MAC Posh Paradise Mattenes Swatches, Photos, Reviews

Christine — Wed, 14 Sep 2011 19:06:47 +0000

MAC Fresh Amour Mattene

MAC Posh Paradise Mattenes Swatches, Photos, Reviews

MAC Mattenes ($14.50 for 0.08 oz.) see the limited introduction of ten new and limited edition shades with Posh Paradise (which debuts tomorrow in-stores). The six featured in this post are: Fresh Amour (light lavender), Naked Bliss (neutral light pink), Potent Fig (deep blue grape), Rare Exotic (bright mid-tone blue pink), Seeds of Desire (deep brown plum), and Unknown Pleasures (deep red blue).

Delectable is reviewed here.
Deliciously Forbidden is reviewed here.
Eden Rouge is reviewed here.
Fresh Amour is a pink-tinted lavender with a semi-matte finish and opaque color coverage. It’s very slightly less pink compared to shades like MAC Lavender Whip, Fashion Mews, Blooming Lovely, and Quite Cute. It does tend to pull the yellowness out of teeth, though.
Legendary is reviewed here.
Naked Bliss is a pinky-beige nude with a semi-matte finish and mostly opaque coverage. It’s darker and pinker compared to MAC Innocence, Beware! and MAC Naturally Eccentric. Maybelline Born With It is similar though glossier. It’s a more pigmented verison of MAC Nude Rose. It’s not as pale as MAC Playing Koi.
Potent Fig is a dark grape purple with a slightly glossy finish. The texture is different from the others, as this had a lot of slip, more shine, and went on uneven/streaky because of the additional creaminess. I can’t think of a dupe for it, as a lot of the previous purplish shades I’ve reviewed are either much darker (and more burgundy) or lighter.
Rare Exotic It is cooler-toned compared to Guerlain Shalimar and Bobbi Brown Cosmic Raspberry. It is a touch bluer than NARS Carthage. OCC Pretty Boy is a little more magenta. It seems a little darker and bluer-based than MAC Girl About Town.
Seeds of Desire is a luxurious brown tinted with red and has ruby red shimmer with a semi-matte finish. The color payoff is good with mostly opaque coverage. CoverGirl Smokyis similar but a little lighter and browner. MAC Underworld is lighter.
Unknown Pleasures is a dark brown-tinted red with mostly opaque color coverage and a slightly shiny finish. The shine with this shade seems higher than the majority, so it’s not quite as semi-matte. It’s redder than Illamasqua Growl. It’s a touch darker than MAC Good to Be Bad. It’s similar to Bobbi Brown Blackberry, MAC Dark Side, and MAC Dark Deed.

These felt creamier, with better slip and comfort, than previous iterations of Mattenes (I think the last time we saw them was with Style Black). I wore Delectable on half of my lips (half of the upper/half of the lower) with Eden Rouge on the other side, because I like to test shades from both the lighter and darker ends of the spectrum to get a handle on the length of wear. Delectable wore off within three hours, while Eden Rouge wore about five. I think the increased slip and creaminess of the formula has reduced the wear time by a bit–at least in these shades.

I didn’t see anything in the marketing/press release on these about them being long-wearing but did glean that they are supposed to be soft enough to glide-on with semi-matte finishes, intense color, and moisturizing. They’re far more moisturizing than the average matte lipstick. After wearing the two I tested for wear, I did want balm, but I didn’t feel like my lips were cracking or dry. These are packaged in slim tubes with matte black on the outside and a shiny rim around the middle. They only contain 0.08 oz., which is less than their regular lipsticks, which are 0.10 oz.

Honestly, this collection has “permanent” written all over it yet everything is limited edition. The shades of the Mattenes seem so core and basic (which is not a criticism) that they would make for an excellent permanent selection of colors in the Mattene formula, which I think many readers have enjoyed over time. I really do feel some improvement went into these new shades. The only one that I had major issues with was Potent Fig.