance notes (in perfume) in a way that is not as intended.
I have the MAC Powder Kiss lipstick in Lasting Passion and Mandarin O, purchased from the MAC Cosmetics website in late December 2018. I use these powder lipsticks as a topper in the center of the lip, avoiding the edges of the lip, to add intensity to similar colors in other formulas. Given the comments about a rubber scent, I don’t know if MAC has changed the formula, as I didn’t notice a rubber scent nor any other unpleasant scent in the items I received.