MAC Skew, Marrakesh, Rocker Lipsticks Reviews, Photos, Swatches
Skew
MAC Skew Lipstick ($17.50 for 0.10 oz.) is a medium pink with warmer undertones and cooler pink and violet pearl. I found the color harder to find dupes for, so despite the medium coverage, I could see it working well for some–it had a tendency to emphasise the natural lip color while still adding something to it. The texture was lightweight, emollient without being slippery on my lips, and was comfortable to wear over the four hours it lasted for. It was lightly hydrating over time to me.
FURTHER READING: Formula Overview for details on general performance and characteristics (like scent).
Top Dupes
- Estee Lauder Pink Parfait (P, $32.00) is darker (90% similar).
- MAC Who Wants Kandi (LE, $19.00) is lighter (90% similar).
- Chanel Rose Clair (P, $37.00) is darker, warmer (90% similar).
- Tom Ford Beauty Quiver (P, $54.00) is lighter, warmer (90% similar).
- Tom Ford Beauty Whitney (LE, $36.00) is more shimmery, lighter, cooler (90% similar).
- Guerlain Kiss Blossom (LE, $37.00) is warmer (90% similar).
- Bite Beauty Rose Glace (P, $24.00) is more shimmery, darker, warmer (85% similar).
- MAC Sunny Seoul (P, $19.00) is less shimmery, darker (90% similar).
- MAC Bombshell (P, $19.00) is cooler (90% similar).
- Guerlain Gemma (DC, $58.00) is warmer (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
Skew
PPermanent. $19.00.
Marrakesh
MAC Marrakesh Lipstick ($17.50 for 0.10 oz.) is a rich, coppery red with warm undertones and a satin finish. It was richly pigmented with a smooth, creamy consistency that was easy to apply and delivered even, opaque coverage in a fluid stroke. The lipstick wasn’t too thick or too then, and it adhered well for six-hour wear. The formula was neither drying nor hydrating on me.
FURTHER READING: Formula Overview for details on general performance and characteristics (like scent).
Top Dupes
- Fenty Beauty Grill Mast'r (P, $20.00) is darker, cooler (95% similar).
- Too Faced Gingerbread Man (LE, $21.00) is lighter, warmer, less glossy (90% similar).
- Sephora Autumn Blaze (76) (LE, $8.00) is lighter (90% similar).
- Dose of Colors Aesthetic (LE, $18.00) is lighter (90% similar).
- Maybelline Spice for Me (P, $7.49) is darker, warmer, less glossy (90% similar).
- MAC Marrakesh-mere (P, $22.00) is lighter, cooler (90% similar).
- MAC Marrakesh-mere (P, $26.00) is darker, cooler (90% similar).
- YSL Equivocal Brown (212) (P, $39.00) is more shimmery, lighter, cooler (90% similar).
- Becca Sable (DC, $24.00) is more shimmery, glossier (90% similar).
- Giorgio Armani Cedar (206) (P, $38.00) is darker, cooler, glossier (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
Marrakesh
PPermanent. $19.00.
Rocker
MAC Rocker Lipstick ($17.50 for 0.10 oz.) is a deep red with strong, cool pink undertones and a satin finish with faint pearl. It had good color coverage in a single layer, which applied fairly evenly, though I noticed it didn’t adhere as well to the inner area of my lips. The lipstick was lightweight, just creamy enough not to tug, but it did not feel slippery when worn. This shade stayed on well for over six hours, left a stain behind, and was non-drying.
FURTHER READING: Formula Overview for details on general performance and characteristics (like scent).
Top Dupes
- Urban Decay Love Drunk (DC, $18.00) is more muted (90% similar).
- MAC Avant Garnet (LE, $19.00) is less shimmery, darker (90% similar).
- MAC Straight Fire (LE, $19.00) is more shimmery, cooler (90% similar).
- Dior Splendor (950) (LE, $38.00) is lighter (90% similar).
- Chanel Nightfall (LE, $45.00) is lighter, brighter (90% similar).
- MAC Perfect Score (LE, $19.00) is lighter, brighter (90% similar).
- Tarte Miami Vice (P, $21.00) is lighter, glossier (90% similar).
- MAC Queen of Cumbia (LE, $19.00) is more shimmery, lighter (90% similar).
- Marc Jacobs Beauty Miss Scarlet (208) (P, $30.00) is warmer (90% similar).
- ColourPop Silk (LE, $7.00) is lighter (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 recently picked up Rocker. It is such a pretty berry-red color. The gold flecks are hardly noticeable on me; and, for a matte finish, it was not too drying. I passed on Marakkesh because I have Epigram by Urban Decay and Spice by Anastasia; and, I think that those are pretty similar to Marakkesh.
