MAC Wash & Dry: Lipsticks

Today, MAC will be releasing their first major summer colour collection, Wash & Dry, in stores. It is inspired by retro laundromats and old-school detergent packaging: "The suds are rising and the gossip is flowing with this breezy bronzing collection inspired by bright, fresh hues perfect for a full spin or just a quick tumble." The collection includes a total of 44 products, of which 20 are new and limited edition, three are re-promotes, 15 are existing permanent, and six are new and will be added to the permanent range. Wash & Dry will see the launch of four shades of lipstick. They come in a special edition tubes featuring a "gradated colour wave that shifts from crisp turquoise through vivid orange to lemon yellow," as well as matching secondary cardstock packaging. Each lipstick contains 3 grams of product, and retails for $21. Due to the special edition packaging, these are not applicable for the Back to MAC recycling program.

Creme d'Nude, Tumble Dry, Morange, and Steam Heat
Creme d'Nude, Tumble Dry, Morange, and Steam Heat

Creme d'Nude is a light pinked beige nude in a Cremesheen finish. This is a permanent shade. It has a soft, creamy texture, and goes on smoothly but due to the nature of the shade and the finish, it can emphasize lip texture. It has medium pigmentation and semi-sheer to semi-opaque buildable colour pay-off. It is more pinked than Japanese Maple, lighter than Pure Zen, and lighter and more pink than Shy Girl.

Tumble Dry is a light muted warm peach-orange in a Lustre finish. This is a new and limited edition shade. It has a soft, creamy texture, but goes on somewhat patchy and can emphasize lip texture. It has light-medium pigmentation and semi-sheer colour pay-off. It is sheerer than Sweet & Sour, slightly more orange than Shy Girl, and lighter and more orange than Coral Bliss.

Morange is a medium-dark vibrant warm orange with red undertones in an Amplified finish. This is a permanent shade. It has a soft, creamy texture, and goes on smoothly and evenly. It has high pigmentation and opaque colour pay-off. It is similar to Neon Orange, brighter and more reddened than Vegas Volt, and less red and shinier than Lady Danger. 

Steam Heat is a medium-dark vibrant warm red in a Satin finish. This is a new and limited edition shade. It has a soft, creamy texture, and goes on smoothly and evenly. It has high pigmentation and opaque colour pay-off. It is warmer than MAC Red, brighter and warmer than Russian Red, and darker and more vibrant than Lady Bug.

The two best performing shades here are Morange and Steam Heat, but Morange is permanent (so you can get it all year round) and MAC has launched so many reds like Steam Heat that it ends up being totally skippable (also, after so many collections with red lips, couldn't they do something different for summer?!). On that note, if you love Satin finish lipsticks (and many people do), and are looking for a warm-toned red (MAC Red is the only red shade in the Satin range, and it's so blue-toned, it's almost pink), Steam Heat will be entirely worth getting because it does look stunning. Creme d'Nude (permanent) and Tumble Dry are actually pretty nice shades if you like softer, more translucent nudes (Tumble Dry looks orange in the tube, but it really looks like a soft, sheer peach on the lips), but they don't apply very evenly and they emphasize lip texture, so I do recommend exfoliating the lips beforehand. I actually love the colour story to this collection and think the lipsticks had so much potential to be new and unique (if not in colour, then in the finish?)... but, alas, none of these are must-haves in my books.