MAC Let's Mesa Around, Life in Sepia, Natural Born Leader Lipsticks Reviews & Swatches
Let's Mesa Around
MAC Let’s Mesa Around Lipstick ($19.50 for 0.1 oz.) is a soft, rosy pink with subtle, warm undertones and a natural sheen with barely-there, fine pearl. It has a Lustre finish, so the semi-sheer coverage was as expected, but you’ll want to keep in mind that it allows a lot of your natural lip color to come through so if you have deeper color naturally, this shade may look significantly different on you. The texture was lightweight, thin, and emollient without being too slippery, so it applied comfortably. There was a smidgen of product that sat in my deeper lip lines but wasn’t noticeable from a normal viewing distance. This shade lasted well for three hours and was non-drying.
FURTHER READING: Formula Overview for details on general performance and characteristics (like scent).
Top Dupes
- NARS Voodoo Lily (DC, $28.00) is less shimmery, lighter, warmer (90% similar).
- MAC Laissez-Faire (P, $23.00) is less shimmery, warmer (90% similar).
- Chanel Camelia Blanc (327) (LE, $40.00) is more shimmery, lighter, warmer (90% similar).
- Charlotte Tilbury Crystal Happikiss (P, $34.00) is less shimmery, lighter (90% similar).
- ColourPop Peppermint Frost (LE, $9.00) is cooler (90% similar).
- Tom Ford Beauty Clint (LE, $36.00) is more pigmented (85% similar).
- Fenty Beauty Retro Rose (P, $22.00) is more shimmery, darker, warmer (85% similar).
- MAC Pleasure's All Mine (LE, $20.00) is less shimmery, lighter (85% similar).
- Givenchy Street Rose (04) (P, $34.00) is darker, more pigmented, warmer (85% similar).
- Fenty Beauty Goji Gang (P, $22.00) is more shimmery, darker, warmer (85% similar).
Formula Overview
$19.00/0.1 oz. - $190.00 Per Ounce
MAC Lipstick comes in a variety of finishes, and the pigmentation and wear tend to be dependent on the finish. The sheer finishes, like Lustres, tend to wear for only a couple of hours and have sheer coverage (as designed) and are non-drying.
Some of the original Matte shades have a stiffer, drier formula, while newer ones have a more velvety, silicone-feel to them, and the latter are creamier, more comfortable to wear, and easier to apply, but most Matte shades are quite pigmented and long-wearing, though some are drying.
The Amplified and Satin finishes tend to have good pigmentation, lightly creamy to moderately creamy consistencies with a bit of shine, and moderate to long wear with deeper, richer shades wearing longer. The Frost and Metallic finishes have the most variance between shades with coverage ranging from semi-sheer to opaque with average wear and non-drying to slightly drying formulas. All MAC lipsticks are vanilla-scented but have no discernible taste.
Browse all of our MAC Lipstick swatches.
Ingredients
Let's Mesa Around
LELimited Edition. $19.00.
Life in Sepia
MAC Life in Sepia Lipstick ($19.50 for 0.1 oz.) is a medium, taupe-brown with neutral-to-warm undertones and a satin finish. It had opaque pigmentation that applied fairly evenly, but the consistency seemed more prone to emphasizing lip texture and lines to a small degree. The texture was lightly creamy, more substantial but not heavy or thick on my lips, and had enough slip to glide on. It wore nicely for four and a half hours and was neither drying nor hydrating over time.
FURTHER READING: Formula Overview for details on general performance and characteristics (like scent).
Top Dupes
- MAC Dearly Beloved (LE, $19.00) is darker (85% similar).
- NARS Raw Love (P, $26.00) is lighter (80% similar).
- ColourPop Strut (P, $7.00) is lighter, warmer (90% similar).
- KVD Beauty Bow 'n' Arrow (P, $19.00) is lighter (90% similar).
- MAC Sweet Thing (LE, $21.00) is lighter (85% similar).
- Smashbox Safe Word (P, $21.00) is lighter (85% similar).
- MAC Burnt Spice (P, $21.00) is lighter (85% similar).
- Pat McGrath Lust Angeles (LE, $40.00) is warmer (85% similar).
- Natasha Denona Yana (34NP) (P, $25.00) is lighter, warmer (85% similar).
- KVD Beauty Ludwig (P, $19.00) is cooler (85% similar).
