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MAC Plumful Lipstick Review, Photos, Swatches

MAC Plumful Lipstick
MAC Plumful Lipstick

Maybe Not Sultry, But Still Pretty

MAC Plumful Lipstick ($14.50 for 0.10 oz.) is a muted medium pink with a touch of plum, which gives it a slightly darker overall appearance. It has a lustre finish, but it delivers a surprising amount of color pay off (semi-opaque). I originally bought this to use in the Sultry Season, but it’s just not vampy and dark and sultry enough for that purpose! However, it is a gorgeous shade of pink without being milky, candy, or bright. I think it’s very wearable for both cooler and warmer skin tones, though it leans slightly cool. I don’t know how I went this long without Plumful in my stash!

Lustre finishes are supposed to be more moisturizing but can be somewhat drying (but Plumful wasn’t), but they’re often on the sheerer side; I’m happy that Plumful isn’t, just because some of the lustre shades barely show up at all. All MAC lipsticks are vanilla-scented but have no discernible taste. I typically get four hours of wear out of MAC lipsticks, with some of the darker shades going as long as five.

See more photos & swatches!

MAC Plumful Lipstick
MAC Plumful Lipstick

MAC Plumful Lipstick
MAC Plumful Lipstick

MAC Plumful Lipstick
MAC Plumful Lipstick

MAC Plumful Lipstick
MAC Plumful Lipstick

MAC Plumful Lipstick
MAC Plumful Lipstick

MAC Plumful Lipstick
MAC Plumful Lipstick

MAC Plumful Lipstick
MAC Plumful Lipstick

106 Comments

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Anamika Avatar

Hi Christine,

I am a beauty blogger from India. In India beauty blogging has become a rage since 5- 6 months only and I must tell you that we here look up to you a lot..
🙂

Michelle Avatar

Love this color! It has been on my list forever to check out — but I’m so glad you did it for me! I will definitely be purchasing it 🙂

Steph B Avatar

That was my first thought, too. I pulled out my tube and it is definitely darker. It isn’t just a lip pigmentation thing — the bullet and hand swatch look very different.

Steph B Avatar

How interesting! I’m going to check out a fresh tube at MAC and see if they have changed the color because I really like both versions.

konconsc Avatar

hi girls, do you guys have lighter skin tone than Christine? Coz I have some of the lipsticks that Christine has but those colors that look light on her actually look not as light or sometimes even dark on me.

Steph B Avatar

I went to the MAC store today with my tube of Plumful and these pictures on my phone. The MUA thought these pictures looked like Lovelorn. The Plumful was definitely the same as my tube — darker in the tube and in swatches on several of the ladies behind the counter. Plumful fit colorwise between Sweetie and Capricious.

The good news is that it made me try Lovelorn and I loved it.

Gina Avatar

I’m surprised at how pink this looks on you! However, my lips are very pigmented and when I put this on, I get a lovely plum shade. This is a good lipstick.

Kat Avatar

Me too! Definitely the closest I’ve yet to come to My Lips But Better… 🙂 I’m super pale, and playing up, and evening out, my quite pigmented lips make it look way more intentional – Snow White pre-apple instead of post. A good thing indeed 😉

daphne Avatar

This is so funny. I’m wearing Plumful today – a new favorite of mine. On me, it’s *definitely* a Sultry Season color. It’s about three shades darker on me than it appears on you in these pictures – I’d definitely call it plum on me, not pink. In fact, even though we have the same hair and skin color, lip colors pretty much always look more intense on me than they do on you (which has its good and bad sides!). It’s really wild how lip colors vary so much from person to person, isn’t it?

Anyway, different or not it’s definitely still one of my favorite lip colors. I never even paid attention to it until I had some empties and, as I usually do with B2M, asked the MUA for a recommendation last month and came home with this. Using it *very* frequently lately!

daphne Avatar

The thing is, I really don’t think I do. I think that the “bare lips” shot you use maybe has a little foundation on the lips? Am I crazy? My natural lip color is…about a shade lighter than MAC’s Lightly Ripe lipstick, LOL! That’s the color that comes closest to disappearing on me 😉 So they are pretty pink! I don’t know how it works…

t_zwiggy Avatar

Don’t say that! I think your natural lip color is gorgeous! I love naturally pale lips!

