MAC By Request - Lipglasses Review, Photos, Swatches
2N, Bait, Cult of Cherry, Emancipation, Flash of Flesh, Icescape
MAC By Request – Lipglasses Review, Photos, Swatches
MAC By Request is a collection that’s voted on by the fans–there are 18 shades of lipstick, lipglass, and eyeshadow that MAC has listed for grabs, and your votes will determine the top three from each product type that will go on to be launched in an online exclusive, limited edition collection in August. Voting is open and closes on March 30th and users can vote once per product category per day. Not sure where to cast your vote? I’ve got the goods on the six lipglasses up for a comeback! 🙂 These just arrived from MAC – all the labels just say “sample” on the back, so I don’t know if these were a recent production or if these were from original runs. I’m thinking they’re probably from short runs – perhaps just to ensure the colors could still be made or have the recipes ready to go into production as soon as voting is over.
- 2N is a peachy orange with soft white micro-shimmer. It looks darker swatched than it does on the lips, where it turns to a brownish peach with mostly opaque color coverage. MAC Ready or Not is similar but a little peachier. MAC Naked Space is lighter.
- Bait is a light-medium pink with multi-colored shimer and subtle yellow undertones. MAC The Wee Coquette is lighter, bluer. MAC Casual Air is a bit more plum. MAC Good Times is more mauve. MAC Pink Fade is bluer and a touch lighter.
- Cult of Cherry is a blue-based pink-red with shimmer with semi-opaque color coverage. MAC DRiven By Love is more opaque, deeper. Chanel Triomphal is a bit redder. Milani Photo Flash is pinker.
- Emancipation is pink-tinted beige with champagne shimmer. On lips, it tends to look like a milky pink on mine, but it depends on your natural lip color–this shade will definitely change based on the underlying tone of your lips. MAC Fresh Air is similar but a little lighter. Urban Decay Peroxide is similar but sheerer.
- Flash of Flesh is a pink and copper shimmered peach-orange. MAC Good Lovin’ is a little less pink and lighter. MAC Liqueur is several shades darker.
- Icescape is a icy pink with multi-colored shimmer. It’s semi-sheer on lips. MAC Going Casual has a similar effect.
MAC Lipglass is vanilla-scented, on the thicker side as far as consistency goes, and has a very tacky texture. It’s one of the stickier glosses on the market, though it wears three to four hours without a problem as a result, even some of the lighter shades. Some shades are very sheer while others are completely opaque, so pigmentation can be a mixed bag with this formula.
Of all the comeback products, I think the lipglass category was the most disappointing. Icescape? Really? I didn’t even know that was a big deal! I can see why some of these shades may have been popular, but you can see in the photo above–three of the lipglasses look awfully similar. Here are some shades I think would have made a big splash: Bizaarish (Smoke Signals ’07), Check Please (Tailormade ’05), Greenhouse (‘Fab Florals ’02), Headliner (Diana Ross ’05), Magnetique (Belle Azure ’05), Moonbathe (Moonbathe ’07), She Loves Candy (Hello Kitty ’09), or Tartlette (High Tea ’04).
I hope to do some comparison swatches over the next couple of days for the shades I do have the older/originals of. Of these, I don’t think I have Bait or Flash of Flesh but should have the other four.
MAC By Request - Lipglasses Review, Photos, Swatches
2N, Bait, Cult of Cherry, Emancipation, Flash of Flesh, Icescape
MAC 2N Lipglass (Diffused/Bounced Flash)
MAC 2N Lipglass (Studio “Natural” Lighting)
MAC 2N Lipglass
MAC 2N Lipglass
MAC Bait Lipglass (Diffused/Bounced Flash)
MAC Bait Lipglass (Studio “Natural” Lighting)
MAC Bait Lipglass
MAC Bait Lipglass
MAC Cult of Cherry Lipglass (Diffused/Bounced Flash)
MAC Cult of Cherry Lipglass (Studio “Natural” Lighting)
MAC Cult of Cherry Lipglass
MAC Cult of Cherry Lipglass
MAC Emancipation Lipglass (Diffused/Bounced Flash)
MAC Emancipation Lipglass (Studio “Natural” Lighting)
MAC Emancipation Lipglass
MAC Emancipation Lipglass
MAC Flash of Flesh Lipglass (Diffused/Bounced Flash)
MAC Flash of Flesh Lipglass (Studio “Natural” Lighting)
MAC Flash of Flesh Lipglass
MAC Flash of Flesh Lipglass
MAC Icescape Lipglass (Diffused/Bounced Flash)
MAC Icescape Lipglass (Studio “Natural” Lighting)
MAC Icescape Lipglass
MAC Icescape Lipglass
Cult of cherry is lovely! Love your teal eye look and the natural lighting of the images!
