Sunday 12 May 2013

Mac Cremesheen lipstick in Pure Zen and Cremesheen Glass in FashionWhim - Photos and Swatches




Mac Cremesheen Lipstick in Pure Zen


Mac Cremesheen Glass in Fashion Whim

Swatch of the two, with the Glass on the Left and Lipstick on the Right


Pure Zen on its own


Fashion Whim over Pure Zen


After a scarring incident a few years ago I have felt extremely reluctant to use MAC products.  What happened was a lady at a MAC counter matched me up with a foundation that looked perfect in the shop. After purchase I applied it in my bedroom the next day where there is not a huge amount of light so I was unable to see the colour clearly but from what I saw it went on pretty easily and seemed to blend in. I was going on a shopping trip with a few friends all the way to oxford street that day and after a few hours shopping i finally decided to try something on in River Island.  However, to my horror when I looked in the mirror of their brightly lit dressing rooms I realised my face was a very embarrassing shade of orange.  I shouted to one of my friends who kindly informed me that all of them had been talking and laughing about it all day because it was just awful.  I dropped the clothes I was trying on and my friends rushed me to Debenhams (I did cover my face with my jumper on the journey so I probably looked even more stupid) and luckily a very nice assistant at the Maxfactor counter in Debenhams gave me a makeup wipe and matched me up with a different foundation to wear which I still use to this day! 

Recently, two of my very good friends surprised me for my birthday with a MAC makeup lesson which was alot of fun and changed my opinion completely on their products as the lady who was helping did a much better job.  After the lesson they let me choose some of the products as a birthday present and these were two of the products. :)


Price I Paid
I got these as a present but Pure Zen lipstick retails at £14 and Fashion Whim Glass retails at £17.  Which to me seems a little strange as I would have thought the lipstick would be more expensive.

Design
The lipstick comes in a normal bullet style case that can easily be twisted up and down.  It is very simple to apply thanks to the pointed tip of it.  However once it starts being used up this would round out it might be worth buying a lipbrush in order to apply it right up to the edge of your lips.
The lipglass comes in a very smart looking glass bottle with an easy to apply stick applicator with a slanted bud at the end attached to the lid.

Colour
Pure Zen is described by MAC as a "frosted warm nude" and is a very light beige colour with some very tiny pink metallic flecks in and is highly pigmented and therefore gives great coverage as a lipstick.  It is slightly more matte than most lipsticks I use but does still have a slight shine to it.
Fashion Whim is described as "light beige" by MAC and is slightly yellow toned and peachier in comparison with pure zen but gives a great shiny look over the lipstick.

Texture
The lipstick is very thick and i find if i have dry lips it is necessary to exfoliate them by rubbing them with an old toothbrush a little and keeping them well moisturised before application because it does pick out every imperfection. I find that if i have dry lips using this lipglass over the top hides this significantly although it does push the lipstick underneath around a bit so it can cause it to look streaky if i have not applied it carefully. 
I would say that the lipglass on its own does not actually seem to do an awful lot on my lips, it makes them very shiny and there is a hint of the nude colour but for the price i probably wouldn't bother with it if i were to use it on its own without the lipstick.

Smell
Both the lipstick and the lipglass don't seem to have any particular scent maybe slightly of baby powder but unless I was smelling it from the tube I would not notice it at all.

Ingredients
MAC is a reputable brand owned by Estee Lauder and I would think that the ingredients are of a pretty reasonable quality and they do not smell of chemicals like some other brands.  However, I would note that both MAC and their parent company Estee Lauder are well known to test on animals in China so if this is something you do not agree with it might be wise to steer clear of those products.

Overall Reaction 
I was very pleasantly surprised with both of these products!  I wear them most when I am wearing dark eye makeup and a blusher as on their own they do slightly wash me out as i have incredibly pale skin to begin with but when i do wear this kind of makeup it really finishes off the look!
I would score Pure Zen lipstick - 8/10
And i would score Fashion Whim glass - 6/10

No comments:

Post a Comment