Review & Swatches: MAC Marilyn Monroe Lipsticks

MAC Marilyn Monroe Lipsticks

Availability: MAC Stores & Online
Release Date: October 4, 2012 (U.S. / Canada); October 2012 (International)

Company’s Description

The world, and your lips, can never get enough of Marilyn. Colour plus texture with shades in rapturous reds and a sensual warm nude. Special packaging features a black and white photograph of the legend.

This review is for the three (3) new Lipstick colors releasing with MAC’s Marilyn Monroe Collection. This post includes photographs and swatches of the following colors:

Deeply Adored (Matte): Deep scarlet
Charmed I’m Sure (Matte): Dark true red
Love Goddess (Satin): Mid-tone red pink

Pure Zen and Scarlet Ibis are also re-promoted with this collection. You can see reviews, photos, and swatches of Pure Zen here and Scarlet Ibis here.

Packaging: 9/10

These lipsticks come in standard MAC packaging and have an image of Marilyn Monroe on the side of the tube. The tubes are made of plastic and can easily be taken on-the-go.

Quality: 9.8/10

Deeply Adored is a scarlet red with a slightly deep brick tone to it. The color is absolutely opaque and, despite being a Matte formula lipstick, leaves a soft sheen to the lips.

Charmed I’m Sure is a bright, blue-based, classic red shade. It is equally opaque and pigmented, again leaving a soft sheen to the lips.

Love Goddess is a equal parts pink and red. It is opaque and has a glossy finish.

Both the two (2) Matte lipsticks and the Satin shade drag just a little over the lips. The formula could be creamier, but given that Deeply Adored and Charmed I’m Sure are both matte formulas, the ease with which they apply is pretty impressive.

All three (3) of these color last longer than your average lipstick. I get around three (3) hours of wear from them, even with light drinking. The pigment in these lipsticks is so strong that, even after taking them off, they leave behind a hint of color. So you’ll get the benefit of a light stain after your first few hours of wear.

Ease of Use: 9/10

The fact that these colors are so rich is mostly a blessing, but can also be a curse when it comes to application. All of these lipstick are unforgiving in application if you mess up even the teeniest bit. To get a flawless look, I strongly recommend applying the lipsticks with a brush (even though I always apply them from the tube for purposes of review and photos).

The formula does skip ever-so-slightly (even Love Goddess, which is a Satin formula). But otherwise, expect rich, opaque color without having to layer.

Price: 8.75/10

These are the same size (3 g) as regular MAC lipsticks, but the price has gone up from $15.00 to $16.50 because of the limited-edition packaging.

Final Grade