MAC Secret Admirer Casual Colour Lip & Cheek Colour Review, Photos, Swatches
MAC Secret Admirer Casual Colour Lip & Cheek Colour
MAC Secret Admirer Casual Colour Lip & Cheek Colour ($22.00 for 0.08 fl. oz.) is described as a “coral pink.” It’s a brightened, medium coral-pink with warm undertones and a luminous sheen. MAC Hi Jinks! (LE, $20.00) is warmer. theBalm Pie (P) is redder. MAC Posey (P, $21.00) is pinker. See comparison swatches / view dupes. Here are dupes for this shade as a lip color.
First… whoa, whoa, whoa, size reduction! These were put into medium-sized MAC compacts (like Cream Colour Bases), and they contain 0.08 fl. oz., whereas the original packaging for Casual Colour Lip & Cheek Colours (here are two from April 2014) contained 0.43 fl. oz. That’s a reduction of 81%! (And the price went up a dollar, just to make it even more painful.) Second, it’s a dual-purpose product that can be used on lips or cheeks, but I haven’t had much luck using the formula on lips, as it is a very thin, clingy formula that strips the lips of moisture and generally makes my lips look worse than they really are. As a blush, the formula performs better: seven hours of wear with a blendable consistency that sets to a more luminous, natural finish–a little sheen but not shine. Secret Admirer was true to formula, as it was drying over the three hours it lasted on my lips (and looked poor on), and then it lasted seven hours as a blush.
Secret Admirer
PPermanent. $22.00.
MAC Secret Admirer Casual Colour Lip & Cheek Colour
MAC Secret Admirer Casual Colour Lip & Cheek Colour
MAC Secret Admirer Casual Colour Lip & Cheek Colour
MAC Secret Admirer Casual Colour Lip & Cheek Colour
MAC Secret Admirer Casual Colour Lip & Cheek Colour
MAC Secret Admirer Casual Colour Lip & Cheek Colour
MAC Secret Admirer Casual Colour Lip & Cheek Colour
MAC Secret Admirer Casual Colour Lip & Cheek Colour
MAC Secret Admirer Casual Colour Lip & Cheek Colour
Love the color. But I’m not one for cream blushes, and definitely not one for wearing these kinds of convertible colors on the lips. I, too, find them to be extremely drying and over time they look patchy.
It’s so rare to find a good lip AND cheek product!
A .08oz multiple, huh? Makes LOADS of sense 😛
I was SOOOOO surprised.
MAC really needs to slow their roll on price increases and size decreases.
I do like the color on the lips. Do you think that if I put a clear lip gloss on top of it, It would help with the formula. If not, a lipstick dupe of it would be helpful. 🙂
I provided dupes in the post above!
WHOA. What????
The price went UP and the product went DOWN by 80%?!?!
Does MAC think we’re stupid? This is ridiculous. No, thank you. I can find better formulas elsewhere.
I was shocked at the size difference!
Pretty colour as a blush!. I haven’t found a lip/cheek product that I absolutely LOVE as yet ( the Too faced cream blush/lipsticks and NARS Multiple in Cadaques came close but thats about it)! Benefit’s Rush Hour blush and lipstick were actually super creamy either way but made me look undead when worn as a lipstick 🙁
YSL’s have been my favorite so far!
Ooh i forgot about my YSL Kiss & Blush . Surprisingly I actually didnt like the formula too much ( too “siliconey” for me) but they are very pretty for sure!
I’ve actually really been enjoying this as a lip product. It’s not something that can be worn on its own, in my opinion, but dabbing it under/mixing it in with lipsticks can look nice, or wearing it over a lip pencil. Now as a cheek product I’ve had some problems with it; it took me ages to figure out the right amount to put on and how to blend it in without looking silly (I don’t think I quite realized how pigmented it was at first).
Happy to hear you’re liking it!
For what it’s worth, I think it actually looks pretty on your lips. And (IMO, at least), I think it looks better on you than most of the matte lippies that you test for us!
Interesting 🙂 I thought it made my lips look shriveled up like raisins, LOL.
What the heck is MAC doing?! First they released that outrageously priced Prabal Gurung collection and now this?! And people continue to buy it which means they will keep raising prices and making products smaller. Plus this annoys my OCD because I own a few casual colors in the pots and now the packaging is different! I know, I know…first world problems, right? 😉
I wonder what made them change the packaging!
Yikes! That looks like kiddo Barbie playset makeup on the lips. I normally love the casual colors but this is a pass for me.
It’s better as a cheek product for sure!
