MAC Fashion Sets: Nail Lacquer Review Round-up
MAC Pink Nouveau Lipglass over Lipstick; Nail Lacquer
MAC Fashion Sets: Nail Lacquer Review Round-up
MAC is not known for an excellent nail polish formula. Sometimes they do it right, but they often create some major misses that tend to suffer from too thin/too thick consistencies, streaking, and poor pigmentation. As is generally the case, the set of sixteen matching nail lacquers was a mixed bag but with more winners than real losers. Pigmentation wasn’t a problem with most of the shades, but I found several of them to be on the streakier side with some more readily covered with a thicker second coat. There were also a handful of shades that were lovely to apply!
The other downside was that a few of the nail lacquers did not match well with the lipstick/lipgloss (Angel, Impassioned, Razzledazzler, Rebel, Snob, and Spice were among the least matching, particularly in tone, not just slightly lighter/darker).
I think MAC has accelerated the price point of their nail lacquers far too quickly–$16 is more than a lipstick or a gloss! It’s $2 less than NARS, the same or $2 less than Deborah Lippmann (depending on the type of polish, as some of hers are $16 and others are $18), $2 MORE than Illamasqua (one of the best polish formulas I’ve ever tried), and $2 more than Butter London. And frankly? At that price tag, MAC is giving you less than the brands I just mentioned–0.34 fl. oz. vs. 0.50 fl. oz. 0.50 fl. oz. is the standard lacquer size (China Glaze, Essie, OPI, etc. all have this size as well). This formula needs to be on point to command a $16 price tag when there are nail polish niche brands where all they do is nail polish have excellent formulas. The nail lacquers have increased in price faster than other comparable price points at MAC (e.g. lipsticks, glosses, and eyeshadows go up $0.50 every year).
I very specifically removed price from the overall rating so that a $30 formula can be compared to a $3 formula with no boost/decrease because of the price–you are the only one who can decide what is too expensive, just right, or not worth it. As a buyer, I’m most interested in quality, and then I’ll figure out if the quality-to-price-ratio is worth it to me or maybe the color is so original that I’m willing to pay a higher price — or maybe it’s so cheap that I’ll accept that it streaks or is powdery. I try to shed light on situations where the price seems out of line with the brand’s position in the market, against competitors, or if the price/quantity ratio is unusually low or high.
MAC’s lacquers are packaged in a cylindrical bottle (though it has some tapering) and a rubberized cap, and this type of cap normally brings packaging scores up to 5/5, but because it’s awkward to hold (it’s stubby and oddly shaped when gripped), it ends up being a wash. Though it has been an issue in the past, I didn’t have any problems with the brush–they all seemed fine and didn’t have any splaying issues.
The best shades were: Chestnut, Girl About Town, Morange, Pink Nouveau, and Russian Red (A). A good but not great shade was Impassioned (A-). The most under-performing shades were: Saint Germain (C+) and Snob (B-). The rest were middle-of-the-road shades with mostly Bs and a few B+s.
Availability: Based on the information I have received from MAC, the distribution of these shades is regional. I cannot confirm the extent of non-regional shades being available online for your region (e.g. whether all of these will be available on the UK website). I can confirm only that for North America, all shades are available for purchase online. Only the North America-specific shades will be available in-stores on May 3rd, 2012. Select Macy’s will also carry Latin America & Middle East region-specific shades.