Skew looks so pretty, and it’s interesting that it was hard to find dupes. That makes me all the more interested to check this out next time I’m in the vicinity of a MAC counter. I am not familiar with MAC pearl finishes, but I dislike their frosts, so I’m not sure if I’ll like Skew.
Just want to add that my only experience with a MAC frost is the glitter bomb shade called On and On, which I wore once and threw in my Back-to-MAC pile.
I wish MAC would add these 3 shades to their PERMANENT lipstick line, just as they did with all 4 eyeshadows! Definitely have dupes, sort of? for Skew and Marrakesh. Rocker looks divine! Closest shades I have are UD Rock Steady, MAC Diva and Elle Belle. But I also would love to have Rocker!
They did! All the Throwbacks’ shades seem to be permanent (no limited edition triangle symbol)!
Oh, how cool! Thanks for letting me know, Christine!
Really love the look of Rocker and it is cool toned which works best for me. Surprisingly, I don’t have any of the dupes and looks like it is relatively unique in that there aren’t any super close dupes. Now to decide if it would be better to add a lot of bucks to the cost of this and pick up the PML shade instead?!!
Hi, I had Rocker from the previous release from a few years ago and I thought it was cool-toned, too, which are the kind of shades I need. However, it still looked wrong on me, it wasn’t exactly warm toned but not a truly cool colour, either. I could not wear it; it looked permanently off. It may not look like a cool toned colour on everyone, even if a swatch on paper would be cool toned. I’m not saying that it was described wrong by Christine and I had compared many other pics before, but maybe it turns out differently on different people (just like all the nude MAC-lipsticks pull orange on me, even the cool toned ones).
I’m loving Rocker. I can’t resist a dark red pearl like that.
I feel like I remember the last release of Rocker (2012?! time flies) having more glitter. Still a great color.
I love Skew. I still have a piece of that lipstick as I sent what I had left to 3 Custom Color Specialists to have them copy it for me. I was so unhappy when MAC discontinued it, but I am going to reorder this one now and compare the this color to my original one and see what it is like. It really enhances your natural lip color. I am very happy about this being released again 🙂
Keep us posted on how it compares!
Loving Skew 🙂
Wow – what gorgeous shades these are! Love Marrakesh the best.
I ordered Marrakesh as soon as I saw your swatch preview. It arrived a few days ago and I have not been this excited over a lipstick in a long time. So awesome that MAC is selling it again. I never even heard about it prior to your swatch preview (and I’m a MAC fanatic)! I think Marrakesh was worth every penny for me. It is a gorgeous, warm color! Just my type of shade and works really well for yellow/warm skin tones. I think it’s a perfect autumn color but I plan on wearing it every chance I get starting NOW.
Hi Pamela, I’m with you Marrakesh looks amazing – I especially like to wear it with Melba blush and lots of mascara 🙂
Christine, when you first posted the throwback colors I was beside myself – I’m in my 40s and I was so excited I could not sleep the first night – I know a little silly for my age and to be honest with everyone here I have quite a few lipsticks and I don’t need more but still I knew the moment Rocker and Marrakesh became available I would wait for stores to open their doors so I could re-purchase. 🙂
I had Rocker; 19 years ago and it was my “HG” (I still have the tube/some of the lipstick left…yes it is still the same as the formula released in 2018 – I missed the 2012 version). Later Marrakesh represented my “being adventurous” with color (for years I only wore deep reds and burgundy reds) so when I saw the announcement this deep sense of nostalgia kicked in and it took me back to being in my 20s and getting my own apartment and living on my own in a hip part of L.A. I’m now married and live in the burbs happily but like food make up can have walking down memory lane.
Happy to hear that Rocker is the same as it was 19 years ago – that is impressive 🙂
I love all three. Marrakesh isn’t a colour I’d normally wear, but I think I can pull ot off. Skew is a must-have for me ans Rocker looks gorgeous. I do think I’ll add all three, possibly along with Chili. I’m rally happy MAC brought these back.
Christine, i noticed that you described Rocker as having a satin finish. As I have previously stated, I love the color; but, my bullet says that it is a matte formula. It also is described at matte on the website. Is it indeed a satin finish?
Hi Sabrina,
I use my own descriptions in my reviews. Unless there are quotations around a word or a set of words, then I’m using my own words, not a brand’s.
Thanks for the response. Rocker defitnitely does not tug on or dry out lips in the way that matte formulas are often apt to do. I am glad that I got it. 🙂