MAC Young Star, Counting Stars, Starring You Lipglasses Reviews & Swatches
Young Star
MAC Young Star Lipglass ($17.50 for 0.1 oz.) is a light-medium peach with warmer undertones and flecks of soft white pearl and sparkle. It had a milkier quality to the base color, which gave it a semi-sheer level of coverage, and it sunk noticeably into my lip lines. The product applied fairly evenly, and the shimmers/sparkles dispersed well across my lips. The texture was light-medium in thickness with moderate tackiness, so it was a heavier formula compared to most, though it lasted longer than the average gloss at four and a half hours. The formula felt lightly hydrating over time.
FURTHER READING: Formula Overview for details on general performance and characteristics (like scent).
Top Dupes
- Charlotte Tilbury Opal Magic (P, $32.00) is lighter, warmer (90% similar).
- Fenty Beauty Baby Brut (LE, $21.00) is less shimmery, cooler (90% similar).
- ColourPop Bambi (LE, $8.00) is less shimmery, warmer (90% similar).
- ColourPop Drippin' (LE, $10.00) is lighter, warmer (90% similar).
- MAC Unleash the Stars (LE, $20.00) is cooler (90% similar).
- MAC Saint No Angel (LE, $21.00) is more shimmery, darker, less glossy (90% similar).
- MAC Break the Ice (LE, $21.00) is more shimmery, warmer (90% similar).
- ColourPop Misfit Elephant (LE, $8.00) is darker, warmer (85% similar).
- Patrick Ta She's an Influencer (P, $22.00) is darker, less pigmented (85% similar).
- ColourPop Renaissance (LE, $8.00) is less shimmery, lighter, cooler (85% similar).
Formula Overview
$21.00/0.1 oz. - $210.00 Per Ounce
The Lipglass formula is supposed to be “pigmented, very shiny and can impart subtle or dramatic color” that can be worn “on its own, over lip pencil or lipstick” and will “condition lips.” MAC could use an update on the description as some shades are more pigmented than others but several are sheerer and likely intended to be that way. The formula has a very glossy, high-shine finish with a light-medium weight and moderate tackiness.
I have found that newer Lipglasses (over the last couple of years) are smoother and not quite as tacky as the formula was many years ago. They wear from three to six hours on me and are usually lightly hydrating. MAC recently updated the shade range and packaging for the range (though the formula was said to be unchanged), so worth noting is that with that packaging change came a reduction in quantity to 0.10 fl. oz. (was 0.17 fl. oz.), which may matter for some but not everyone.
Browse all of our MAC Lipglass swatches.
Ingredients
Hydrogenated Polyisobutene, Simmondsia Chinensis (Jojoba) Seed Oil, Octyldodecanol, Copernicia Cerifera (Carnauba) Wax Copernicia Cerifera Cera Cire De Carnauba, Tocopheryl Acetate, Cocos Nucifera (Coconut) Oil, Orbignya Oleifera (Babassu) Seed Oil, Prunus Armeniaca (Apricot) Kernel Oil, Acrylates Copolymer, Alumina, Aluminum Calcium Sodium Silicate, Calcium Aluminum Borosilicate, Calcium Sodium Borosilicate, Silica, Synthetic Fluorphlogopite, Tin Oxide, Polyethylene Terephthalate, Propylene Carbonate, Disteardimonium Hectorite, Ethylhexyl Hydroxystearate, Vanillin, Phenoxyethanol, [+/- Mica, Titanium Dioxide (Ci 77891), Iron Oxides (Ci 77491), Iron Oxides (Ci 77492), Iron Oxides (Ci 77499), Bismuth Oxychloride (Ci 77163), Blue 1 Lake (Ci 42090), Bronze Powder (Ci 77400), Carmine (Ci 75470), Copper Powder (Ci 77400), Red 6 (Ci 15850), Red 6 Lake (Ci 15850), Red 7 Lake (Ci 15850), Red 21 Lake (Ci 45380), Red 28 Lake (Ci 45410), Red 30 Lake (Ci 73360), Red 33 Lake (Ci 17200), Yellow 5 (Ci 19140), Yellow 5 Lake (Ci 19140), Yellow 6 Lake (Ci 15985)]
Disclaimer: Ingredient lists are as available by the brand (or retailer) at the time of publishing. Please always check product packaging, if it exists, for the ingredient list applicable to the product you're purchasing, or the brand or retailer's website for the most up-to-date ingredient list.
Young Star
LELimited Edition. $21.00.
Counting Stars
MAC Counting Stars Lipglass ($17.50 for 0.1 oz.) is a soft, plummy brown with flecks of cooler pink and warmer gold sparkle throughout. It had sheer to semi-sheer coverage with a more tinted base, so it added some depth and warmth to my natural lip color but is likely to look wildly different from person to person because of how sheer it is. The consistency was light-medium in thickness, moderately tacky, but very smoothing and easy to apply as the shimmer and sparkle dispersed well. It wore well for four and a half hours and was moisturizing while worn.
