Last month, MAC released a new collection called MAC Ultimate, which "reunites the innovative design aesthetic of globally renowned industrial designer Marcel Wanders." This collection is described as "the epitome of contemporary luxury... with sumptuous formulas... perfectly encased in the Dutch dynamo's modern geometric designs... making these couture-worthy products the most sophisticated accessories of the season." This collection sees the launch of 14 products, six of which are new and permanent, and eight of which are re-promotes and now permanent. MAC Ultimate includes the release of ten shades of Ultimate Lipstick, which is described as "the perfect blend of high fashion colour and comfortable texture" with "a rich formula [that] glides on with ease, creating perfect coverage and shine." They are vanilla-scented, but taste-free. Each Ultimate Lipstick comes in a special edition chrome-finish tube designed by Marcel Wanders, comes with 4.3 grams of product, and retails for $28.
Ravishingly Rich is a medium vibrant warm tangerine orange with a luminous sheen in a Luxe finish. This is a permanent shade. The texture is soft and creamy, and it goes on smoothly and evenly. It has high pigmentation with opaque colour pay-off. It is more muted than Neon Orange and Morange, and darker and more orange than Vegas Volt, and more orange than Lady at Play Mineralize Rich Lipstick.
Marque is a medium muted warm rose pink with a luminous sheen in a Luxe finish. This is a permanent shade. The texture is soft and creamy, and it goes on smoothly and evenly. It has high pigmentation with opaque colour pay-off. It is more pink than Creme in Your Coffee, darker than Viva Glam V, and more muted and more beige than Grande Dame Mineralize Rich Lipstick.
Soft Pout is a light-medium warm peachy beige with a luminous sheen in a Luxe finish. This is a permanent shade. The texture is soft and creamy, and it goes on smoothly and evenly. It has high pigmentation with opaque colour pay-off. It is darker than Creme d'Nude, slightly darker and more peach than Pure Zen, and more peach than Pure Pout Mineralize Rich Lipstick.
There was a bit of confusion surrounding this collection because MAC was originally supposed to launch it last October, and they kept pushing back the launch without confirming an official release date. It finally showed up online early last month, and it is only available at select MAC Stores, so if you want to check them out in person, call your local MAC Store to see if they'll be carrying it (and if they aren't, find out which the closest location will be). Luckily, these will be made permanent, so you don't have to rush to get these. Ultimate is now MAC's most luxury lipstick formula to date, and also the most expensive. But on that note, you also get 4.3 grams of product in each tube ($6.51/g), versus 3.6 grams ($7.22/g) in a Mineralize Rich Lipstick and 3 grams in a regular MAC lipstick ($6.33/g), so per gram, it's only a little more expensive than the regular MAC lipsticks.
For those of you who remember the Marcel Wanders "couture" collection a few years ago (MAC releases a more luxurious, more expensive "couture" collection every holiday season), this collection essentially brings back the same lipstick formulation and Wanders-designed packaging in gunmetal chrome. (Fun fact: Marcel Wanders also designed MAC's False Lashes mascara packaging, in case the chess piece-like tube looked familiar.) There's no official description of the Ultimate Lipstick formula, but it feels like a creamier version of the Mineralize Rich Lipstick. That is to say, these are lightweight and creamy with a good amount of slip to be extremely comfortable to wear, glide on smoothly and evenly with high pigmentation and mostly opaque colour pay-off. These seem to hug the lips more than the Mineralize Rich formula, and also feel more hydrating (both immediately and in the long-term). Whereas the Mineralize Rich formula is definitely more on the gel side, this one is squarely in the cream category, and they actually feel more luxurious going on. The range of shades is pretty limited right now, but it's well-curated and there is something for everyone.
These are pretty! I need a soft rose lipstick but I do sort of prefer a more gel-like finish - maybe I'll take a look at the Mineralize Rich formula. Although these sound more comfortable. Do they look really creamy on lips? I don't really like that - I feel it dates me somehow, haha.
ReplyDeleteThey actually LOOK quite similar to the Mineralize Rich formula when on the lips, but more pigmented. I don't find they look that creamy, 'cause they do end up drying to a satin finish. :) Marque is such a universally flattering colour; I can't imagine it looking bad on anyone! But if you wanna check out the Mineralize Rich formula first, you might wanna check out Grande Dame, though it is more pink than Marque.
DeleteI haven't tried the Mineralize Rich formula, but I should head into the store to check both of these out - I like that MAC is upping their lipstick game a bit. I got a MAC GC for Christmas, so I have no good reason not to shop, for once! Mwahahaha :)
ReplyDeleteHaha, nice! I think it's always great to check out what MAC has in their permanent range in between LE launches. They have so many amazing products that get looked over because of hype over the latest collection. I don't know how many locations are actually carrying MAC Supreme, though, so do call your local store to see. I know they won't be made available at The Bay locations.
DeleteMarque looks like a nice everyday sort of shade. I liked Creme in Your Coffee until it started to look too brown and passed it on to someone.
ReplyDeleteLOL, Creme in Your Coffee is definitely one of those brown '90s shades. Great MLBB for darker skintones, though! Marque is a little lighter, a little pinker. Great slap-on-and-go shade for everyone!
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