North America: Chestnut, Girl About Town, Myth, Rebel, Russian Red, Snob, Spice; all are limited edition at this time, but MAC will be adding Girl About Town and Snob to the permanent range in July
Asia Pacific: Angel, Morange, Impassioned, Peachstock, Ravishing, Razzledazzler, Saint Germain; all are limited edition at this time, but MAC will be adding Girl About Town, Impassioned, Morange, Saint Germain, and Snob to the permanent range in July
Europe & Africa: Impassioned, Morange, Myth, Rebel, Russian Red, Saint Germain, Spice; all are limited edition at this time, but MAC will be adding Impassioned, Morange, and Saint Germain, to the permanent range in July
Latin America & Middle East: Girl About Town, Impassioned, Morange, Pink Nouveau, Please Me, Russian Red, Snob; all are limited edition at this time, but MAC will be adding Girl About Town, Impassioned, Morange, and Snob to the permanent range in July
Reviews, Photos, Swatches
- MAC Angel Nail Lacquer
- MAC Chestnut Nail Lacquer
- MAC Girl About Town Nail Lacquer
- MAC Impassioned Nail Lacquer
- MAC Morange Nail Lacquer
- MAC Myth Nail Lacquer
- MAC Peachstock Nail Lacquer
- MAC Pink Nouveau Nail Lacquer
- MAC Please Me Nail Lacquer
- MAC Ravishing Nail Lacquer
- MAC Razzledazzler Nail Lacquer
- MAC Rebel Nail Lacquer
- MAC Russian Red Nail Lacquer
- MAC Saint Germain Nail Lacquer
- MAC Snob Nail Lacquer
- MAC Spice Nail Lacquer
Please note that the photos included in this post are for summary purposes only–there are four additional photos for each lipstick shade that have been excluded in this post but are available in the set’s original post: one product photos, one swatch (diffused flash), and two swatches (studio lighting).
MAC Angel Nail Lacquer
MAC Angel Nail Lacquer
MAC Chestnut Nail Lacquer
MAC Chestnut Nail Lacquer
MAC Girl About Town Nail Lacquer
MAC Girl About Town Nail Lacquer
MAC Impassioned Nail Lacquer
MAC Impassioned Nail Lacquer
MAC Morange Nail Lacquer
MAC Morange Nail Lacquer
MAC Myth Nail Lacquer
MAC Myth Nail Lacquer
MAC Peachstock Nail Lacquer
MAC Peachstock Nail Lacquer
MAC Pink Nouveau Nail Lacquer
MAC Pink Nouveau Nail Lacquer
MAC Please Me Nail Lacquer
MAC Please Me Nail Lacquer
MAC Ravishing Nail Lacquer
MAC Ravishing Nail Lacquer
MAC Razzledazzler Nail Lacquer
MAC Razzledazzler Nail Lacquer
MAC Rebel Nail Lacquer
MAC Rebel Nail Lacquer
MAC Russian Red Nail Lacquer
MAC Russian Red Nail Lacquer
MAC Saint Germain Nail Lacquer
MAC Saint Germain Nail Lacquer
MAC Snob Nail Lacquer
MAC Snob Nail Lacquer
MAC Spice Nail Lacquer
MAC Spice Nail Lacquer
Great swatches. You have them all labelled as lipglass rather than nail lacquer, though
How you did this is amazing. Removing lipstick is one thing. But to remove the nail color and to keep your nails in good shape is another. I wonder how you apply your lipstick colors….given that you dont use lipliners and they dont feather and are lip perfect.
Any must haves in your opinion?
From the lacquers… nah. I think these are all more dupeable than not, especially with the cream finishes — the ones that applied the best are the ones so many brands make.
Wow, just another thanks for all your hard work, Christine! The photos are beautiful and very helpful!
A little confused. It says that one of the best shades is Chesnut. But the photo looks like the tips have chipped. Is this an optical illusion from the lighting? If so, that is quite comical!
@Sharlie Gugel That is the reflection of the lighting used. These are swatches, not manicures, so there wouldn’t be any chipping from wear!
@Christine (Temptalia) So happy about that because this is the one color I must have!! Thank you!!
How is best to report image violation? I’ve found some of your photos on eBay listings
Through the contact form! Thank you! 🙂
This is one impressive series of posts. I mean, even God rested on the final day. You insisted on doing a wrap up. 😀
Thank you for all the hard work you put into these! It’s one of the reasons I recommend your website to so many of my friends. 🙂
Hi! May I ask what top coat you use?
Zoya’s Armor
I am in love with all of these colors!
thanks for taking the time to swatch and post these! i want 8 of them but they’re sooo expensive here in Cananda
A “normal” mac lipstick costs between 25-35 USD where i stay, so with that logic, a nail polish would be upto 45 dollars? 45 dollars for a nothing-special nail polish 😐
Hi. Do you know any drugstore dupes for these polishes? I’m totally in love with them, but $16 is more than I can afford for 16 nail polishes :/.
@MinhaBelaDama I listed all the dupes I could think of – I don’t specifically list or not list high-end/drugstore – only what I’m able to think of based on what I’ve tried!