FURTHER READING: Formula Overview for details on general performance and characteristics (like scent).
Top Dupes
- Fenty Beauty Hot Chocolit Fantasy (LE, $21.00) is less shimmery (90% similar).
- Marc Jacobs Beauty Taboo (310) (P, $29.00) is lighter, warmer (90% similar).
- MAC Explicit (P, $21.00) is more shimmery, lighter, warmer (85% similar).
- Becca Topaz x Gilt (LE, $22.00) is more shimmery, lighter (85% similar).
- ColourPop Just Surfed (LE, $10.00) is more shimmery, warmer (85% similar).
- MAC Beaux (P, $21.00) is more shimmery, lighter, warmer (85% similar).
- Chanel Liquid Bronze (808) (LE, $30.00) is more shimmery, lighter, warmer (85% similar).
- Becca Rose Gold (P, $22.00) is lighter, warmer (85% similar).
- Huda Beauty Shameless (P, $18.00) is more shimmery, darker, warmer (80% similar).
- Marc Jacobs Beauty Work It (342) (P, $29.00) is less shimmery, darker, cooler (80% similar).
Formula Overview
$21.00/0.1 oz. - $210.00 Per Ounce
The Lipglass formula is supposed to be “pigmented, very shiny and can impart subtle or dramatic color” that can be worn “on its own, over lip pencil or lipstick” and will “condition lips.” MAC could use an update on the description as some shades are more pigmented than others but several are sheerer and likely intended to be that way. The formula has a very glossy, high-shine finish with a light-medium weight and moderate tackiness.
I have found that newer Lipglasses (over the last couple of years) are smoother and not quite as tacky as the formula was many years ago. They wear from three to six hours on me and are usually lightly hydrating. MAC recently updated the shade range and packaging for the range (though the formula was said to be unchanged), so worth noting is that with that packaging change came a reduction in quantity to 0.10 fl. oz. (was 0.17 fl. oz.), which may matter for some but not everyone.
Browse all of our MAC Lipglass swatches.
Ingredients
Hydrogenated Polyisobutene, Simmondsia Chinensis (Jojoba) Seed Oil, Octyldodecanol, Copernicia Cerifera (Carnauba) Wax Copernicia Cerifera Cera Cire De Carnauba, Tocopheryl Acetate, Cocos Nucifera (Coconut) Oil, Orbignya Oleifera (Babassu) Seed Oil, Prunus Armeniaca (Apricot) Kernel Oil, Acrylates Copolymer, Alumina, Aluminum Calcium Sodium Silicate, Calcium Aluminum Borosilicate, Calcium Sodium Borosilicate, Silica, Synthetic Fluorphlogopite, Tin Oxide, Polyethylene Terephthalate, Propylene Carbonate, Disteardimonium Hectorite, Ethylhexyl Hydroxystearate, Vanillin, Phenoxyethanol, [+/- Mica, Titanium Dioxide (Ci 77891), Iron Oxides (Ci 77491), Iron Oxides (Ci 77492), Iron Oxides (Ci 77499), Bismuth Oxychloride (Ci 77163), Blue 1 Lake (Ci 42090), Bronze Powder (Ci 77400), Carmine (Ci 75470), Copper Powder (Ci 77400), Red 6 (Ci 15850), Red 6 Lake (Ci 15850), Red 7 Lake (Ci 15850), Red 21 Lake (Ci 45380), Red 28 Lake (Ci 45410), Red 30 Lake (Ci 73360), Red 33 Lake (Ci 17200), Yellow 5 (Ci 19140), Yellow 5 Lake (Ci 19140), Yellow 6 Lake (Ci 15985)]
Disclaimer: Ingredient lists are as available by the brand (or retailer) at the time of publishing. Please always check product packaging, if it exists, for the ingredient list applicable to the product you're purchasing, or the brand or retailer's website for the most up-to-date ingredient list.
Counting Stars
LELimited Edition. $21.00.
Starring You
MAC Starring You Lipglass ($17.50 for 0.1 oz.) is a light pink with subtle, cooler undertones and flecks of iridescent blue, white, and pink sparkle and finer pearl. It had sheer coverage, but the sparkles and shimmer distributed evenly over my lips, and the base color enhanced the natural pink tones of my lip color. I wish MAC was clearer about which shades were sheer and which were not–sometimes they include the word “sheer” in the description but most of the time don’t.
The texture was light-medium in weight with a tackier texture, though I didn’t find it heavy or thick to the point of being uncomfortable; it ends up being a good trade-off for a more smoothing finish (a lot of my lip lines just disappeared) and better-than-average wear (four hours) with a hydrating formula.
