MAC Punk Couture Collection (December 26, 2013)
- Thread starter Richelle83
- Start date
xasperadastra
Well-known member
Hi! Maybe I can clarify this! yesterday I got the chance to have a private lesson with the italian senior Mua and Mac PR also gave me some samples of the new collections! I have here Hautcore and Studded Kiss, on the box they are labelled Retro Matte! And I dare say they are!Instigator and Punk Couture are pretty deceptive. They look more similar when swatched on the hand then when applied on the lips. PC is much more blue based while Instigator isn't too red, but is definitely less cool. What makes them so similar is they're pretty much the same darkness level, which is quite dark, so it's only after they're on your lips and the light is hitting in different ways that you really see the differences. I think they're both GLORIOUS so I'm getting 2x of each, wallet be damned.
BGRR is muuuuuuuch warmer and browner than Morning Rose - quite different colors there. I'll go on about that more in the Magnetic Nude thread tomorrow!
That quad is very very pretty - Idol Eyes is such a cool color. I'm resisting getting it because I have 3 out of 4 already plus I'm really happy with my quad from Strength and the Rainy Day quad too, so I'm set.
True Chartreuse pigment, on the other hand, is really excellent! It's so opaque!!!! It's matte too! Most of the time, that sort of chartreuse color pulls too yellow on me and you can't see the green at all, but True Chartreuse reads GREEN for me, if applied in 2 layers (one layer is still more yellow, but that's actually nice - two colors in one, so to speak!)
OK now on to what you want to know:
- ALLLLL the lipsticks are labeled MATTE, not RETRO MATTE. and they're definitely mattes - the good mattes, like Riri Nude level good matte. Really beautiful smooth and even application. Hautecore is a touch drier than the others, but not so dry that it skips or drags on application or gets patchy. In fact, MAC has seriously perfected the effortless vampy lip color texture here. VERY high quality. I was impressed. I'm happy they're this way, since these colors are all dark enough, having that very slight satin quality, rather than extra flat retro matte, makes all the colors much more flattering, besides being so much easier to apply.
- The application on all of these is very simple! I'd say the best way to go is to just smoosh a healthy layer straight from the tube, then pat a little extra here and there to fill in any thinner parts. No need to be extra careful of letting one layer set before applying another, although I felt the trick of getting the lipstick well into the underside of the upper lip is still really helpful. Once they set up (in maybe 20 sec. or so), the color starts to really glow as it fuses with your skin. Then, they are SET. No crappy smearing onto the teeth or losing color around the lower lip. Also no bleeding around the edges - even when you apply the glosses on top. That was impressive. Just seriously high quality here.
- The glosses are also very high quality. They REALLY bring out the lipsticks to an eye popping level. I'd put on a lipstick and go "ooooo pretty" then would slap one of the glosses on and go "OOOOOOODAMN". They are way better than the glimmer glasses from Style Black. The sparkly gold and purple ones aren't much darker or more opaque than the Style Black ones, BUT the sparkle colors are muuuuuch more prominent, so the color really comes out way more, even when worn alone. The black one isn't opaque, but it IS more opaque than the black one from Style Black. It's less opaque than some other CSGs, but like the good CSGs, it goes on nice and evenly and doesn't settle into lip lines - just provides a beautiful black veil. Compared to some other sheer black glosses out there, MAC's version is LESS sheer. Another really nice thing about them; when applied over the lipsticks, they don't bleed or cause the lipsticks to bleed or get patchy - you can get a nice sharp edge around the lips that stays sharp, rather than getting globby or blurry or feathery and the color doesn't cause the lipstick to get patchy underneath. I am going to get 2 of each for sure - these are worth the money, imo. Excellent quality.
- Studded Kiss turned out to be vampier than expected. It's redder than FOD, but not by too much. I was feeling like I didn't really need it, since I have FOD, even if FOD has a touch of brown I'm not always in the mood for. But then, I put the purple gloss on top and whoa nelly - it was so rich and beautiful, I broke down and got one.
- Hautecore finally figured out how to do a black lipstick that isn't a pain in the butt. It looks amazing with the gold gloss on top - you see every sparkle. It's a very well balanced black that didn't make my skin look washed out or sallow. We checked it out on another gal who is darker than me, maybe NC35 or so, and it looked equally beautiful on her and didn't wash her out either. Instigator looked crazy good on her skin tone too - even better on her than it did on me, I thought. Instigator came more to life on me when I put the black gloss on top - then it was just amazingly beautiful. These glosses work so well and so smoothly with the lipsticks. Getting back to Hautecore, I did feel like my pigmented lips appeared to influence the color slightly when I applied it, but after a minute or two when it had totally set up, the black color became much more true and the slight purplish aspect it had when immediately applied, went all the way away. Definitely will benefit from carefully applying it just outside the lipline. The quality is so good, it honestly doesn't need liner to look really sharp, but it will certainly gain from going back around the edges with a lip brush dipped in concealer or a nude pencil, for that super chiseled effect.