But I agree with people over her saying that lipsticks look very different on you. I’ve not been able to figure out what it is, because I have about the same amount of pigmentation to my lips, and I’m about as dark as you (not as warm/yellow toned, though). But all the colors that looks amazing on you, look dark and crazy bright on my lips. So weird.

I’m really jealous of you, though. Seems like you can pull off almost any lipcolor. I really want to wear lipstick, but I have such a hard time finding colors that look good on me.

s a b l e Avatar

Hmmm how could I have missed this?! I love it and it looks beautiful on you! I have this obsession with pink lipsticks and lustre is my favorite finish. I’ll have to pick this up next time I’m at a counter. Thanks!

Angela Avatar

I was going to get this lipstick at the MAC store last weekend but hesitated. I was wondering what you thought about it and here it shows up on your post today! Meant to be. I think this will be a perfect fall color for me that’s not too dark, since my lips are a lot darker than yours. 🙂

Carrie Ann Avatar

I got this color pretty recently and I love it. It is a very pretty lipstick and lustre finishes are great. They don’t make my lips feel dry like mattes and frosts tend to.

angierafaela Avatar

Christine, how similar is this to Way To Love lipstick from A Rose Romance collection? That is my HG of lipsticks. I never wear the same lipstick more than two days in a row and I can’t leave Way To Love alone. It’s the perfect MLBB color. I’m almost at tube’s end and need a dupe. Is this similar at all?

Ashley Avatar

It reminds me a bit of Laugh a Lot on you, which was way darker looking on me, so I guess that will be true of this one as well. 🙁 It looks gorgeous on you though!

DarkxAbysmalxSoul Avatar

Thats so weird, my Plumful doesnt look this pink at all in the tube or swatched on my hand.I cn understand on my lips it being different but woah,this is crazy!

Annette Avatar

My plumful is darker and less pink in the tube as well. Weird. I got my tube like a year and a half ago, maybe they changed the color? I hope not because it is one of my favorites. Now I am curious, lol, I’m going to check next time I go to Mac.

abby Avatar

plumful was my first MAC lipstick and i liked it at first but then i thought it was kind of blah on me but on you it looks so pretty. Well, thats cause everything looks good on you Christine 😀

Ashley Avatar

I’m so confused!

I bought Plumful last month and it is definitely plum in the tube. My lipstick looks nothing like yours. Your plumful looks pink mine actually looks plummy.

I have very pigmented lips and fair skin and when swatched on bare lips it still leans plum.

Did they change the formula within the last 30 days? :S

dallasbrowneeyes Avatar

I have to agree with those who say this color doesn’t look like Plumful! I have a brand new tube that I bought from MAC Pro about four weeks ago, and it is indeed darker, more plum/berry than pink. Did you apply very lightly?

Jen Avatar

I got this as a x-mas gift last year and still love it! I didn’t think this would look nice on me but luckily it did. I just bought the Chanel Stunt Allure Laque and it’s quite almost the same color.

Sarona Avatar

this is one of my fav lipsticks (if not my #1) it’s what I wear when I’m in a hurry and don’t know which color to choose. What I love about it is when I wear it it is more plumy while when my friend wears it it comes more as a pink, it’s one of those colors that you think is so blah but you’ll LOVE once you try it on and goes perfectly with every skintone. I’ve made all my friends try/get it and they love it.

Alison Avatar

Maybe its one of those bizarre colors that looks really different on different people, like Chanel’s Rouge Coco Mademoiselle! It looks so orange on some people, even with similar skin tones to me.. or even leans coral, but on me it looks pure dusty beige.

Scientific Housewife Avatar

I bought this to wear in my friend’s wedding and it’s one of my favorite MAC lipsticks. I wish it was a little more moisturizing but I love the color on my pale skin 🙂

Céline Avatar

Hi! Christine I just bought the lipstick at the Mac store near my house and this shade is gorgeous on you and pretty on me too but look totally different. Even in the tube! weird on my lips it’s a medium plum (darker than yours) and with no blue undertones. Anyway thanks for the review. Bye

Céline Avatar

Lol don’t worry it’s still a pretty shade and I have no regrets maybe next time I’ll buy sweetie to have a more light pink. It would be nice if I could see sweetie on your lips also. lol sometimes I’m like I wish Christine had all the lipstick I want so I could see the swatches.lol

Christine Avatar

LOL! I wish, too, because it would make it easier to compare!

