Archived Post

MAC Style Black: Glimmerglass Review, Swatches, Lip Swatches


MAC Blackware Glimmerglass, Bling Black Glimmerglass, Blackfire Glimmerglass

MAC Style Black: Glimmerglass Review, Swatches, Lip Swatches

MAC Style Black is a deep, dark collection with the rich tones of black as inspiration.  MAC introduces a new lipgloss formula, Glimmerglass, and launches three shades:  Blackware, Bling Black, and Blackfire.

Glimmerglass

  • Blackware is a sheer gray-black tinged gloss.  It is a creamy finish with no real shimmer.
  • Bling Black is a sheer black that casts a little green from the gold-green-olive shimmer.
  • Blackfire is a sheer black that casts slightly burgundy, which probably comes from the burgundy-red shimmer.

All three shades are incredibly sheer and not even close to being opaque.  The only way to get something more than sheer is to layer with a base lip color or to really slather on the gloss (which doesn’t work well either).  It’s a thick, jelly-textured lipgloss with a non-sticky feel.  These feel thicker than cremesheen glass and nowhere near as gritty as dazzleglass.  I liked Bling Black the most, because I felt like the green-gold cast was different and fun to see.

  • Product: 8/10
  • Value: 8/10
  • Ease of Use: 9/10
  • Packaging: 8/10

Recommendation:  Gloss fiends will likely enjoy this non-sticky new gloss from MAC.  They’re not the best in value relative to other MAC glosses, but they’re not out of line with other competing brands.

Availability: MAC Cosmetics

See more photos, swatches, and lip swatches


MAC Blackware Glimmerglass, Bling Black Glimmerglass, Blackfire Glimmerglass


Swatches: Blackware Glimmerglass, Bling Black Glimmerglass, Blackfire Glimmerglass


Blackware Glimmerglass


Bling Black Glimmerglass


Blackfire Glimmerglass

Please do not republish, redistribute, OR hotlink the images/content of this post without permission. If you enjoy the post, please share by linking back to the post. Thank you!! 🙂

68 Comments

Comments that do not adhere to our comment policy may be removed. Discussion and debate are highly encouraged but we expect community members to participate respectfully. Please keep discussion on-topic, and if you have general feedback, a product review request, an off-topic question, or need technical support, please contact us!

Please help us streamline the comments' section and be more efficient: double-check the post above for more basic information like pricing, availability, and so on to make sure your question wasn't answered already. Comments alerting us to typos or small errors in the post are appreciated (!) but will typically be removed after errors are fixed (unless a response is needed).

We appreciate enthusiasm for new releases but ask readers to please hold questions regarding if/when a review will be posted as we can't commit to or guarantee product reviews. We don't want to set expectations and then disappoint readers as even products that are swatched don't always end up being reviewed due to time constraints and changes in priorities! Thank you for understanding!

Comments on this post are closed.
Devin Avatar

I just picked up the Blackfire and I really like it! I was a little hesitant about these but the blackfire adds a little color on your lips that looks nice by itself.

amy Avatar

Base on the photographs, I like Blackfire because I love pink glitter. It looks very punk girl. From the tube these look like they will compliment the eyeshadows, but they also look super sheer. Definitely more of a over gloss to layer over other lippies that are more pigmented. Christine, are these colours buildable to make a more opaque finish?

Tami Avatar

I so wanted to love these. Based on the swatches, Bling Black reminds me of Gunshine l/g from the Kat Von D collecton and Blackfire, like the other colors, is so sheer. Maybe I could get Blackfire to wore with Night Violet. I will check that combo out this weekend.

Kaoru Avatar

Man, I was really hoping these were more opaque, and others just swatched them reaaaally lightly. So disappointed. Still going to pick up blackware, but debating the other two. Maybe blackfire, but definitely not bling black.

Christy Avatar

I think these would look great layered over a lipstick, not just on their own. I didn’t expect these to be anywhere near opaque though, just the way Dazzleglasses and Dazzlecremes are.

Carla Avatar

Christine, would you ever think of trying these as combos with other lip colors that aren’t exactly so dark? Say, could you layer one over a pink to give it a deeper look, or are they meant to just be layered over another dark color like the others coming out with this collection?

DevilishDoll Avatar

I see no black at all in the Blackfire lip swatch, it looks completely sheer, can barely even see the glitter. I was hoping these would be so much better. But more money for other stuff, I guess.

Chiara Avatar

These pretty much look like I expected. Theyll be nice over a lipstick, I particularly like the one with red shimmer. The black one would look great over black lipstick for a glossy finish, but I dont think Id wear that.

Christine Avatar

Well, while I do enjoy pigmented glosses, not everyone does, and not every gloss is designed to be pigmented. The formula is pretty solid – non-sticky, comfortable jelly texture, wears decently, and the shimmer is pretty even if the color isn’t opaque. They’re nice over lipsticks, but they’re less lovely alone. If pigmentation is your #1 requirement in a gloss, these definitely aren’t for you, but it’s just one piece of the whole to consider for an overall rating, IMO!

Bethany Avatar

You should try blackfire and bling black over black knight to see if you can see the color glitter with it like that. If you can, then I’m definitely buying all of these!

Cathy Avatar

I know i am getting bling black and blackfire but am stiff 50/50 on blackware…I go like glosses with no glitter too…could I use this color to tone down bright lipsticks??? cant decide…any suggestions??

laura Avatar

I’m pretty disappointed by the Glimmerglasses. They look outstanding and full of glitter in the tubes but pretty underwhelming on. Thanks for doing the lip swatches on these because I was gonna pick them up but am always too shy to try things when the salespeople are hovering!

Naomi Avatar

I think I’m gonna definitely get one of these there sheer, I am a teenager and I have pigmented lips so colors don’t tend to show up on me anyway, and since I don’t even really want them to it’s perfect 😉

We try to approve comments within 24 hours (and reply to them within 72 hours) but can sometimes get behind and appreciate your patience! 🙂 If you have general feedback, product review requests, off-topic questions, or need technical support, please contact us directly. Thank you for your patience!