What’s gray, curvy and totally luxurious?
Um…good guess! But not quite. 🙂
Yeah, the new MAC Ultimate Lipsticks ($23) and Tabs definitely have a few things in common; both are gorgeous, and curvaceous, and look like they were sculpted by Michelangelo.
But to quote practically every ABC Afterschool Special ever made, “It’s what’s inside that counts!” And in this case, what’s inside is also great, and highly moisturizing. Thank goodness, too, because my lips have really needed the extra hydration lately.
After weeks going ham on the matte lippies, they started acting like Regina George on a Mean Girls rampage.
In other words: annoying. My lip sitch turned to flake city.
But after a couple days wearing one of these MAC Ultimate Lipsticks (the brights are my faves), things are looking up! My lips don’t feel as dry as they were, and they’re definitely less flaky. Now I don’t think they’ll be shanking anyone in the cafeteria lunchroom.
As far as the way they feel, these remind me of the MAC Mineralize Lipsticks, so if you like how smooth, slick and non-sticky those feel, you may also like these.
I do feel like the Ultimates caress my lips more elegantly than the Mineralize Lipsticks do, though, and it reminds me of lipsticks at the higher end, like the $33 Dolce & Gabbana Classic Creams.
It’s like when someone holds you in their arms, and you melt against them like Nutella on warm toast… The formula really binds closely to the skin.
And, as an added bonus, with the bright and deep shades like The Scene, Catharina and Audacious, as the formula fades over the course of 3-4 hours, it turns to a chic, satiny stain, which lingers for another 1-2 hours.
I like these so much that I’m temporarily putting Matte Madness on pause, but if you’re still not convinced these are worth your time, don’t take my word for it. I asked my Magic 8 ball this morning, and it said, “All signs point to yes.”
And that thing’s never wrong. 🙂
The 10 new creamy, dreamy MAC Ultimate Lipsticks ($23 each) are available now at MAC counters and online in the permanent line.
PRICE: $23
AVAILABILITY: Permanent, and available now at MAC counters and online
MAKEUP AND BEAUTY BLOG RATING: A-/A (they’re kind of pricey for MAC)
Project Forever Organizing: Part 239889…
Even though I talk about my office always being a mess (it is), I’ve actually made some real life progress on it over the past few weeks, so I’ve been on another organizing kick, and I am completely obsessed with this Little Black Dress ($19.99) jewelry organizer from The Container Store.
OMG! So useful. It’s a double-sided hanging organizer with clear pockets on one side and velcro straps on the other.
My rings, necklaces and other accessories used to be all strewn about on top of my dresser, with some of them placed on little plates and others in tiny boxes, and I could never find jack squat, but not anymore! Now, everything I regularly wear is easy to get to in one place.
Hands down, the best $20 I’ve spent in a long time.
Who knew that being organized could be so awesome at controlling the crazy!?
Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,
Karen
Debra says
Yes!! Finally.
They are all beautiful on you. I think I could wear every one except Ravishingly Rich (boo hoo such a good name!).
MAC is getting a lot of love from me lately.
Project Forever Organizing looks fab – but I do not have enough vertical space for the dresses which, at first sight, I thought were LBDs.
Karen says
You can hand the organizers in your closet, yes? I pushed a whole bunch of scarves aside so I could make room for this one. I’m thinking of getting a second one. But then that might be an excuse to hoard more jewelry, haha!
Debra says
Reward time for dealing with a wet closet (2nd flash flood warning on my cell, BTW — could mean more lipsticks?).
I went with To Savour, Marque, and Vogue en Violet.
Debra says
And dear Catharina – the fuchsia femme – completes this collection for me.
I might be able to layer it with Hourglass Fever?
Debra says
Feed-back!
It took a 2nd California storm to pass through before these lippies got delivered but —
they are gorgeous!
I need to use some concealer on my berry-pigmented lips to get the true shades of the darker ones but the formula is wonderful and the colors are pretty much what you’re showing.
To Savour is a bit more 1960s-pink-beach-babe on me but I get to live out my pre-adolescent dreams!
