Here’s my mysterious look!
I tried to look mysterious for this picture because I was wearing the new $16 MAC Matte Lipstick in Men Love Mystery, and I was shooting for sultry and elusive…but these are what I got instead.
Haha! I have no idea what’s going on in this picture…
I think I may have been halfway through a “Haaay” move when the camera shutter button clicked.
Yeah… Hard to tell now. 🙂
Men Love Mystery is one of the 22 matte MAC Lipsticks in the new The Matte Lip collection, which is en route for the permanent line and coming to the MAC website May 28, and then to MAC counters and stores a little later on June 11. They’re all $16 each.
This color though! It has shown me the way… Now I have come to realize that I’m all about violet matte lips.
I’ve worn similar colors before that were creamy or glossy but never a matte quite like this. I think that the finish, because it’s matte, sort of tones down the natural brightness and intensity that this violet would otherwise have, to make the whole effect more serious and, dare I say it, mysterious…
Of course I love the color because it’s ah-maze-ballz. And I also love almost everything about the formula — how smoothly it applies, the classic MAC vanilla flavor and scent, and the six-hour wear time (when I apply, then blot, then apply again, although it’s pigmented enough to get away with a single layer if you don’t mind sacrificing some wear time) — but at the risk of sounding like a broken record, or at least a stuck CD, the MAC Matte Lipstick formula is fairly drying. Maybe I notice it more because of my lips, which are naturally dry, but it still might be something to keep in mind if you’re thinking about this color or one of MAC’s other mattes.
I think you’ll probably also really want to use this color with a lip liner, because when I tried it both with one and without, it looked wonky without.
Turns out that matte violet lipsticks are totally unforgiving (like many red lipsticks and bitter ex-boyfriends!). It needs a clearly defined boundary because otherwise it looks messy.
I don’t think you need to run out and buy a separate matching violet lip liner, though. I just use a shade close to my natural lip color, in this case Hourglass Panoramic Lip Liner in Eden. I line the edges of my lips first before applying Men Love Mystery on top (bringing the color up to the edges of the lip liner) with a lip brush.
Sometimes I’ll stop at one layer, but if I want a little extra wear time, I’ll blot and then apply a second layer. Then I’ll grab a face brush loaded with a little face powder and dust that lightly around the perimeter of my lips to take the edge off of the line and soften it.
PRICE: $16, one of 22 matte lipsticks in the The Matte Lip collection
AVAILABILITY: Permanent collection, and coming to the MAC website May 28 and to stores and counters June 11
MAKEUP AND BEAUTY BLOG RATING: A
Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,
Karen
P.S. Happy Tuesday. How was your Memorial Day?
I love that color and I can’t wait to buy it. I have a thing about purple these days. Memorial Day weekend was nice and I’m glad it is a 4 day work week. Tulip took a stroll in the backyard and was obsessed with eating grass. This morning she was crazy because there were squirrels chasing each other on the fence. How was your weekend?
Me too! I think I’ll have to paint my nails purple today just because. 🙂
So, Tabs is obsessed with grass too. El Hub built him a planter that’s just for his kitty grass. I used to take him outside in the front to eat the grass in the common area of our condo but stopped when I saw them add fertilizer to it, so that was the end of that! Now he has his own grass on the deck whenever he wants it. Have you noticed that when they get into grass eating mode that they can’t stop? Tabs is literally like a lawn mower.
What did you do over the weekend? I did some sightseeing in Petaluma on Saturday, then went for a bike ride on Sunday, and then went window shopping and out to lunch on Monday.
You should also use purple eyeliner to complete the look!
I planted Tulip some grass and was hiding it from her until it was big enough for her to munch on. It was on the front windowsill and one night I woke up to look for her and I saw her butt through the Venetian blinds and she was munching on the tiny grass that was growing. I had to take it and hide it in the kitchen so that it could grow a bit more. I always get her grass or catnip to snack on and yes once they start eating they can’t seem to stop. Definitely she’s like a lawn mower. Sometimes she likes it if I pick it out and feed it to her so it doesn’t poke her in the eye.
My brothers had a picnic in the park with their friends so I watched my niece and nephew and all the little kids. There was a little girl who was being a bully on the playground especially to my 18 month old niece so I had to keep an eye out. Monday I took my aunt to Charming Charlie in Alameda and did some shopping out there.
Sneaky Tulip! What is it with cats and blinds? Isn’t it hilarious how they’ll get all up in them? At our old apartment Tabs destroyed the blinds in our bedroom. That’s so cute that you hand feed her sometimes. I do the same with Tabs and he seems to like it. 🙂
Besides grass, what are her favorite treats?
Sounds like you had a nice relaxing weekend with the fam! I bet there was yummy food there too, huh?
Tulip only loves cheese flavored Frisky treats. She hates all the other flavors. Jaz gets Tempations because if she eats Frisky’s then she throws up from eating them too fast. Oddly when I take Tulip to the Vet she won’t take any of the treats they give her. I tried other brands and she only likes cheese flavored Frisky treats. I even tried Greenies and she hates those. She also likes fresh catnip but you have to feed it to her.
We had lots of food at the picnic like chicken BBQ on a stick, lumpia, sandwhiches, and fruit. On Monday, my aunt took me to the Newark Buffet for lunch and I was super stuffed even after walking around Alameda. We even had nilaga for dinner and I was even more stuffed. I need a break from eating….
