MAC Velvetease Lip Pencil in Lover's Lane, Just Add Romance, Anything Goes, and Just My Type

A couple weeks ago, MAC launched a new product called Velvetease Lip Pencil, which is described as "a lip product that delivers the vivid colour impact of a lipstick with the ease of a mechanical pencil... no sharpener required. Rich and matte, with a smooth, clean finish." There is a total of 12 shades, all of which will be added to the permanent range. Each Velvetease Lip Pencil is housed in a black mechanical crayon barrel with a shade-matched top, contains 1.5 grams of product, and retails for $24. As these are a different formulation with a different price point, they are not redeemable in the Back to MAC recycling program.
Lover's Lane, Just Add Romance, Anything Goes, and Just My Type
Lover's Lane, Just Add Romance, Anything Goes, and Just My Type

Lover's Lane is a medium-dark vibrant reddened orange in a velvet-matte finish. This is a new and permanent shade. It has a soft and creamy texture, and goes on smoothly and evenly. It has high pigmentation and opaque colour pay-off. It is lighter than Lady Danger, brighter than So Chaud, and darker and more matte than Morange.

Just Add Romance is a medium-dark vibrant cool-toned red in a velvet-matte finish. This is a new and permanent shade. It has a soft and creamy texture, and goes on smoothly and evenly. It has high pigmentation and opaque colour pay-off. It is slightly warmer than Ruby Woo, lighter than Russian Red, and warmer than MAC Red.

Anything Goes is a medium-dark vibrant cool-toned fuchsia red in a velvet-matte finish. This is a new and permanent shade. It has a soft and creamy texture, and goes on smoothly and evenly. It has high pigmentation and opaque colour pay-off. It is more red than All Fired Up, more matte than MAC Red, and more pink than Ruby Woo.

Just My Type is a medium-dark vibrant cool-toned fuchsia pink in a velvet-matte finish. This is a new and permanent shade. It has a soft and creamy texture, and goes on smoothly and evenly. It has high pigmentation and opaque colour pay-off. It is darker and warmer than Pink Pigeon, lighter and warmer than Flat Out Fabulous, and cooler and more pink than All Fired Up.

I'm a big fan of these! The formula is soft and smooth, but it's not overly thick or creamy, and they glide on beautifully without tugging or skipping. I find them to be a little creamier than MAC's regular matte lipsticks, so they don't seem to be as drying (though I do not find these hydrating, nor are they touted to be). As with matte finish lipsticks, I do recommend exfoliating lips beforehand because some of the shades (particularly the lighter ones) can emphasize lip texture over time. These are comfortable to wear and have a wear-time of about four to five hours for the lighter shades and six to eight hours for the darker shades. They start off as being more of a velvet-matte finish (like the formula name implies) so there is a slight sheen initially, but they definitely dry down to a matte finish. My only complaint is in the range of shades; I wish that they had released a bigger variety than include four reds. (Where is the berry and the plum and the burgundy and the nude that isn't like pasty concealer or a straight-up brown?) And while I don't think these necessarily replace lip pencils, you can definitely get more precision with these than a regular lipstick, so these are great for people who don't want the hassle of using a lip pencil with their lipstick, or have thinner lips, or just want more precision in their lipsticks. The best part about these is that they are mechanical! No wasting product, no wasting money buying a goddamn sharpener specifically for this product (ahem, NARS)...