As soon as the weather turns to fall with cooler temperatures and cloudy days one of the first things I do is switch out my bright coral and pink lipsticks for the darker vampier shades. I am talking dark reds like MAC Diva and striking shades like MAC Rebel. If then October is also my birthday month and my friends don’t know what to get me, dark MAC lipsticks I say! And dark lips go nowhere without a pairing lip liner, to keep the edges clean and increase the staying power. So here is a small birthday haul with two new dark lip combos featuring two MAC lipsticks from the new permanent matte shades in The Matte Lip Collection and two matching lip pencils.
The first lip combo is MAC Nightmoth lip liner and MAC Instigator lipstick. The lip pencil has been on my most wanted for a very long time, being the darkest one I found in the market. Nightmoth is described as a “blackened plum” and is indeed a dark plum color with a strong burgundy red component. The formula of MAC lip liners is always wonderful, creamy to apply and extremely long lasting. It is perfect to wear on its own (as you see above) or paired with most dark lipsticks that are dark red or plum. I find that it is great to darken up other lighter lipsticks like MAC Diva and MAC Rebel, giving them a little extra oomph. Then of course it is a perfect match for MAC Instigator lipstick, even though the latter has more of a purple tone to it as you can see in the pictures above. MAC Instigator is described as a “deep blackened plum with a matte finish” as well, but has is slightly cooler than NIghtmoth with more berry-purple undertones. I was once again impressed with the matte finish of this lipstick, which is the only way I would wear such dark shades. In my head matte means dry and pulling on the lips but this is very comfortable to apply and wear, last well on its own and even better with a lip liner. You can see that when I applied Instigator on top of Nightmoth, it appears even darker and a bit more plum than alone, so that with the lipstick and lip liner there are three possible looks. Of course there is also the option of using the lip pencil only to outline the lips without filling them in, which is my preferred way to wear MAC Instigator. As you can see the finish is not completely matte but with more of a satin sheen. The lasting power on me is around 4 hours for the lipstick alone and around 6 hours when I use Nighmoth all over the lips as a base. Slightly less than a lip stain, but on the other hand it is easier to re-apply the lipstick when the lips feel slightly dry and you’re left with the lip pencil alone.
The other lip combo I received is MAC Chestnut lip liner and MAC Antique Velvet. I first laid my eyes on this lipstick when I went to my local MAC counter to swatch the newly released matte shades and I had a wonderful makeup artist apply it on me. She told me that if I liked it and wanted to wear in for the rest of the day she would put some lip pencil as well to make the look clean and perfect. Once she applied MAC Chestnut on the outer edges I was sold! These are a perfect color match and work incredibly well together. Antique Velvet is described as an “intense brown” and is the color of chocolate, a dark warm brown. The texture is slightly more drying than Instigator but still comfortable to wear. There is still a slight satin sheen to it when applied same as the previous one. I find it an incredibly peculiar shade that complements quite well my red hair and the warmer complexions. The lasting power of the lipstick is longer in this case, lasting a good 5 hours and for me not making it necessary to put the lip pencil all over the lips, but only on the outline, saving me from the drier feeling that the pencil gives.
I am so happy with these new lippies and see myself wearing them constantly through fall and winter. My favorite look is a light eye look with winged liner and one of these dark lip combos. Easy and of impact at the same time.
What do you think? Would you wear these dark shades?
xo
A