- Punk Couture is the purple I have waited for for years. Same as with Hautecore, after a minute or so when it really sets on the lips, the color comes out in full force. Super grape color with a bluer inner vibrancy when the light hits it just right. Stupendous.
Really I can't say enough about the quality and refinement of this collection. MAC has really knocked it out of the park this time. Every lip product is well worth the money - even what I would call a bargain for the price. If the lipsticks were $26 each, they'd be worth it. This is the best of MAC for sure. If this is the direction MAC LE is going, I now officially am OK with the prices going up a dollar or two, because this is entering high end makeup standards, as far as I'm concerned, both in color and formula. No one who gets their hands on any of the lippies is going to be disappointed, although you may need to play with the application to get it just right and as smooth as a baby's butt. Just take your time and don't over-apply and give it a minute to set up before you make a final decision and you will be in lipstick heaven by the end of it!!!!
SWOON!!!!!
Quote: Originally Posted by erine1881
Now you say they're labeled matte. Is that the lipstick itself, or the box? Cuz remember, with riri summer the bottoms were all labeled matte, but the boxes were were labeled retro matte.
I also have the quad and Jet boy cremesheenglass. Superb and Silver Dawn from Magnetic Nude and Red necessity and Commotion Huggable (which is true.. their formula is soooo soft on the lips!) Sorry they strictly told me to wait until the 17 to show some pictures.
Actually I have only tried the lipsticks!
I'm not a black lips kind of girl.. I would have never bought Hautecore bymyself ahah.I definitely prefer it with a gloss on top..is MUCH better that way! Jet boy is really pretty over it if you like black lips of course
Studded Kiss to me is Amazing! It's something between Diva and Fixed on drama I guess. But sadly I can't compare them :/
Pretty Honeybee
Well-known member
My order shipped too!!! So happy for everyone! I only ordered Punk Couture and Jet Boy CSG. I'll check the others in store. Yayyyyy!
Pretty Honeybee
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Awesome review liba!!! Now, for someone as myself who doesn't have the shadows in the quad it's worth the buy? I'm really glad to hear this collection went out the ballpark!!
BeautyByLele
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Thanks Liba for the review... now u got me wanting everything!!!! Yay
Fancieland
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I was so excited when I saw the charge reappear yesterday lol. Now I'm impatiently waiting for a shipping confirmation! I can't wait to get NY hands on these lippies!
smileyt06
Well-known member
Me too. I'm up like pleaseeeeeee give me a notice by today lol. I'm eager. So happy I preordered now. I was feeling bad first because my friend said I should have waited till it released in stores. But now that we get it sooner even better
sss215
Well-known member
I don't own any of these so this may be a go! This actually works out because I've always wanted these, but didn't want the palette they were in. All Races, I just took my time and missed it. I'm a carbon virgin... finally this time around it feels so right. I'm mad at myself for not pre ordering. I could have got some cash back from ebates. Oh well *shrugs*. Can't wait to see swatches from those that did! I think I'm going to grab 2 PC and Instigator, 1 Hautecoure and the quad. I haven't hauled any new MAC colors since the Fashion Boost lipliner. I've been underwhelmed, but the feeling is back with this collection. Maybe I'll grab a gloss too It just dawned on me that I need to check the mall hours for the 26th. Do malls open early for the day after Christmas gift card shopping? If so, I'm going to be there when the MAC store doors open.
Amby79
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Hopefully soon. I just got it so they are working on it :-D
diamonddiva
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I know Erine! I didn't pre order SK, but now I want it!
Vandekamp
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I'm doing the dance over here too. I just received my shipment confirmation email at 7am this morning. Yeah buddy!!!!!:nanas:
Lipstickjunkii
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I got my shipping notification. Yasssssssss
ThatsGorJESS
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My plans exactly!! Im stopping at perimeter mall when I get off work!! Im gonna ask for swatches I hope they say yes!! I also wanna question the RiRi stock!!
luvlydee
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matchachoco
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No ship notice yet but they did charge my card! Gotta be soon!
ElectricLady
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I got my shipping notice at 3 am... I was very surprised. I wonder how Nordstrom was able to do all of this so early?
Vandekamp
Well-known member
I don't know. Maybe they are sick of Mac's BS like the rest of us. I'm sure they get tons of angry calls when Mac's LE stuff sells out too fast also. Some stores care about their customers and when they keep hearing the same complaints over and over again, they realize something needs to be done to diffuse the ire. On a separate but similar note, Macy's shipped my RiRi Holiday Pre-Order stuff yesterday since I was not going to be in the store to get it. The store is on the West Coast and I'm on the East Coast. It will probably arrive on or about the 12th tho. I love that these two mega chains are going around the rules.
