MAC & Beth Ditto: Nail Lacquers Reviews, Photos, Swatches

Christine — Thu, 31 May 2012 10:00:45 +0000

MAC Life and Beth Nail Lacquer

MAC & Beth Ditto: Nail Lacquers

MAC & Beth Ditto have teamed up to create a collection that features four shades of MAC Nail Lacquer ($16.00 for 0.34 fl. oz.), and these shades are: Life and Beth (milky peach), Near Beth Experience (light yellow), Nocturnelle (black), and Vagabondage (mid-tone lavender).

Life and Beth is a peach orange with a cream finish. It’s mostly opaque after two coats, but it’s very, very thick and streaky, so it takes forever to dry, which can result in drag at the bottom if you apply the second coat too early. I found that the second coat, despite trying to do a thicker one, still applied streaky in places. Chanel June is darker. Chanel Peche Nacree is pinker. China Glaze Peachykeen is slightly darker.
Near Beth Experience is a green-tinged yellow with a cream finish. This shade was very streaky as well–it also had a similar thickness as that of Life and Beth but slightly less thick, yet it ended up applying worse. It was streaky on both the first and second coat, so it wasn’t totally opaque after two coats and had a really uneven, gloppy look. It also took a long time to dry. China Glaze Electric Pineapple is darker and greener. China Glaze Lemon Fizz is the closest, but it’s a little yellower.
Nocturnelle is a black cream and part of the permanent range. I reviewed it here.
Vagabondage is a pink-lavender with a cream finish. It’s almost opaque after two coats. This was the better performing of the three I tested from the launch (I did not purchase Nocturnelle specifically from this launch), as it wasn’t overly thick, though still on the thicker side. It had some streaking on the first coat. MAC Saint Germain is very similar, perhaps a smidgen brighter. MAC Ice Cream Cake is a bit darker.

Nocturnelle, though I did not purchase it from this launch, has typically been a thinner polish that applies fairly evenly. It’s expensive for just a black cream, but it doesn’t have major issues like the new shades from the launch. I don’t know why nail polish continues to be a category where MAC struggles; it’s like they consistently struggle. Perhaps it’s because they try to do tougher colors (pastels and pale shades like Life and Beth and Near Beth Experience can be tricky), but you can only get so many props for originality. The quality of the three new (and limited edition) shades isn’t there.