I am beyond excited about Cult of Cherry coming back. That is my favorite red ever made!
I know it was more of a “mini” collection, but I would have loved if some of the Alice and Olivia shades came back!
Wow, Christine! Your new style of taking swatch/full face photos is really great! It’s wonderful that you’re showing us the colors in different types of light because lighting can really affect how a color appears. Your blog is even more helpful than it was before.
agreed 🙂
Cult of Cherry all the way <3
I love the pictures in this ! New house , New set up 😉 Great job Christine 🙂 <3
Cult of Cherry looks the most interesting to me, but what I really can’t wait is to see your swatches of the eyeshadows! I’ve heard amazing things about Moth Brown, and that’s the ONE product I want back!
I LOVE the look of the cult of cherry lipglass ! It is super pretty ! 🙂
I think you’re right – I look at these and I think, YAWN. I assume that they’re going based on sales info, and I guess that they gave us the most sought-after lipglasses in LE history to vote on… but they’re all kind of the same when you look at it like that.
Either I haven’t been paying attention or you just changed the way you do swatch photos – I really like the two types of photos in different lighting conditions, it shows the product so well!
I dont like/want any of these! I think you’re right… recent release of pinks/nudes are much better IMO.
Meh. I agree too many light pinks and nudes. Don’t get me wrong, I love me a pretty, light lip but come on. These are so dupable. I want color!!!
She loves candy would’ve been great!!! I have just a tiny bit left =( and I would’ve loved to see magic dust from Barbie loves Mac.
I so do not get the choices they made for a lot of the products, but I agree with you that lipglasses are especially bewildering to me. A bunch of milky nudes and one red? With the exception of Candy Yum Yum it seems kind of like they just drew some products out of a hat instead of actually listening to what their customers wanted brought back.
I would have recommended Hot House, Squirt or Grapefruit.
I love your makeup look
However, i’m not all that excited about these glosses.
You look so beautiful with every single one of them, and your eye makeup makes your eye’s color pop. Beautiful pictures Christine. Thanks for this swatches, they are really helpful.
I like Cult of Cherry, but you’re right, this is a tame set.
First off — no offense at all Christine, I’m sure many of your readers love the new natural lighting style for your swatch pictures, but I personally dislike it. It’s not that it looks bad, but I find that many of the details (shimmers, etc) of the swatches are lost entirely. It’s good for when you take pictures of people or larger objects, but as far as swatches go, the smaller, harsher lighting from flash actually brings out the details in them better, thus, better swatches IMO.
Just my opinion, feel free to disregard it. ^^; I know you work very hard for us readers so I would like to let you know that it’s highly appreciated. 🙂 <3
I’ve always felt the same, Ryou. I just get so many requests for it, which is why there are both!
I agree with everything you say, Ryou.
I would just like to add that one of my favorite things about the swatches has been that you can see the actual shimmer and details on the lips (and not just the arm swatch). But please keep doing what the readers (and you ofc) want. All your hard work is very much appreciated 🙂
I only do what readers want – and I try to please the majority because I know I can’t please all – but it’s never about what I want. If that was the case, I wouldn’t have switched at all, LOL! 🙂 I appreciate the feedback. I guess I just have to do both – +30 minutes per photo, haha!
Hehe, I understand Christine. While I do miss the details in your older-style pictures (on the lip swatches especially), I fully understand that what you want the most is to please your readers. Like I have been saying, your hard work is highly appreciated by all of us. 🙂
I’m guessing people want natural lighting to see how the products look in real life? In that case, I would suggest doing the close-up lip swatches with flash but use studio lighting for the full-face picture, in case you think it’s too much to do both. (Rule of thumb for lighting in photography: Bigger objects, bigger light source) After all, you never stare at someone’s lips that close in real life. 😉
I will probably do both, because it seems like people are on both sides of the fence – I will have to trial it for awhile and see how it goes and if it’s feasible overall. I’m still playing around with all the new lighting stuff, so everyone’s feedback is very helpful!
I do have a degree in photography, while it’s not really a big deal, just in case you need anyone to consult with, I’d be more than happy to offer feedback. You have enough experience to know what works for you and what does not, though, so I know you’d do great. Good luck! *hugs* <3
I will take you up on that for sure!! 🙂
I agree. I think the far away head shot looks so gorgeous, but swatch-wise I don’t like the new lighting. Specially since it seems to come from the left side of the picture and the right side is in a shadow, the old lighting was more even. But there is never a way to please everyone, LOL.