Oh wait! I read your review a bit better… Shame on MAC for reducing this to a fifth of what they used to be! I feel like I’m detaching myself from MAC more and more.
I can’t believe how little fits in it, lol!
SO sick of MAC and these size reduction/price increases. Absolutely absurd and they get away with it because of those who will buy it up simply because it’s MAC!
Color is pretty, but quality and pricing shenanigans make this a no.
It is such a huge decrease in quantity 🙁
Ouch! That size reduction and price increase… Oh, sneaky MAC. 🙁
I was like, “Wait, weren’t they in pots before?”
MAC is too expensive for me. My favorite creme blushes are from Flower Beauty!
That’s awesome! 🙂
And your pic says it all…highly annoyed by the reduction in product and $1 price increase.
Me too! It’s TOO reduced without an accompanying price drop 🙁
I had ordered this with the Toxic Tale lipstick. It looks so beautiful. I didn’t realize the size reduction was that drastic. It’s sooooo pretty though.
I had no idea it was reduced this much!
I may end up returning it…
But it’s so pretty…
I’ll have to see it in person. LOL I’m not very decisive lately.
Well I cant say that this is the first time I’ve seen companies making their products smaller AND more expensive on top of that! I’ve heard that NARS has done the same thing. The color and formula itself is pretty, but the fact that they changed the amount of product could turn people away I guess. Mac is just one of those companies where we are always going to buy from them, no matter how much they tick us off sometimes.
No, it’s definitely not the first (and won’t be the last), but it is always frustrating when they do.
They are both so cheerful, they make me think of spring! Love that look
I can see the spring-y vibe!
I’m not familiar will all of MAC’s sizes in terms of the cheek products but this is ridiculous. I also heard they are changing their powder blush sizes, is this true? I’m actually all for making the makeup smaller – especially as these days so many of us have quite a bit of makeup that would be challenging to get through – but reflect that in the prices as well. I wouldn’t mind if a MAC blush was half the size but also close to half the price, ya know? 🙂
I’m not sure – they have so many different formulas and each tends to have its own size, but it is possible.
I really hope these don’t sell well. MAC is REALLY taking advantage of their customers with this.
I don’t know how many will notice/realize it’s *that* much smaller 🙁 Visually it doesn’t seem like, “Oh, I’m getting a fraction of what I used to get!”
Wow! This looks so pretty on you. Shame it didn’t perform well on the lips. My dry lips would completely shrivel up at the sight of this I think! I might have a look at the dupes. Which ones do you think would work for very dry lips?
From the dupes I pulled, Bobbi Brown Watermelon would be the best, though it’s not super hydrating.
Thanks! I’ve seen it at the counter but never tried it. Maybe I’ll give it a try when I next visit. 🙂
You do rock these casual colors well. Did you ever think for a second the 2015 Pantone color would be Marsala? 🙂
Who knew! I’m already sick of hearing about it, though, LOL! I think I received 50 pitches within the first 24 hours of it being announced.
Oh my.. They must think you’re a wino. There, there.. I won’t tell your secret addiction. 😉 I’m actually happy! Everything will match my lips! 😀 Lol! It’s a great change that I estimate will cancel candy yum yums, and bring more deep red eyeshadows! WOOO! It’s also very carnal.. Images of raw red meat don’t evoke earthiness to me. Textures in this color? I’m thrilled! Still, I feel it so random.. Are they trying to anger the world? Too much exposure to red has proven to instill anger and hostility in people.. Hmm.. With all the global issues.. How will this aid positively? Radiant orchid just made me loathe the color I once loved.. Their system is messed up. I had all the storyboards etc., and felt definitely something earthy like brown or a shade of green, blue, blue green, as wines were already part of the palette shown to enhance it, so I now wonder what they are actually trying to “sell” to us?
It’ll be interesting to see how it translates across brands and types of makeup 🙂 It’s kind of like when it hits August and every pitch is about Christmas and gift guides that it takes a little lull between the initial barrage of “HEY, did you know! Christmas is right around the corner!” and when it gets closer and it’s more exciting again.
Haha!! 😀
You know something, Christine? I, although my current distaste for UD, would ADORE a Naked 4 palette in Wines/reds!!! Ahhhmazing 😀
I actually like how this looks on your lips! I think it’s very pretty as a blush too but I prefer the old packaging. Plus, I’m not really feeling the size difference either. That’s a huge jump!
It is a huge reduction!
I was going to say I thought these came in little twist top jar/tubs before. I thought it was way too much product but I’d have said reduce the product and the price, not reduce the product and up the price! I actually melted about half of mine into an empty Guerlain pressed powder compact and then gave my mum the rest of the tub. I found the original to work on the lips patted on as a stain almost with a bit of balm- only worth it if you really loved the colour really (which I did!)
