MAC Retro Matte Liquid Lipcolour in Simply Smoked, Ess-presso, Uniformly Fabulous, and Young Attitude

Last week, MAC launched new shade extensions of Retro Matte Liquid Lipcolour, which originally launched last January. For those who are not familiar with it, the Retro Matte Liquid Lipcolour is MAC's liquid lipstick formula, which is described as "a lip colour that provides a splash of colour in a liquid-suede finish that lingers." There is a total of 12 new shades with this extension, of which nine will be added to the permanent range. They are housed in clear tubes with MAC's classic lipstick caps featuring a pointed sponge applicator with a hole in the centre that holds the product for full saturated colour in one swipe. Each Retro Matte Liquid Lipcolour contains 5 ml of product, and retails for $25. As these are a different formulation with a different price point, they are not redeemable as a free product in the Back to MAC recycling program.
Simply Smoked, Ess-presso, Uniformly Fabulous, and Young Attitude
Simply Smoked, Ess-presso, Uniformly Fabulous, and Young Attitude

Simply Smoked is a medium-dark cool taupe-brown in a suede-matte finish. This is a new and permanent shade. It has a lightweight, mousse-like texture, and goes on smoothly and evenly. It has high pigmentation and opaque colour pay-off. It is darker than Café Au Chic, lighter and cooler than Ess-presso, and darker and cooler than Stone.

Ess-presso is a dark cool coffee brown in a suede-matte finish. This is a new and permanent shade. It has a lightweight, mousse-like texture, and goes on smoothly and evenly. It has high pigmentation and opaque colour pay-off. It is darker and warmer than Simply Smoked, cooler than Chocotease, and cooler than Antique Velvet.

Uniformly Fabulous is a deep-dark warm blackberry in a suede-matte finish. This is a new and permanent shade. It has a lightweight, mousse-like texture, and goes on somewhat streaky and unevenly. It has high pigmentation and opaque colour pay-off. It is darker and more purple than High Drama, darker and warmer than Instigator, more purple than In the Spirit.

Young Attitude is a dark cool teal in a suede-matte finish. This is a new and permanent shade. It has a lightweight, mousse-like texture, but is prone to streaking and can go on unevenly. It has high pigmentation and opaque colour pay-off. There is nothing similar to this shade in MAC's permanent range.

Now that liquid lipsticks are at its height of popularity and muted neutrals are still on-trend, MAC has finally launched a range of neutrals for their permanent Retro Matte Liquid Lipcolour collection. The original 15 shades encompassed a couple lighter colours, a couple darker colours, and a whole bunch of brights, but they were really missing true neutrals in the range. And with neutral browns and greys still reigning supreme on Instagram, YouTube, and Kylie Jenner (who, let's admit it, has a lot of influence on makeup trends), MAC really, really needed to launch these types of shades to keep up with the competition. Honestly, with every other brand (e.g. Anastasia Beverly Hills, Jeffree Star Cosmetics, Stila, Tarte, Too Faced, Kat Von D, NYX, etc.) having already released shades like these, I feel like MAC kinda missed the boat with it — but better late than never, and at least the majority of these shades will be permanent. 
It seems that MAC has taken previous feedback and adjusted this formula: I've noticed that these have a slower dry-down period so there's more time to even out the colour on the lips without it streaking or bunching, and I've also noticed that they are less drying so they are more comfortable to wear and are less prone to cracking on the lips. Of course, they remain transfer-proof and water-resistant, so they do wear very well (most of them wear about eight hours before fading); however, they come off with oil, so obviously if you're eating something particularly greasy, the lip product will fade. The applicator is actually what sets this apart for me, personally; it is a short, flexible, pointed-tip sponge applicator with a hole in the centre of it to hold on to product, which allows for a precise, smooth, even, and fully opaque application of colour with excellent control. If you are a fan of liquid lipsticks and love muted browns, taupes, and greys, these are well worth checking out, but I would check your stash to see if you have anything similar first.