MAC Tabloid Beauty Reviews and Swatches


MAC Pro Longwear Lipcolour in Unchanging

I was able to try some of the the Pro Longwear Lipcolours.  They are being reintroduced in the new Tabloid Beauty collection, but these are not limited edition lipcolours, they are part of the permanent collection.  Tabloid Beauty merely wants to put a spotlight on these longwear lippies in order to remind people of what it could do.  MAC claims that it is "non-transfer fixed, with no feathering for a full 8 hour day".

MAC has six Pro Long Wear Lustres and ten Pro Longwear Lipcolours. I guess the difference between the two Pro Longwear variants is that the Lustre has more of the finish of a lipglass or gloss while the Lipcolour operates as a long-lasting lipstick. I think some people are still intimidated with these Pro longwear lipcolours as they are not used to applying these. I myself was a bit intimidated with these when I first tried them a year and a half ago. However, in this blog's entry on MAC Lustre Twins, I related that there really is a particular technique in applying this product:

1. Start with bare lips. No lip balm, no primer, no nothing. The lips need to be stripped off of any oil or substance that can break down the formula of the Lustre Twins (or Pro LongWear Lipcolour).

2. Apply the pigment-rich color first. It has to be a thin, even coat for best results.

3. Let dry. This is important. You need to let the colour completely dry on your lips. Otherwise, it will look nasty and will not last at all. You will know it's dry when your lips start to feel tight.

4. Optional: if you want, go ahead and apply lip liner. Some MAs however do not recommend applying lipliner as this may break down the formula/color of the product. I personally like to apply lip liner to prevent bleeding.

5. Apply the mirror-finish top coat. Re-apply top coat as often as you want during the day. Do NOT use any other lip gloss other than the top coat. Any other product will cause the product to break down and flake off your lips.

So there you go. Remember: Oil breaks down oil, so if you apply anything to moisturize your lips like petroleum jelly, it will break down Pro Longwear Lipcolour's formula and it wouldn't be as long-lasting as MAC claims.



In the above photo, I was wearing Pro Longwear Lipcolour in Unchanging.









Here are some swatches of the Pro Longwear Lip Colour and Pro Longwear Lustre.. Here's how I applied them: I first painted the colour side of the product on my skin, let it dry a couple of minutes, then applied the mirror-shine top coat on top of the swatches. That way, you can really see how the two look together on the skin. These swatches were taken under natural light outdoors. My favorites are Boss Brown (Chocolate bronze with pearl), Unchanging (Soft, neutral lilac-pink), Night Rose (Rich plum with gold pearl) and Durashell (Soft pink with gold pearl). What are yours?

So my verdict?


(Check out the rest of the review after the jump)





The Pro Longwear Lipcolour really does what it claims to do: it has unbelievably long staying power. You can eat, kiss, drink through this product, and it won't budge. MAC is not kidding about the unbelievable staying power of this product. You need an oil-based cleanser to clean this off your skin, because it clings to your lips all day like a psycho ex-boyfriend (that's why I also got the MAC cleanse-off oil to take off the product at the end of the day). Sounds too good to be true? Unfortunately, there is a catch: you have to follow all steps 1 through 5 above, to the letter. If you don't, you will not get the results you expect.

Well, guess what - I can't do it. I can't even follow Step 1. I just HAVE to apply lipbalm underneath the product, because I hate the very dry, tight feel on the lips. The product dries my lips so much that I couldn't help but apply petroleum jelly like Carmex to my lips. And guess what? Yup, it does break down the formula, and turns it into just a regular lipstick. I guess there is a price to pay when you want budge-proof lip color - you cannot use oil-based products to moisturize your lips.

So there you go. The concept is perfection and execution is great, it's just that you have to give up moisture in exchange for lasting power. Too bad. However, if you are content in just enjoying this product just like a regular lipstick, you would be pleasantly surprised to know that even with lip balm or petroleum jelly underneath, this product still has better staying power than a regular lipstick.

The Shades Of U Rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars

Check out the following reviews from The Shades Of U:

MAC Prep + Prime Skin Refined Zone Review

MAC Penultimate Eye Liner Review

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