I like both, but I far prefer the colouring of the softer, natural lighting shots. It looks truer to what you’d likely see in person imo. I think though that it’s all about finding out how to best set up the camera for that type of lighting. I remember looking this up myself when I started swatching my makeupalley reviews and read something about keeping your ISO settings low while on flash, keeping it on macro, and making sure you are in indirect natural light (when the sun is very high for best results) – keeping that flash open in these conditions would help keep that crispness but prevent the harshness of a standard flash setting (with these settings the flash will not go off, but it will be just as clear as a forced flash shot). I’d assume it just takes practice to really get that perfect shot.
There are a lot of swatches. Maybe it would work better if they could be condensed or if fewer were taken? I actually like seeing all the swatches though, but it’s just a lot in this space. Maybe a gallery view would work better so that you can see the thumbnail of the image and decide which ones you want to see. Would probably help with loading time as well as cut down on the amount of scrolling that needs to be done! Also, hopefully a new before close-up will be taken if the afters remain in the current style, because it’s far more helpful to see the before and after in the same conditions 🙂
Two questions – do you have the products from the other categories? And just to sound like a complete n00b what do you mean by “diffused/bounced flash”? heh xP
I’m so in love with you new style of photos! And oh your eyes look stunning! PLEASE, take a closer foto for us!
I will be skipping this collection. All of the lipglasses are sheer except for Cult of Cherry which I have no interest in. I find that none of the lipsticks interest me as well and I do not wear eyeshadow.
The eye look is so beautiful on you! Cool heat looks fantastic with your eye colour!
I was pretty universally disappointed with the shades chosen for this collection, in all 3 categories… I was hoping for some real gems, these glosses in particular are a sad assortment… many of them are so similar…
I love cult of Cherry, and 2N!
P.s. you look absolutely stunning in your photos!
OMG, the Cherry one is gorgeous. I hope that comes back out.
I have Flash of Flesh. I love to wear it when I wear green eyeshadows!
I hope they bring back cult of cherry and emancipation! they are both lovely! Btw Christine I love your new style in reviewing products =) and you look really great, so pretty and lovely! =)
Icescape doesn’t look interesting at all. I do hope Cult of Cherry is one of the winners.
The full face photo’s are very pretty!
I can’t wait for Cult of Cherry. Of the rest, I’d get Flash of Flesh but I don’t think it’s amazingly unique. The rest are a big snooze.
This is the oddest set of contenders, I totally agree that there’s nothing too unique here. Cult of Cherry it seems was a popular one, and I’m really loving the look of Flash of Flesh (I hope that one makes it back) I also have always wanted Bait, but only in the gorgeous, original Lure packaging, I’d much rather have the eyeshadows from that collection! I would have loved She Loves Candy to come back, such a simple color, but I love it to death. Electric Fuchsia would have also been a good one to bring back, and perhaps even that orange one with the blue reflects from To the Beach.
I’m absolutely loving cult of cherry, its such a gorgeous opaque red colour!
love the eye look! can you post what you used? pls <3 ur reviews
It’s listed in the FAQ!
I really hope that Cult of Cherry gets brought back. MAC dishes out loads of pale pink/nude lip colours all the time. We need something a bit different and Cult of Cherry is absolutly gorgeous! Everyone should vote for it 🙂
Cult of Cherry looks the best 😀 so lush <3
These pictures dont really show the true beauty of Icescape! It has a BEAUTIFUL purple, pink, and almost blue opalescent look to it! aahhh..I want Icescape to come back:(
Can I vote for Cult of Cherry three times?? The rest all look like lip erase ….
Yes,I want 2n,Bait and CoC to win! Xo
Bizaarish! I used to have Bizaarish! (Bought it way back in 2004 before it was repromoted.) It was such a beautiful, vampy colour. That would’ve been a great choice.
Generally speaking, though, I’m a bit disappointed with the nominees as a whole. I also wish it was more inclusive of other products — particularly MSFs, pigments, and blushes. This had so much potential to be an amazing collection, but… I am disappoint!
Seeing these, I imagine the meeting for it went something like this:
“Let’s bring back the Cult of Cherry Lipglass!”
“We really should, it’s gorgeous, but we’re supposed to let people VOTE on which ones to bring back.”
“Well… so make the rest of the options pale milky colors that are hard for many people to wear well, and make them all super similar.”
“That works!”
That said, I kind of like Flash of Flesh. Still, Cult of Cherry would be my pick, I think.
