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MAC Marcel Wanders: Lipstick Review, Photos, Swatches

MAC Marcel Wanders Lip Gloss
Lipstick: Catharina, Digna, Gesina, Martha

MAC Marcel Wanders: Marcel Wanders Lipstick

MAC Marcel Wanders Lipsticks ($22.00 for 0.15 oz.) include four new, exclusive, and limited edition shades: Catharina (fuchsia), Digna (blackened red), Gesina (red with slight pinkish undertones), and Martha (golden champagne with pearl).  All of them are cream finishes except Martha, which is a frost.

These do not feel a whole lot different compared to MAC’s regular line of lipsticks–the biggest difference is these four seem creamier and glide on more smoothly than the typical MAC Lipstick.  They are a nice lipstick, but I like MAC’s Lipsticks a lot myself. I’m just not sure that I can tell the difference between these and other MAC lipsticks.  The ingredient lists are different but nothing stood out as being, “A-ha!”

  • Catharina is a brightened medium fuchsia pink with a creamy finish. It’s opaque with little product, and it hugs lips without being drying. It is a touch lighter than Full Fuchsia; also very similar to Girl About Town.
  • Digna is a berried red that’s semi-opaque. It has a glossier feel than the other lipsticks, but it also seems to pull into lip lines. I would expect it to bleed a bit around the edges of lips. MAC’s Dark Side is very similar–a little more pigmented.
  • Gesina is an opaque, bright, nearly neon, pinky-red. It reminded me of Illamasqua’s Follow but in lipstick form. It’s also a redder version (and lacks the fuchsia sheen) of Fusion Pink.
  • Martha is a peach-nude with soft golden shimmer. The golden shimmer is not as pronounced on the lips as I expected. This lipsticks is a less pink version of Strange Potion lipglass. It’s a little pinker than MAC Freckletone, peachier than Smashbox Splendid.

Surprisingly, each lipstick contains 50% more than the average MAC lipstick! MAC Lipsticks are $14.50 and contain 0.10 oz., which makes them equivalent to $145.00/oz. MAC Marvel Wanders Lipsticks are $22.00 and contain 0.15 oz., which makes them the equivalent of $146.67/oz. So even though it’s a higher investment cost, the price is proportional. Of course, if you have many lipsticks at your disposal, you may be more concerned over pure price.

If you want to know more about how products are evaluated, read out Rating System FAQ! 🙂

  • Product: 28/30
  • Value: 8/10
  • Ease of Use: 4/5
  • Packaging: 4/5

RECOMMENDATION: These shades are dupeable, which is the biggest drawback for them.  At $22, if there is a $14.50 option, that may be better–unless you see yourself using up a whole tube!  Despite the higher price tag, you get a proportional amount, so if you are a lipstick fiend, check ’em out.

AVAILABILITY: MAC on November 24th

MAC Marcel Wanders Lip Gloss
Lipstick: Catharina, Digna, Gesina, Martha

MAC Marcel Wanders Lip Gloss

MAC Marcel Wanders Lip Gloss

MAC Marcel Wanders Lip Gloss
Lipstick: Catharina, Digna, Gesina, Martha

MAC Marcel Wanders Lip Gloss
Lipstick: Catharina, Digna

MAC Marcel Wanders Lip Gloss
Lipstick: Gesina, Martha

MAC Marcel Wanders Lip Gloss
MAC Catharina Marcel Wanders Lipstick

MAC Marcel Wanders Lip Gloss
MAC Catharina Marcel Wanders Lipstick

MAC Marcel Wanders Lip Gloss
MAC Digna Marcel Wanders Lipstick

MAC Marcel Wanders Lip Gloss
MAC Digna Marcel Wanders Lipstick

MAC Marcel Wanders Lip Gloss
MAC Gesina Marcel Wanders Lipstick

MAC Marcel Wanders Lip Gloss
MAC Gesina Marcel Wanders Lipstick

MAC Marcel Wanders Lip Gloss
MAC Martha Marcel Wanders Lipstick

MAC Marcel Wanders Lip Gloss
MAC Martha Marcel Wanders Lipstick

94 Comments

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Carie Avatar

What formulation are they? As in, Satin, Amplified, etc? If it doesn’t specify what’s your opinion? Thanks 🙂
Oh, and Gesina looks beautiful! I love it!

Lucie Avatar

Ehhh, nothing wowing about these. I really thought I’d want at least one of ’em, but I’m fine with the formula of regular MAC and since these are so dupable+nothing I’d wear every day that would warrant getting a larger tube, why bother. :/

Ani_BEE Avatar

To bad they didn’t put Dark Side in this packaging since it would be a win/win for me. ^_^ All the shades are nice but to bright for me. Dark Deed was to violet/wine on me, interesting but nothing red about it. lol

Carrie Ann Avatar

Pretty colors and I like that you at least get more product than a regular MAC lipstick. Love the cases. I like Gesina, but I doubt I would ever have the guts to wear that color. Martha is definitely more up my alley.