Agata says
The lipsticks are gorgeous. I can’t even pick a favorite. Maybe Femme de Luxe and Audacious? Your eye makeup and skin look gorgeous too. I love that glow!
This jewelry organizer is something I need ASAP. My jewelry is all over the place and this would be perfect.
Karen says
Thanks! Although truth be told I feel like I’m wearing kind of a lot here, lol. It’s a lot of look! The highlighter is one from Topshop that I’m trying. It’s a loose powder highlighter and it’s super pretty.
I hope you find the organizer. It’s very useful. 🙂
Happy (almost) Thursday!
Agata says
Hey, with Christmas around the corner a lot of makeup and sparkle is absolutely fine!
Happy Thursday!
Tulipthecat says
Karen, which one is your favorite one?
Karen says
I keep Marque in my purse as an everyday nude, but I think the bold colors are so much more fun! If I had to choose just one I’d go with either Catharina or Dangerously Chic. 🙂
Divya says
Whaaat! I thought they were permanent!! don’t make me queue outside dear Mac!! lol!
Reksi says
This is so pretty! You look amazing in deep shades 🙂 If this cost $23 to you, then I wouldn’t dare to check my MAC store, as the ‘normal’ ones ($16 to you, I guess?) are sold for $25 here (that is not even the price in the store, but from the ‘cheapest’ online store available here). So yeah, I never stepped into MAC store. SO SAD! These are such pretty pretty lipsticks!
Karen says
Hi Reksi,
Thankfully there are lots of other great non-MAC brands that do lovely lipsticks for less. Do you have access to drugstore makeup lines in your country? There’s lots of great stuff out there!
Kwmechelle says
Ravishingly Rich is my favorite. Double points that these are moisturizing! You know, I made my own lip exfoliator from a recipe that I found online. Pinterest has tons of them. I simply mixed granulated sugar, honey, & olive oil. I rub the mix on damp lips then wipe off with a damp cloth. I follow up with a balm (current fave is the EOS vanilla mint smoothie- the smoothies are SOOOOOOO emollient & moisturizing). I swear this stuff SAVES my lips during the colder months, especially, and takes care of the flakes. Plus, it’s a super cheap alternative to some of the pricier lip exfolliators. I’d say whip up a batch from your fave recipe online and give it a whirl. It might just be a game changer. Thank me lata
Karen says
I do the same exact thing, minus the honey! 🙂 I’ll try it adding honey the next time I do it, although I might end up just eating the whole damn thing, lol!
I like those EOS balms but sometimes I need more moisture. Right now I’ve been using Hourglass Lip Oil. It’s hella expensive but I only need a little bit and it WORKS!
Hope you had a nice day and that your makeup looked KILLER!
Shari says
The first one is my favorite! Although the shades here seem.. dupable. I don’t know, nothing’s convincing me to go and grab one just yet. But seeing them on you rocks the boat a bit!
Kwmechelle says
Yay! And, for seriousness, it’s kinda tasty…lol. That Hourglass lip oil sounds soooo luxurious & delicious 🙂
And my makeup was KILLER….tehehehe. Hey, I put in a lot of time reading my fave beauty blogs. And it shows. Haha 🙂
Erin says
I really like the darker colors in the line up!
Marisa says
Karen’s similes go hard!
“Like Nutella on warm toast”
Love you Gurl!
Rachel R. says
Every single one of those colors is gorgeous. I’m glad to hear they wear well.
Alyssa Melanie says
All of the colors look gorgeous on you! I’m glad that they’re permanent because I want them all except for Soft Pout which looks a little patchy.
LindaLibraLoca says
That packaging is divine!
But I fear, I will think about Tabs every time I reach for them. Come to think of it, there are worse things than thinking about a cat, so whatever.
How long do they last?
zFashionizta says
Thanks for the preview.
Soft Pout sounds familiar, did mac release another lipstick or maybe a lipglass with that name?
Kiss & Make-up says
Hee hee, Tabs looks caught in that pic 🙂 He’s quickly covering his manhood. The new lippies all look nice. On you I like the bolder colors the most, but for me I’d probably pick Soft Pout and To Savour.