Cult of Cherry and Flesh are the best ones! Thanks so much for all these swatches!
Loving your new pose and angle! Looking good!
Kinda ironic that Cult of Cherry is my favorite of these (I hate red – although it looks great on you, Christine!)
i like the new swatching! you look beautiful in all the photos 🙂 and i agree about icescape… really? haha
Err… yeah, Cult of Cherry. xD Possibly Flash of Flesh. Those three pinks are basically the same, so idec.
I’ve always been curious how you rate the packaging?
I have 16 different characteristics that I look at – from sturdiness to droppability to what material it’s made out of.
I absolutely love the way you’re taking photo swatches now! It gives a great idea of how it looks like worn in life as well as in flash photography.
you look so pretty in these pictures, i love the new angle!
Not a MAC lipglass fan but Flash of Flesh & Cult of Cherry is pretty!!
I wish they would have given us Happening Gal as an option. (Barbie Loves Mac)
i love every color except the cherry one
Interesting. I don’t find Icescape and Going Casual similar at all because Icescape has a nice sort of pearlescence. I am also scratching my head as to why Icescape was included though. Really all of these lipglasses except Cult of Cherry are rather unexceptional.
Cult of Cherry is the only one that actually stands out of the bunch to me. Gorgeous red. 🙂
Pass. Although I own an intense pink lipglass that gives much more color depth and coverage…need to check which color it is because I really like it. The Flash of Flesh reminds me of Face Atelier’s Peach Glaze but nowhere near as fabulous…I bought a 2nd of the F.A. because it is so beautiful, versatile and comfortable to wear. I am so grateful that you show and provide the information, you have saved me so much money on products that I would not have been happy with and helped me to decide to purchase things I am thrilled with every time I put them on. THANK YOU!!!
I LOVEEEE the setup! All the colors look gorgeous on you Christine =]
Heh, I just threw out my 2N lipglass because it looked so unappealing in the tube that I couldn’t fathom ever using it, and wasn’t sure why I bought it in the first place.
I would have been all for Tartlette and Magnetique! Tartlette and Fresh Cream were my favorite products from High Tea, and I still wish they were around. I love Tartlette, but mine for some unknown reason went rancid really quickly. I was so said when I had to get rid of it. 🙁 I totally forgot about that til now, lol. If I had to pick from these, though, I would pick Bait, Flash of Flesh, and Cult of Cherry.
Tartlette was such a great go-to gloss, and Magnetique was always beautiful on!
Well… man. These are a bit of a bummer. I’m SO thankful to you for swatching all of them though! And the lipsticks too! It’s made things MUCH easier to decide for voting.
Flash of Flesh looks the most similar to the one lipglass I’ve ever actually ran out of ~ So Baroque. I honestly never see or hear about it anywhere, so I’m not sure if I’m the only one that was so enamored with it, but I’ve bought so many gold, shimmery lipglosses that look similar in the tube but never get even close to duping it in real life. I was really hoping it might randomly end up on this list, but no such luck. I guess maybe I should throw FoF my votes, just in case it is similar at all… Though from the description (being more pink/coppery based) I’m not all that hopeful. =/
I AM SUPER excited to see the shadows though… I’m wondering if they might work on re-formulating them a bit… I have both Moth Brown & Jete, and while they are both beautiful colors, the formula/pigmentation kind of falls flat, or below expectations anyways. I’m wondering if maybe they’ll bring them up to speed a little… =0 I would totally re-purchase them (esp MB) if they made the wearability a bit better!!
Thank you so much Christine!! You Rock!
Oddly enough, usually if it’s a smaller run (which this must be, since they say SAMPLE, whether it’s recently run or eons ago), the quality should be a little less, because I don’t think it gets refined as much, so hopefully they are fixing it!
FLASH OF FLESH……………… omg
I can appreciate your opinion of the lipglass. However there are some of us Mac collectors as myself whom love intense eyeshadows and subtle lips. Icescape, jealous, docile, and flash of flesh among others are some of my favorites. I don’t like lipstick at all, but some of the shades are beautiful so I still voted . I hope , icescape and flash of flesh are repromoted so I can buy more backups.
Nothing wrong with subtle colors – just unnecessary to make so many of the ones to vote for very, very similar. It’s not as if MAC doesn’t come out with a dozen or more subtle lipglosses each year – all of them very, very similar. Why not make the list more varied? That’s all I was asking for.
Christine do you like Bait better over emancipation?? whitch do you preffer?? out of the 2?
Probably Bait…
2n looks kind of like ember glow from the spring colour forecast 2010..