MAC Zerocool, Anything Once, Nightly Ritual Lipsticks Reviews, Photos, Swatches
Zerocool
MAC Zerocool Lipstick ($17.00 for 0.10 oz.) is a medium, springy green with warm, yellow undertones and fine emerald green and gold pearl. I had such hopes for this shade, but it had a lot of slip, which gave it a glossier finish and made it harder to apply, as it was slightly streaky and applied unevenly. There was also color that slipped into my lip lines, which worsened over time. It had medium coverage, which did not build up well due to the amount of slip (just seemed to make the end result look streakier). The lipstick wore well for three and a half hours and was lightly moisturizing.
The Metallic Lips collection features a new (and limited edition!) finish, Metallic, which is supposed to be “rich colour [that] melds with smooth pearlized chrome.” The range of shades is described as “vibrant, intense, [and] on-trend.” The coverage varied from shade to shade–anywhere from semi-sheer to semi-opaque–but many shades look like they’re more suitable for a subtle look or for layering on top of another lip product to add a more shimmery finish. The majority of shades featured finer shimmer, which translated to a more foiled, reflective look, but a few had some shimmer. The wear was between three and five hours, depending on the shade, and most shades had some slip but were not slippery overall, so they were comfortable to wear but not hard to maintain. They were vanilla-scented but have no discernible taste.
FURTHER READING: Formula Overview for details on general performance and characteristics (like scent).
Top Dupes
- Urban Decay Junkie (DC, $18.00) is darker, cooler (85% similar).
- NYX Trickery (P, $6.00) is more shimmery, lighter, brighter (85% similar).
- Melt Cosmetics Ghost with the Most (LE, $19.00) is less shimmery, lighter, cooler (80% similar).
- ColourPop Bunny (LE, $7.00) is less shimmery, brighter, cooler (80% similar).
- Dolce and Gabbana Smeraldo (LE, $33.00) is cooler (80% 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.
Zerocool
LELimited Edition. $19.00.
Anything Once
MAC Anything Once Lipstick ($17.00 for 0.10 oz.) is a muted, blackened navy blue with fine blue and violet pearl. The texture was thinner but had a fair amount of slip, which led to a patchy, uneven application that made it hard to wear on its own. Like other shades in the range, this would be most suitable for layering over another shade rather than using it on its own. It had semi-sheer coverage, which was not buildable, and it lasted for three hours. The formula felt very slightly hydrating overall.
FURTHER READING: Formula Overview for details on general performance and characteristics (like scent).
Top Dupes
- Urban Decay Ritual (P, $18.00) is more shimmery, lighter (90% similar).
- Urban Decay Frostbite (LE, $18.00) is more shimmery (95% similar).
- KVD Beauty Poe (P, $19.00) is darker, more pigmented (90% similar).
- Urban Decay Time (LE, $18.00) is lighter, cooler (85% similar).
- Smashbox Deep (P, $21.00) is less shimmery, darker (85% similar).
- Tom Ford Beauty Cardi (LE, $36.00) is less shimmery, less pigmented (80% similar).
- NYX Go Rogue (P, $7.50) is more pigmented (80% similar).
- Maybelline Gunmetal (P, $7.49) is more pigmented (80% 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.
Anything Once
LELimited Edition. $19.00.
Nightly Ritual
MAC Nightly Ritual Lipstick ($17.00 for 0.10 oz.) is a purplish black with fine teal, silver, and green pearl. It had semi-sheer color coverage, so the end result darkened my natural lip color substantially but may look cooler or warmer depending on what your natural lip color looks like. The texture had moderate slip, which may have been why the lipstick did not apply as evenly as it could have. I struggled to get the product to adhere as well to the inner areas of my lips (more so than average). It wore well for four hours but had issues where the color pulled into lip lines over time. It was lightly hydrating, though! This is definitely one that would work better layered over something else.
FURTHER READING: Formula Overview for details on general performance and characteristics (like scent).
Top Dupes
- Urban Decay Oil Slick (LE, $18.00) is less shimmery (90% similar).
- MAC Street Thing (LE, $19.00) is more pigmented (85% similar).
- KVD Beauty Nayeon (P, $19.00) is more pigmented, warmer (85% similar).
- Ciate Iconic (P, $19.00) is more pigmented (90% similar).
- KVD Beauty Wizard (P, $22.00) is darker, more pigmented (90% similar).
- Urban Decay Voodoo (DC, $18.00) is darker, more pigmented (90% similar).
- MAC Black Night (LE, $19.00) is less shimmery, darker (85% similar).
- Maybelline Gunmetal (P, $7.49) is more shimmery, darker, more pigmented (80% 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.
Wow…. I wonder how these would work over a dark lipliner? :/
If the liner was pretty even, they could work!
That green one is absolutely awful. I’d imagine that’s what my mouth would look like after munching on caramelized kale all day.
Well, that’s a mental picture, lol!
*sigh* Why do brands keep releasing gross, sheer, swampy greens? Does anyone ever actually wear them?
I wish these colors were as pretty as they look in bullet form.
The sheerness is harder for me to grasp – if it was opaque, it would be easier to wear, but sheer in these darker shades is almost always streaky/patchy!
That’s exactly it. If these colors were opaque, they’d make an awesome bold, statement lip. But Zerocool just makes lips look scuzzy.
I ordered Zerocool for layering. It should be here today or tomorrow. I hope it works out. It’s not that impressive alone, that’s for sure. lol
Fingers crossed it works for layering!
I have to say, I really love Zerocool on it’s own. It is sheer, but it’s not at all patchy on me. It’s gorgeous so far for layering. I put it over the Nyx green lipliner, Revolution, and the combo looked beyond stunning. It’s really pretty over blues. Next I want to try purples and some other colors and see what I get.
Believe it or not, I actually want Nightly Ritual as a topper to give other lipsticks that “smoked” look! Almost bought UD Oil Slick for that purpose, but I did expect it to have more shimmer than it did, so I didn’t purchase it as a result.
It’s a serious shame that Zerocool doesn’t go on true to tube. Otherwise it would have been such a cool looking shade! Could this be why they named it *Zero*cool?!? ?
Hey, if you like it for layering, we’re good 😉 I’m surprised MAC didn’t tout these as layering shades, to be honest!
I think Night Ritual actually looks quite good as well. Also – the ‘swampyness’ of zero cool might read differently on another skintone.
That said, it’s unfortunate that they are patchy!
Well… I like the way they look in the tube??
Dang 🙁
I actually love the color of zerocool in the far shot. The close up obviously looks streaky and terrible. But I think I might actually like this for something specific(and drag related, not beauty make up) used as a lip topper.
Well…they look pretty in the tube lol.
Ugh. I am oddly (strongly) attracted to Zero Cool. Somebody talk me out of it!
I meant “Zerocool!” Having a really bad typing/paying attention/being smart day.