MAC Styledriven Pro Longwear Lipcremes Swatches, Photos, Reviews (Part 1)

Christine — Wed, 21 Sep 2011 10:00:41 +0000

MAC Pro Longwear Lipcremes

MAC Styledriven: Pro Longwear Lipcremes (Part 1)

MAC Pro Longwear Lipcreme ($17.00 for 0.12 oz.) are a long-wearing lipstick with a “lightweight texture, creamy finish, and comfortable long-wear.” It claims to wear for up to twelve hours without feathering or transferring–and “helps lips stay soft and hydrated.” This formula originally debuted last year and again with Styledriven. You can read my in-depth review here, as I’m only going to summarize the finer points in this post. All shades from this collection are permanent.

The shades featured in this post are: Dress It Up (light blue-pink), Endless Drama (deep berry blue-red), Extended Play (dirty red, yellow undertone), Good to Go (loudmouth orange), Love Forever (bright blue-pink), and Positively Dashing (mid-tone berry blue-red).

Dress It Up is a softened blue-based pink with a cremay finish. It has nearly opaque color coverage with a light shine in the finish. It’s not as pale as MAC Royal Azalea. It’s more opaque than MAC Behave Yourself. It’s not quite as cool-toned as MAC All Styled Up or as bright as MAC Viva Glam Gaga.
Endless Drama is a deep berry red with a soft, frosted finish with ruby micro-shimmer. It has mostly opaque color coverage and subtle shine. It’s a wee bit darker than Guerlain Gigolo, NYX Violet Ray, and Make UP For Ever #13.
Extended Play is a reddish-orange meshed with brown. It hasopaque color coverage with a fair amount of shine. MAC Legendary is darker and browner. Shiseido Mystery is glossier. CoverGirl Captivate is a touch lighter.
Good to Go is a bright, almost-neon orange with opaque color coverage. It is similar to MAC Neon Orange and MAC Morange.
Love Forever is a softened magenta-fuchsia with a creamy finish and blue undertones. It has a fair amount of shine but still delivers opaque color coverage. MAC Candy Yum Yum is much brighter. It’s not as pink as NARS Schiap but is more comparable to MAC Florida. It is darker than MAC Asian Flower. It’s similar to MAC Petals & Peacocks.
Positively Dashing is a raspberry pink with a subtle frosted finish. The color coverage is opaque. It is a little lighter and less intense compared to MAC Deliciously Forbidden. Milani Sexy Rose is a touch brighter and frostier.

I don’t get close to twelve hours of wear with this lipstick; I get great wear and substantially longer wear than the average lipstick, but it’s not twelve hours. The darker shades–of course–wear longer and look better after seven or eight hours than lighter shades, but both do a solid job of managing to wear for six to eight hours and getting through eating/drinking. This is the major source of lost points for this product, because MAC claims up to twelve and in reality, I get up to eight (on average) before I feel it’s time to reapply.

The formula delivers most opaque color coverage with a creamy, glide-on formula that doesn’t feel too slick but never stiff or dry. Most shades have a semi-matte finish, so there is a little shine. These are vanilla-scented but have no detectable taste. Instead of your typical MAC lipstick, they’re more circular, which may take some adjustments in application; if you have thinner lips, it may be a little frustrating.

I wouldn’t say it’s ultra moisturizing, but after wearing one for eight hours, my lips feel about par for the course; not dried out but would appreciate some lip balm. I didn’t experience any feathering or bleeding lip color, but they are not transfer-resistant (I did the kiss test, no dice). There is less transfer than the average lipstick but still a fair amount.