Kiran says
I so love the packaging and the colors seem gorgeous. But isn’t the color pay off sheer?
Karen says
Hi Kiran,
I didn’t have a sheerness issue, especially with the bold and bright colors. For me they were fairly opaque.
Kim says
I love your organizer! What a great idea for you gals with accessories. 🙂
I’ll give you one guess as to which lipstick color I liked immediately. It starts with The and ends with Scene. I know, I’m lucky the 90s are having a revival. HAHA!
Karen says
So I remembered something the other day about the ’90s that I apparently blocked out. Were track suit pants popular in your neck of the woods? Here we’d wear those shiny Adidas track pants with matching shell toe shoes EVERYWHERE. It looked like everyone was on their way to basketball practice, lol.
Kim says
Oh, I wish! HAHA! Actually, now that I think of it, I did have one super-shiny pair but I don’t think it was a real phenomenon here. Of course, I was no fashionista in the early 90s – I was in college so it was all I could do to throw on some sweats and get to class on time. That sounds very sad now that I’ve typed it! 🙂 We did, of course, sport our flannel shirts when we went out (tied around the waist when we got too warm from dancing). I actually *still* tie a sweatshirt or light jacket around my waist if gets too warm – this is embarrassing – I’m just going to stop now. 🙂
Quicha says
OMG I have the same thing! My hubby bought for me earlier this spring. I only have my necklaces stored there, though I should use the pockets. I also have my jewelry stored in my bedside table. Top drawer is fine jewelry, 2nd is silver, 3rd gold and bottom is excess.
Stefi says
Wow, these look great! I can’t wait to have them at my counter – I know what I will be wearing for a few weeks over and over again! Love them and I can’t wait to try them out! <3 They also look really good on you 🙂
Love, Stefi
Gloria says
The lipsticks are so pretty in both packaging and color… I almost want to go to MAC and try them on myself (<–not a MAC fan since some of their lipsticks don't stay long and dry my lips).
Regarding the organizer, I'm curious how do you organizer your makeups? 😛 You must have a lot. haha I'm thinking to my one of the lori greiner spinning makeup organizer from QVC to hold my stuff (not an ads here), but still looking for other useful solutions.
gio says
The bright colours are so pretty and fun! But they look great on you.
Rachel P. says
I have had my eyes on Marque ever since these were rumored to come out!!! Catharina might also be a must-have… the only reason I didn’t scoop them up right away was because A) they’re becoming permanent (yay!!) so I guesssss no rush, and B) I have maxed out my Christmas/Black Friday/Cyber Monday shopping quota, and I don’t think I am going to buy another single thing til January, hahah! Still. I can’t wait til I’ve got a few of these bad boys on my vanity!! PS. the Audacious shade looks increddddible on you!
Majick says
I sure wish I saw this post before I went nuts at the NARS F&F. LOL
I LOVE the case and the colors are fantastic. Every last one looks great on you! THanks for the post. I’ll have these on my list for a Spring splurge – unless of course something even more wonderful pops up. 🙂
Tatiana says
Oh man! These are pretty! And I like the feel of the Mineralize lipsticks, too. If I hadn’t just dropped a ton of cash on the Tom Ford Lips & Boys colors, for myself and for my daughter, I’d rush right out and try some of these. Since they’re part of the permanent line, I’ll just add Marque, Catharina, Audacious, Dangerously Chic and The Scene to my list of colors to check out, once I have a little more cash once again.
Fancie says
Of course, you look pretty in all of them! I see a few colors I think I want. Starting with Catharina and Vogue en Violet. Those are my kind of colors!
cocofiere says
Those look lovely! How would you say they compare to the new NARS lipsticks? Knowing me, I’ll get some of both (and the mini TFs…ahem) by year’s end but I don’t want to overlap colors if the formulas are comparable.
Nancy T says
I am seriously loving the look of Marque as a flattering nude for my C4.5 complexion! Been on the hunt for an everyday nude, was planning on getting either Pure Zen or Shanghai Spice from the MAC Cremesheen with Pearl lineup, but this one is really gorgeous! And for something with a kick, I’m liking Vogue En Violet!