Rosanna Avatar

I might get Gesina since I don’t have anything like it in my collection and it is very pretty.

I love the name “Catharina” but sadly I already have Girl About Town.

Vio Avatar

Martha is surprisingly beautiful and looks amazing on you. And Digna is also very pretty, but is the kind of colour where I’m alsways wondering if I can pull it off. Do you think it would work on someone relatively pale?

I’m only getting into lipsticks, so I think I will take a look once they are released in Europe. Or see if I can figure out potential dupes 😉

Emma Avatar

This collection seems so uninspired to me. The packaging looks heavy and of very nice quality, but overall the colors aren’t anything new. I wasn’t looking forward to this collection anyway seeing as the price point is beyond what I can afford, but perhaps if the colors weren’t repeats I would’ve been more interested!

audrey Avatar

I really like martha, but dont love it….hahaha the only thing that makes me want to purchase is the packaging….mac may have won that war with me *sad faces* 🙁

Zoe Avatar

I really love martha but as someone with pale skin and really pigmented lips I can see this as being a disaster. I’ll forever have to settle with milky pink lips as my version of nude hahha. (not that it’s a bad thing!)

Vio Avatar

*g* I have the same problem. One trick I once saw (maybe a pixiewoo vid?) was to put a bit of foundation or concealer over the lips to reduce the actual colour of the lips.

Vale Avatar

As I said yesterday, I can’t really understand why MAC doesn’t put some more efforts for this kind of collections. Ok that’s all about packaging, but at least, put some decent colour inside!

Denise Avatar

i love catharina, but i think it´s too expensive for a MAC lipstick. especially in germany! i don´t know how they make their prices, but 22$ would be 16 euro, but the lipstick is about 27 euro(36$). for that high price i prefer other brands like chanel for example.

Vio Avatar

Some of it might deoend of the exchange rate dollar-euro, but even so it is still cheaper in the US, MAC is among the worst, but other brands are similar. I know that I splurged on makeup the last time I was in New York. The MAC pro store was just a few blocks from our hotel. I think a made a few MAC-MUAs very happy *g*, but yeah it was much cheaper to stock up on stuff there and carry it home than to buy it in Germany.

alex Avatar

dupeable or not i think the lipsticks look really pretty, but i can’t get comic sans out of my head when i see the ‘Marcel Wanders’ writing on the packaging.

Ani_BEE Avatar

Hi-five for designer talk! It’s not comic sans but has a very comic sans fell to it. ^_^ Make me want to hunt it down now since it’s a much cleaner typeface.

Liz Mc Avatar

Meh. All of those colors would look horrid on me. I’m too old for the brights, lips too thin for the dark red, and too cool-complexioned for the beigey-peach.

kcrystal Avatar

3 of them being creams .. i suppose that would mean cremesheens and not amplified creams?

If they are cremesheens then i will definitely be picking up Gesina. I was debating between that and Fusion Pink. FP is amplified and they are not always as creamy as I want them to be. Gesina being a bit redder might flatter me more than FP. Pinky reds are always right up my alley.

Ica Avatar

Hi Christine! Lovely swatches as always. 🙂 Just wondering if Catharina is close to MAC’s Hollywood Nights lipstick… The shade looks similar to me. Can you confirm? Thanks in advance!

dedra williams Avatar

martha looks great on you i could probley pull it off also but im darker so it will look to odd maby 🙂 but i like the color on you .
i’m thinkg of getting digma

mel Avatar

you said martha was a frost? do you put only one swipe or something? i don’t see any shimmer or metallic shine!
please respond! i don’t like frost lipsticks generally, but if it really is like whats in the picture i’m going to order it right away

Angela Avatar

Mac Pro’s full fushia was in glamour magazine’s 2011 issue and it looks completely different shade than it did on the model. Maybe they mixed her lipstick with a white lipstick because it is lightter than what I have. I love the hot pink lipgloss Courtney Kardashian wears, it’s just right (not loud, heavy, or faddish). I have a warm undertone. I would say my complexion is between Rihanna and Beyonce. My problem is finding a complementary hot pink shade of lipstick or lipgloss. I hate girl about town (it’s too garish). I also bought Mac’s gulabi which is just a slightly darker shade of Mac’s full Fuschia. Catharina looks nice but I don’t want but be disappointed again….Any suggections?

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