Formula Overview
$19.00/0.1 oz. - $190.00 Per Ounce
MAC Lipstick comes in a variety of finishes, and the pigmentation and wear tend to be dependent on the finish. The sheer finishes, like Lustres, tend to wear for only a couple of hours and have sheer coverage (as designed) and are non-drying.
Some of the original Matte shades have a stiffer, drier formula, while newer ones have a more velvety, silicone-feel to them, and the latter are creamier, more comfortable to wear, and easier to apply, but most Matte shades are quite pigmented and long-wearing, though some are drying.
The Amplified and Satin finishes tend to have good pigmentation, lightly creamy to moderately creamy consistencies with a bit of shine, and moderate to long wear with deeper, richer shades wearing longer. The Frost and Metallic finishes have the most variance between shades with coverage ranging from semi-sheer to opaque with average wear and non-drying to slightly drying formulas. All MAC lipsticks are vanilla-scented but have no discernible taste.
Browse all of our MAC Lipstick swatches.
Ingredients
Life in Sepia
LELimited Edition. $19.00.
Natural Born Leader
MAC Natural Born Leader Lipstick ($19.50 for 0.1 oz.) is a medium-dark, reddened plum with strong, warm undertones and a satin finish. It had rich color coverage that applied evenly and smoothly across my lips without tugging. There was a smidgen of product that sat in my deeper lip lines but wasn’t noticeable from a normal viewing distance. The consistency was dense without being too firm/stiff, so it was comfortable to wear but had good adhesion and stayed on well for five hours. The formula felt neither drying nor hydrating over time.
FURTHER READING: Formula Overview for details on general performance and characteristics (like scent).
Top Dupes
- Make Up For Ever Rose Flair (170) (P, $23.00) is lighter, brighter (95% similar).
- Revlon Want It All (P, $12.39) is lighter, cooler (95% similar).
- Bobbi Brown Claret (P, $40.00) is lighter, warmer (95% similar).
- ColourPop Daydream (P, $6.00) is lighter (90% similar).
- Urban Decay Trip (DC, $18.00) is lighter, warmer (95% similar).
- Anastasia Rosewood (P, $18.00) is lighter, cooler (95% similar).
- MAC Retro (P, $19.00) is more shimmery, lighter, warmer (95% similar).
- Sephora Labyrinth City (09) (P, $8.00) is darker, cooler (95% similar).
- MAC Bated Breath (P, $23.00) is darker, glossier (90% similar).
- Makeup Geek Plain Jane (P, $12.00) is darker (90% similar).
Formula Overview
$19.00/0.1 oz. - $190.00 Per Ounce
MAC Lipstick comes in a variety of finishes, and the pigmentation and wear tend to be dependent on the finish. The sheer finishes, like Lustres, tend to wear for only a couple of hours and have sheer coverage (as designed) and are non-drying.
Some of the original Matte shades have a stiffer, drier formula, while newer ones have a more velvety, silicone-feel to them, and the latter are creamier, more comfortable to wear, and easier to apply, but most Matte shades are quite pigmented and long-wearing, though some are drying.
The Amplified and Satin finishes tend to have good pigmentation, lightly creamy to moderately creamy consistencies with a bit of shine, and moderate to long wear with deeper, richer shades wearing longer. The Frost and Metallic finishes have the most variance between shades with coverage ranging from semi-sheer to opaque with average wear and non-drying to slightly drying formulas. All MAC lipsticks are vanilla-scented but have no discernible taste.
Browse all of our MAC Lipstick swatches.
Ingredients
I am so glad that I picked the winning pair! Natural Born Leader looks more like a slightly plummy rose on my medium olive complexion, and Life In Sepia looks like a cool-toned, slightly mauve shade of taupe on me. And both look a little bit lighter, too! Which is understandable considering that I’m a few shades darker than you. What is weird that this seems to happen with mattes far more often than other finishes, idk?
Let’s Mesa Around grabbed my attention until I saw it was a Lustre finish. If it had been a Cremesheen, I’d be very tempted. (P.S. Wouldn’t the name “Let’s Mesa Round” be easier to say?)
I almost picked up the shade Natural Born Leader day before yesterday. I was cruising the Sephora and Ulta websites and had it in my cart and then didn’t actually buy it. I love the shade so I will be getting it!
I’m liking all of them, although unsure how the Sepia would look on me. Worried I might look like death walking. I don’t think I have dupes for it but think I’m gonna hold off unless I can swatch in person.
I like Natural Born Leader the best, a perfect plummy red shade.