MAC At-A-Glance

[November] 11/26 - Monogram - MAC's annual couture collection, 11/30 - Perfect Style
[December] 12/26 - Dame Edna, Chill

February 25, 2008

Product Review: MAC Slimshine


MAC Slimshine Lipstick $14.50 USD
A new Lipstick combining creamy emolliency with a unique sheer colour pay-off. Finishes include cream, sparkling pearl and metallic. Provides the shine and moisturizing comfort of a gloss but with a smooth, non-sticky finish. Distinctive on and off. Comes packaged in its own stylish extra-long lipstick case. 2.3 g / 0.08 us oz
PRICE
At $14.50 a pop for these skinny suckers, I actually think that it is a very decent buy for a high-end cosmetic lipstick. You are however, getting less product than most of MAC's lip products (ranging from 0.10 oz to 0.17 oz) AND paying $0.50 more than most of MAC's lip products which tend to retail for about $14.00 USD.

But because the formula of this product is more emollient than your standard bullet-style lipstick, it was possibly the wiser choice to put this product in a slimmer casing where the tube would hug the product to keep it in tact and prevent it from shifting from application pressure.




With that in mind, I look at the $0.50 differential as a small price to pay for the sleek and conveniently pants-pocket- and wristlet-friendly casing as well as a little insurance for maintaining the shape of a potentially shifty lipstick in warmer conditions.

PACKAGING
MAC Slimshines are definitely designed and packaged for convenience.



They are about the same girth as my fingers and about a thumb width taller (if not a tad more) than my middle finger. Thinner lipstick casings may be preferable to some because regular bullet-style lipstick casings are a bit bulkier in the purse.



The slick feeling of the case is also a rather chic choice that MAC made in housing this product. For those that have fun touching things, you'll probably find yourself gliding your fingers unknowingly around this thang! Ahem, I speak from experience, hah.

My only gripe would be that the case does look susceptible to dents and dings. The material overall is fairly sturdy, but still thin enough to sustain some non-pretty damage if not carefully handled.



And for the MAC fans that cannot get enough of the MAC logo, you get the double-whammy feature with the Slimshines. On the outer case AND the lipstick revolver! How about that?!

Also included is the snapping mechanism that makes sure your hard earned $14.50 is kept indoors than outside the compound where we all know it's not safe for them to be playing.

TASTE & SMELL
MAC Slimshines seem to cast a sweet yet faint coffee aroma. I don't know if the rest are this way, but the Bare that I have is. When twisting up the lipstick and leaning in closer for an intimate encounter, you capture a whiff of metal because of the case but nonetheless, a very sweet and pleasant smell.

As for tasty lip smacking, I don't notice much taste other than regular saliva. Oooh,... sali-va (Homer Simpson style).

PRODUCT CONSISTENCY
I've heard from many that the MAC Slimshines are a cross between lipstick and a lipgloss and this is very much the case. It glides on smoothly just like cream, rubs nicely between the lips, shines like a gloss, sheer but pigmented, and leaves lips moisturizes without the non-sticky texture. Definitely my kind of lipstick!


PRODUCT WEARABILITY
Everyone and their mom probably knows my lips are no good without
MAC's Lip Conditioner under it. Whether it be rocking the lips in their natural state or riding cozy with lipstick or lipgloss, MAC Slimshines are no exception to the rule. Yes, Lip Conditioner has to hold Bare's hand, but better the "buddy system" when crossing the road than road kill looking lips!

Although the Slimshines are sheerly pigmented, I believe that color is buildable to a lightly-opaque setting. Not truly opaque like cream lipsticks but not like the cheap wannabe pigmented lipsticks that go on like watercolors.

The Slimshines were a huge hit the first time around because of the formulation. But the biggest grumble was the actual wear time. Slimshines are definitely creamy but unlike lipstick, the color doesn't sink into the lips which sometimes helps in wearing the color longer. And because the formula is creamier than most, this means that product transfer is more likely to happen. So if you need that cup of coffee in the morning or snack on those conference danishes, better to apply a Slimshine once breakfast has made it's rounds.

Despite that these gals don't sit still for long, filling in the lips with lipliner beforehand is optional. This will help to keep at least the color of the lipliner on even if the Teriyaki Chicken
during lunchtime gets a little klepto with the Slimshine.

WHAT I LIKE
- The packaging of the product. It's professional looking.
- The moisturizing properties and that it glides on smoothly.
- There are 20 choices in colors to choose from.

WHAT I DISLIKE
- That I can't wear it on it's own. Wearing it with Lip Conditioner under makes it even more susceptible to transferring to anything the lips touch.

OVERALL
I definitely would like to pick up more Slimshine lipsticks. I really enjoy the sheer yet pigmented color payoff and even though I still need to use Lip Conditioner under, I can deal with it in having it's own wear time shorter than others. Being that this is a permanent MAC collection, that puts the anxiety of purchasing them all aside as they'll be available when I'm ready to get them - thank goodness!

YOU'LL PROBABLY LIKE THIS IF...
- you're lips need moisturizing but want something a bit fancier than the normal chapstick or lipbalm.
- you're down with the convenience of a lipstick/lipgloss 2 in 1.
- you resonate with one or more of the 20 available colors.
- you like the packaging.