Here is the closest to a Sweetie swatch I have: http://www.temptalia.com/soft-makeup-sweet-with-sugar-plums

I’ve used it in several looks (like 15+) but they all have lipgloss on top – the link above is the least modified by gloss – Sweetie isn’t as shimmery as shown in the link (that’s from the gloss).

Céline Avatar

awww! Thank you so much for the link you are so sweet to take the time to show me what sweetie looks like (it’s gorgeous I’ll get it tomorow). Thank you so much have a nice day. (or night lol) Bye

Céline Avatar

Hi Christine so I just bought sweetie lipstick and it’s gorgeous!! It matches almost perfectly my lower lip which is great! Also it’s great for everyday use! Thank you so much I am obsessed with lustres right now! bye

aradhana Avatar

that is such a pretty colour! normally i would steer away from the light pink tones, but from the previous comments it seems to look different on everyone so i might just have to check it out…maybe the sheerness will help? the wishlist of lipsticks is just ever growing!

Mia Avatar

ive been reading some of these comments and i have a medium dark skintone and plumful looks not even close to pink on me. its a very true berry. how funny this is hahah 🙂

Ari Avatar

When I saw your swatch I just loved how Plumful looked on you so I went to MAC and bought one. However, the lipstick color is much darker in the tube and on my lips. It definitely looks much nicer on you! 😉

len Avatar

christine, I went to MAC to try on this beautiful color. Like everyone said, it definitely does not look like the color you have on in your pictures. It looks like a more berry color on me, as did the swatch. Even the color in the tube is quite darker.

I tried on the lipstick from a MAC tester (after it was cleaned of course!) and it was much darker than this. I know this can be inconvenient for you, but is there a way you can swatch this from an actual tester and compare it to the one you have?

Marcela Avatar

gorgeous shade! picked it up yesterday and it looks the same on me as it does on you, christine (and we have the same skin tone). I love how pigmented it is despite it being a lustre finish. very silky and moisturizing!

J Avatar

I bought this lipstick after reading this review and even though it was freakishly dark in person, it looks exactly as your pic when i put it on my lips and saw photos from events i attended. basically, im trying to THANK YOU because i love this color and it doesnt look too harsh after all =)

Annaham Avatar

I actually went to a MAC counter to try this based on your review, and although my natural lip color is fairly dark, I *loved* it and ended up buying a tube! It’s a really happy medium for those who may have had bad luck with pink lipsticks in the past (that would be me, lol), but want to try a lighter shade for early spring!

Ingrid Avatar

Hi, I just got Plumful today too, and oh my god I love it! I admit, the shade is darker, but I’m really fair, so it might just be that. But I love it nonetheless. I’m considering buying Sweetie now, since you’ve been recommending it. Thanks a lot for all your reviews and hard-work, and please keep at it! I don’t have a lot of makeup, so I spend a lot of time picking things from your blog so I can go buy stuff and finally have a makeup kit of my own, so I stop stealing from my mom. 😛 I haven’t been disappointed!

Bree Avatar

I know this is old but I must put my two cents in I’ve recently ordered & have received plumful from maconline.com & my gosh how different my tube look from your lip swatches & the actual tube pic itself yours look so creamy pink….I must say that somewhere along the productional line @ mac….different variations of colors were spit out…thanx for all the great work that you do on this site!!!

Kate Avatar

Hello Temptalia! I’m NC20 in mac and I really want a pink-purple lipstick for fall. Would you recommend Plumful or Craving? Or something else? Thank you for your time. 🙂

heather Avatar

LOL i like whoever asked you to swatch a store tester(with government officials present to notarize that you did, in fact, swatch plumful)…different color-payoff for different lips is what it all comes down to–and it looks freaking amazing on you, cheers to that.

shani Avatar

christine pls help. i’m looking for a muted pink lipstick (neutral) for indian skin. any top recommendations? i’m tired of finding something too shocking pink or too pale pink. i just want to slowly venture into pinks since i do everyyyyything nudes w/lipstick.

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