FURTHER READING: Formula Overview for details on general performance and characteristics (like scent).
Top Dupes
- MAC Panda Kiss (LE, $18.00) is less shimmery, darker (90% similar).
- MAC Magic Carpet Ride (LE, $19.00) is less shimmery, cooler (90% similar).
- ColourPop Bloom (LE, $10.00) is darker, warmer (90% similar).
- NARS Redemption (LE, $26.00) is less shimmery, lighter, warmer (90% similar).
- Anastasia Summer Vibes (LE, $16.00) is less shimmery, warmer (90% similar).
- MAC God Save the Sheen (LE, $21.00) is less shimmery, lighter, more pigmented (85% similar).
- Hourglass Cosmic (P, $30.00) is less shimmery, darker, warmer (85% similar).
- ColourPop So Chilly (LE, $8.00) is less shimmery, darker (85% similar).
- NABLA Cosmetics Toxic Love (P, $15.00) is darker, warmer (85% similar).
- ColourPop Here's 2 U (DC, $10.00) is less shimmery, lighter, warmer (85% similar).
Formula Overview
$21.00/0.1 oz. - $210.00 Per Ounce
The Lipglass formula is supposed to be “pigmented, very shiny and can impart subtle or dramatic color” that can be worn “on its own, over lip pencil or lipstick” and will “condition lips.” MAC could use an update on the description as some shades are more pigmented than others but several are sheerer and likely intended to be that way. The formula has a very glossy, high-shine finish with a light-medium weight and moderate tackiness.
I have found that newer Lipglasses (over the last couple of years) are smoother and not quite as tacky as the formula was many years ago. They wear from three to six hours on me and are usually lightly hydrating. MAC recently updated the shade range and packaging for the range (though the formula was said to be unchanged), so worth noting is that with that packaging change came a reduction in quantity to 0.10 fl. oz. (was 0.17 fl. oz.), which may matter for some but not everyone.
Browse all of our MAC Lipglass swatches.
Ingredients
Hydrogenated Polyisobutene, Simmondsia Chinensis (Jojoba) Seed Oil, Octyldodecanol, Copernicia Cerifera (Carnauba) Wax Copernicia Cerifera Cera Cire De Carnauba, Tocopheryl Acetate, Cocos Nucifera (Coconut) Oil, Orbignya Oleifera (Babassu) Seed Oil, Prunus Armeniaca (Apricot) Kernel Oil, Acrylates Copolymer, Alumina, Aluminum Calcium Sodium Silicate, Calcium Aluminum Borosilicate, Calcium Sodium Borosilicate, Silica, Synthetic Fluorphlogopite, Tin Oxide, Polyethylene Terephthalate, Propylene Carbonate, Disteardimonium Hectorite, Ethylhexyl Hydroxystearate, Vanillin, Phenoxyethanol, [+/- Mica, Titanium Dioxide (Ci 77891), Iron Oxides (Ci 77491), Iron Oxides (Ci 77492), Iron Oxides (Ci 77499), Bismuth Oxychloride (Ci 77163), Blue 1 Lake (Ci 42090), Bronze Powder (Ci 77400), Carmine (Ci 75470), Copper Powder (Ci 77400), Red 6 (Ci 15850), Red 6 Lake (Ci 15850), Red 7 Lake (Ci 15850), Red 21 Lake (Ci 45380), Red 28 Lake (Ci 45410), Red 30 Lake (Ci 73360), Red 33 Lake (Ci 17200), Yellow 5 (Ci 19140), Yellow 5 Lake (Ci 19140), Yellow 6 Lake (Ci 15985)]
Disclaimer: Ingredient lists are as available by the brand (or retailer) at the time of publishing. Please always check product packaging, if it exists, for the ingredient list applicable to the product you're purchasing, or the brand or retailer's website for the most up-to-date ingredient list.
All very pretty but I think I have enough of these types of glosses for right now. I like the formula but increasingly lately, I have been preferring to have my glosses be more balmy and less slippery. I also prefer a bullet to a tube with a doe foot applicator. I think that may be why I am preferring the more balm texture. I find with the bullet I can apply much easier without a mirror. That means I can slap it on while I am driving or sitting in a restaurant and not have to make the big production of getting out my compact and carefully applying. I also like when the “simple” lip product is slightly more pigmented or leaves a stain behind which is why I am preferring the Dior sheer lippies.
While the other two are still very nice, I’m drawn to Counting Stars. Because of the shade, and because I love the song of the same name. It’s a definite maybe that swerves deeply into the “yes” department!
I really like the MAC lipglasses in general and these 3 in particular. I have quite a few currently. If I don’t buy, that would be the only reason.
I love Counting Stars and Starring You. Very pretty shades with beautiful sparkle.