little white truths

You may have noticed that I've done a few swatch/first impressions posts lately: that's because I've got a sachet post coming up so I'm trying to get the first impressions posts done first.

Next up is this MAC lipstick card with samples of Ruby Woo, Velvet Teddy and Diva. Yes I've tried MAC lipsticks before but that was ages ago so I jumped at the chance to try them again. Now that Mecca is stocking MAC, I'm sure there will be a few other famous MAC products that I'll be able to test.

As you may know, MAC has never been a brand that called to me. I did stock up on a bunch of MAC products back in 2009 when I was in Canada because they were a lot cheaper there, but this is before I became a beauty junkie and MAC products certainly didn't turn me into one because they just didn't grab me. Call me crazy, but there it is.

I can say the same of these lipsticks. I understand that a lot of people really love them, but on my dry lips, they're super drying so I can't tolerate wearing them. I know I'm not the first person to say this, nor will I be the last.

Let's look at swatches.

Below we have Diva, then Velvet Teddy and then Ruby Woo in different lights.

* Diva, Velvet Teddy, Ruby Woo

Natural light:

* Diva, Velvet Teddy, Ruby Woo

Verdict

All three of these shades are nice but unfortunately I find all three to be unwearable because they completely dry out my lips.

Diva is a nice deep wine colour and it's probably my favourite of the three shades because it's a little different than other wines and burgundies that I've tried: that is, it's more of a deep magenta so I feel that it's more flattering on me because it's less red and more purple/pink on my colouring.

Velvet Teddy fell flat for me because it's a little too grey and dead-looking on my face. I know that it's a popular shade but with my warm yellow undertones, it doesn't have enough life so it looks blurgh and weird on my lips. Yes it's a nude but I need a nude with a little more warmth or it just looks wrong.

Ruby Woo is one of the few red shades I've tried that doesn't look wrong on me. As you may know, I don't wear red lipstick because my husband hates it and I also struggle to find a red that suits me. This one does, and I can see why so many people love it: it's a blue-based cherry red that makes your teeth look whiter and I can see it suiting a lot of people.

All three lipsticks are far too drying for me to wear on their own and Ruby Woo is hands down the most drying of the three. With all of them, I applied them and then within two minutes I had to apply a gloss over the top because I couldn't tolerate how they felt on my lips.

The good news, though, is that they all wore reasonably well even with a gloss over the top, so if I happened to fall in love with any particular shade, at least I know that wearing a gloss with it is an option.

Otherwise I don't have much to say about these. Obviously lots of people swear by MAC lipsticks, but I can't wear them because they're so drying so it's safe to say that they're not for me.

Let me know what your favourite MAC lipstick is, or whether you also have issues with the formula: I'd love to hear.