Now I’m wondering how old mine is… Still seems fine!
Yes, I definitely can see the product being TOO much (for a cream product) before, though without a price drop to accompany the price reduction, it just feels stingy 🙁
Well, it’s a pretty colour, but I think MAC may have just set the bar at the International Value-Shark Jumping Event…. 🙁
It is a particularly drastic reduction!
I like it as a blush! Why must cosmetics be so expensive!
So we have to be discerning, lol!
I was tempted because I missed the casual colours last spring and kind of regret it, but increasing the price while giving you one fifth of the product??? Are you kidding me MAC? Oh wait, that’s just a 461% increase of the price per fl oz….
It’s pretty nuts when you do the math!
MAC thinks we are all so gullible….Thanks to Christine, we are not.
I think it is time to boycott Mac’s new products.
I hope they’ll rethink the packaging next time they release these, or else reduce price.
Wow, the raise in price and less product is tragic!
Agreed!
I solemnly vow not to purchase any of these from now on, only because of the size decrease. Just like I have done with Bobbi Brown´s pot rouges, even though I love them.
Awww!! That must be hard re: BB’s Pot Rouges 🙁
The size reduction is SO not okay. 81%?? I thought it was bad enough when they reduced the pigment size by half. oO;
Crazy, right?!
If it’s in a super fancy packaging then I can somewhat understand that, but it’s just their plain old compact. Whaaaaaaaat.
The size reduction is shocking! I like the color though, would be great on medium complexions too.
The color is cute!
I might become this color’s secret admirer, what a beauty! <3
Awwww!
I know a lot of people would say (about the HUGE price increase) that it’s MAC so people are still going to buy it. The thing is, in the age of the internet, there are so many Indie companies, dupe lists, and customer-loyal brands that it doesn’t make sense to reward them for their hijinks, and we have the tools to choose another direction. Back in the day when we got our makeup by walking into a store, and our choices were whatever was within driving distance, and we didn’t know how other people felt about brands and products, we were stuck. Not anymore. MAC pissed me off a long time ago with the limited editions that they wouldn’t put purchase caps on. All they care about is selling out of something, not whether their unreasonably loyal, non-stalker customer base gets to enjoy the product. I’m so over MAC.
It’s definitely true that there is a lot more knowledge out there, and on top of that, a lot more accessibility to other brands. The only bummer is anyone who sees it in-store or even online and buys without checking the size may not realize it’s so drastically reduced 🙁
I don’t think I’ve ever checke the amount of product I get when it’s in a pot. I do check lipsticks, but I just look at them.
I guess I’ll have to start checking.
I really like this colour though, both on the lips and on the cheek.
I will not buy it as it will probably be on the expensive side.
I’ve gotten in the habit from pulling the size into the review, so now I notice, lol!
I love your “Whoa whoa whoa!”
This product is one I could never quite get interested in – and now it’s lost any appeal for me.
Maybe MAC is considering phasing out this entire concept. It doesn’t deliver on the lips and there are so many other comparable products out there that are better for less dinero.
MAC does not think the customer is stupid or blind — but it’s gotten used to one-too-many-stampedes! If the stampede went the other way — like away, things like the whoa-whoa-whoa moment might not happen. But with females and makeup, well, heart takes over mind!
For sure – the only way companies will correct is if enough people stop buying. It does seem like collections are slower to sell out, but it’s hard to track, lol!
It’s a refreshing color though! Maybe MAC’s target buyers are noobs or ppl who don’t care about the price and quantity they’re getting? LOL Quick technical question, Christine!!! Every after time I log in here, it always brings me back to the index. Is there a way that you can tweak on your end to make me stay in the blog entry after I log in? I hope you got my question haha. TY! <3
I’ll make a note about your tech request – no idea if it’s possible or not (and how much time it would take) – but it will go on the list for sure!
Talk about size reduction! Also, I’d like to add that you in the US are ‘the lucky ones’ since we in Europe pay even more for the same products!
I know that many people don’t even look at the size of the product but I like to know how much I actually get for certain amount of $$$. Recently I was looking at some eyeliners from Avon and I was shocked to discover that their eyeliners contain only 0.28 grams of product. Most eyeliners I have contain 1 g or 1.2 grams of product so I was like, are you serious?! 😀
I like to know to a degree, and I never like it when brands do the whole drastic size reduction or massive price increase 🙁
i was just about to buy this but now that you brought the size reduction to my attention its not worth it
Aww! 🙁