MAC Styleseeker Nail Lacquers Review, Photos, Swatches

Christine — Sat, 18 Aug 2012 10:00:17 +0000

MAC Gadabout Girl Nail Lacquer

Three Nail Lacquers for Style Seekers

MAC Styleseeker Nail Lacquers ($16.00 for 0.34 fl. oz.) come in three shades: Gadabout Girl (blackened plum), Mean & Green (purple with teal multi-changing pearl), and Styleseeker (duochrome orange-red). Quick note: the press release indicates these are $16, and normal polish price is $16 at MAC, but online, these three are listed at $15.

Gadabout Girl is a deep blackened burgundy with a hint of purple. The color wasn’t completely opaque after two coats, mostly because it had some streakiness, so the color just wasn’t even everywhere. As you can see, there’s no real visible nail line, but it’s not opaque. The formula was thin. China Glaze Urban Night is lighter, more eggplant-purple. Rescue Beauty Lounge Recherche is cooler-toned. Rescue Beauty Lounge Atame is redder/browner in tone. Rescue Beauty Lounge Moulin Rouge is very similar but applies more opaque. Deborah Lipmann Single Ladies is redder. MAC Blueblood was rather close. China Glaze Velvet Bow is redder. Urban Decay Wrecked is a smidgen redder. MAC Purple Majesty is very similar. Zoya Anja is rather close. Rescue Beauty Lounge Drifter is also quite similar.

Mean & Green has a murky blackened olive base color with green and purple sparkle/micro-glitter. It has a duochrome, so it flashes from pink-purple to olive-green. This shade was originally released with Venomous Villains (which is the bottle I swatched here), and it has since been added to the permanent range. It wasn’t quite opaque after two coats. Orly Space Cadet is exactly the same.

Styleseeker is a rich orange-red with metallic threads of ruby shimmer. The duochrome on this is very subtle, and that’s partially because the colors are just so similar that it’s hard to see. It’s no Bad Fairy. There are some noticeable brush strokes, but they’re subtle, and it was opaque after two coats. It has a longer drying time. Nubar Bronzo is darker. I think Nubar might have a dupe of this, as they have several duochromes, but I wasn’t able to remember/find the shade that I’m thinking of.

Mean & Green is now part of the permanent range, so you don’t have to rush out to get it. Gadabout Girl seems extremely dupeable, so it’s not a shade that seems worth dealing with a thin formula for. Styleseeker was the best overall and the shade I couldn’t think of a great dupe for. I typically get a week of wear with no chipping and just minor tip wear with MAC’s formula. MAC’s polishes are more expensive than they seem they should be (for a mid-end brand), especially since you only get 0.34 fl. oz.