This color was made for you…..absolutely beautiful! I think that MAC should rename it “Karen” 🙂
Hi Stacy,
Aww, I wish! lol I hope that you had a nice weekend. What did you do?
Karen, this looks SO good on you! It may be a tad too light for my skin tone, so I’m not sure if I could pull it off.
No you can do it! It would look amazing on deeper skin tones as well.
Gorgeous color on you!! You wear this so beautifully! I love purple, but can’t pull it off with my coloring 🙁
I hope you had a great holiday weekend!
I love this lip color on you, I wonder if it’d look ridiculous on me!?
Your eyes look beautiful too, so well blended!
I really love that they are putting out this matte line! My lips tend to be on the dry side most days too but I don’t care, I think I need this.
Once again, you wear this shade so well 😀 I don’t think I could pull it off on my fair skin quite as well but I like how this shade is more unique yet still wearable!
Beautiful color. I may have to snag this one.
Hi Rachel R.,
I hope you do! It’s very unexpectedly wearable. 🙂
How was your weekend? Have you been wearing your new Dior Poison perfume lately? That scent always reminds me of my mom!
Happy Tuesday!
I had a pretty good weekend. We just stayed home. I’ve worn the Poison some, but it’s definitely changed over the years. It’s a bit disappointing, to be honest. It’s nothing like what I remember. It’s OK now, but it used to be amazing. It’s much sweeter now, and less spicy and exotic. I’m assuming Dior reformulated at some point, but maybe my memory is that bad. It’s so expensive, I feel obliged to wear it. Since it was a gift for Mother’s Day, I can’t really return it without hurting feelings. It’s a huge bottle, too. Oh, well.
The shade looks wonderful on you! It really reminds me of Nars Audacious lipstick in Dominique, which I love.
Love that color, Beti! You have great taste. 🙂
What a beautiful color! Happy Tuesday!
Happy Tuesday to you too, Lauren! I remember you asking about lip colors for warm, olive toned skin. Is there a particular brand that you like? That’ll help me narrow down a few choices for you.
Hm, let’s see. I’m really fond of Tarte, Maybelline and Clinique, just to name a few. Hope that helps!
Wow… that really IS an amazeballs color on you!! 😀
(Hmm… now I’m wondering how it would work on my cool, pale [blah] skintone…?)
I love that there’s a bit of pink in this colour, helps to make it more wearable on my warm-toned skin. Definitely a shade I’ll be looking into once the collection launches!
Fantastic color on you! I’m tempted to try violet now…I think I’d need a pinker violet as I’m fair-skinned.
My weekend was pretty chill; a lot of reading on Saturday & Monday with a family barbecue on Sunday. My cousin & his wife are stationed at Langley on Whidbey Island, so I had very pleasant 90 minute jaunt each way.
Hi Holly,
Ooh, what did you read? I did a lot of reading last weekend too. I read The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up by Marie Kondo. It’s a book on the KonMari method of decluttering. I found it really helpful and I can’t wait to attack my closets with the tips.
Well, I’m a fast & eclectic reader, so I read an anthology of horror stories, a memoir titled “The Girl With No Name”, a memoir of the making of The Princess Bride written by Cary Elwes, & I’m finishing up the last story in an anthology of supernatural detective stories. I’m sort of on a memoir kick right now & I like short story anthologies because I can put them down & pick them up easier when babysitting & not lose the thread of the plot.
I neeeeeeeed this!!! My favorite Mac lipsticks are Retro Matte, so I think I’ll be ok with these!
Hello Dear Karen, looking good as usual. I would never thought of a violet matte lipstick but you pulled it off 🙂 Looks really good on you. Anything looks good on you 🙂
We had Victoria day long weekend (in Canada here) the weekend before you guys, gorgeous weekend, too hot for me to do some gardening , lol
Funny face or not — you look amazing!
I need to have this to see if I can rock it like you did here! Ha! You are so funny, Karen!
Love the purple. I was wondering what the coral color is called. Do you know?
I like a few shades from this collection but this is the one I’m obsessing over. The color is just perfect!! I can’t wait to get my hands on it!
Wow! I am convinced you can pull off just about any color! This looks absolutely beautiful on you!
Where can I get a top like that? Love it!
I am too much of a wuss to sport a shade like this, but you can totally pull it off. Oh and for the record, I thought you looked great in that photo 🙂 It’s a fun happy shot.
It looks like a matte version of MAC Up the Amp. Looks great on you.
Antonia
Violet is very flattering on you. If I trotted that out, I’d scare the hair off of all my cats. HAHA! Seriously, though, it looks great on you. And I feel like you’re in the middle of an Austin Powers dance routine in that second pic. Or (wayback, playback) Courtney Cox doing that trademark 80s swinging arm dance in Bruce Springsteen’s Dancing in the Dark video. Either way, I’m going with “happy dance”.
I saw that video the other day (don’t even ask me how I got there on youtube), haha! When I was young I actually thought she was some rand-o lucky girl who got picked out of the audience. Remember her short hair?
Oh, you are not alone. I thought the exact same thing (and so did all my friends). 🙂 We were all like “OMG, it could happen to us…. if we were insanely beautiful”. HAHA! It actually made me think about getting my hair cut short but, thankfully, I came to my senses. 🙂
I’ve been eyeing this color, not totally sure if I can pull it off, but I’m going to try since it’s so freakin’ gorgeous!