YOU'LL PROBABLY DISLIKE THIS IF...
- you are looking for a longer lasting color product and don't have the tolerance to reapply.
- the price is out of your comfort range.

Aloha,
Mrs. Lynne

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24 makeovers:

Christiana Divine @ Memoirs of A Shopping Addict said...

I fall under, "the price is out of my comfort range" LOL! Oh the woes of being a poor college student. :P Anywho, I emailed you! Did you get it? :]

Lani said...

wow that was an awesome review! so in-depth and in detail! love it! =)

m said...

Thanks for the great review! I've been debating on whether or not to get one because my local CCO has the ones from last year for $10.50. About how long would you say the lasting power is (no eating/drinking involved)?

I really wish they had brought back the Mattenes! I missed out on that one because I wasn't even into colorful lips back then. Lol, all these beauty blogs are bad!!

yummy411 said...

lol great review lynne! you def are the cnet.com of mac cosmetics! lol your review is so detailed. i think i bought some just cuz i wanted something new and to experience a new mac product, but... i won't be going back for more. i like the color and the feel of it a bit, but i don't like it disappearing by the end of a convo. the lipglasses do better than that! i might be able to pull off the same look with a gloss on and a lipstick over the gloss (for a sheerer app of color). aloha!

Shawnta said...

You answered the exact question I had... could it survive without the lip conditioner? I will probably pass on these since I could probably do the same effect with my trusty lip conditioner, lipstick, and gloss.

mayaari said...

I love your in-depth product reviews! If I hadn't just rediscovered my lipsticks and glosses, I'd be willing to try out those slimshines.

Xuanie said...

very nice product review! very in depth. personally i only have bare in the slimshine line but i just LOVE it! hate that it transfers a lot but its lipstick so what can you really do about that unless you dont eat or drink anything lol. and thats just out of the question.

Vanessa said...

I love the Slimshines! "intimidate" is probably my favorite right now. :)

"Bare" looks gorgeous on you!

Mrs. Lynne, MakeupFix.net said...

Chris I always try to put that in my MAC reviews because I'm always thinking of you, hah.

Lani Hey Lani! Thanks girl :)

Were you able to get your hands on some Slimshines?

May Hi May. I don't know if the formulation is different from the first release, but I'd definitely just go and get them at the CCO. Anything MAC but cheaper, I would get, lol.

Lasting power I'd say is fairly short. You could probably get by with a couple hours but that's about it. You can always line your lips under if you're a bit apprehensive about being bared lipped at any point during the day.

Girl, I wish I got some Mattene also!!! I'm still lemming over Classic Dame! You can still get it online and I believe some stores may still have them, but you have to ask.

Which of the Mattenes were you eyeing?

yummy411 I agree. I think this product is one of those backups in case you don't have anything around. Like everything is missing from my purse except a Slimshine, lol.

Which color did you get mama?

Shawnta Good choice Shawnta. The Slimshine on it's own does fine because of the extra moisturizers in it and it does feel great, but the same effect can be achieved without actually owning it. In a way, it does remind me of Lip Conditioner just in a nice tube and with color.

Whatcha up to this week?

mayaari Thanks hun for the comment. You can definitely achieve the same look using lipstick and gloss. Those two will even last longer than a Slimshine. But in a quick pinch moment, Slimshines are a good grab.

Did you partake in the drugstore discount festivities yet?

Xuanie Thanks Xuanie. I like Bare also! It's such a great color. And I'll put my NYX gloss on top and it just adds a nice tint of rose.

Riight? Like we're going to stop eating or drinking for the sake of lipstick. I'm not that hardcore, lol.

How are you enjoying your new makeup toys?

Mrs. Lynne, MakeupFix.net said...

Nessa Intimidate was the next one I was going to get. When I was swatching them, I kept on looking at Intimidate but opted for Bare to be safe. And even when I was walking to the car that day, I kept staring at Intimidate because I was so drawn to it. One day I"ll go back and get it, lol.

Mrs. Lynne, MakeupFix.net said...

Thushaa I couldn't agree more Thushaa! Did you just join the Slimshine bandwagon this release or were you one of the lucky ones who got in first round?

Seymone said...

No Lynne dont say that I love the slimshines.. Have you tried cocoamour or pleasing because they both wear well with just a lip liner..

Xuanie said...

I am enjoying my new toys!! I just need to find the time to test everything out and all so excited to do that, hauling is just the greatest!

m said...

Been lemming Poise Mattene ever since Stephie used it in one of her looks =) I'm hoping it'll appear in CCOs soon!

Jaclyn Rose said...

hey twin, have you posted a pic with this lippie on? i wanna see what it looks like on me.. err you. =)

Jackie said...

i liked poise a lot on stephie but it just wasn't my color. so i returned it. the only slimshine i have is bare and IT IS SO PRETTY. very sheer and gives me the perfect amount of stain. i always use something under everything. lip balm or w/e always goes first. i use smashbox lip treatment but it's almost finished so i will be trying out something new pretty soon! i'm glad they're going to be a part of their permanent line because i was totally not ready to go buy like 5 more at once! haha. lovely review! aloha!

Krystle said...

Get intimidate, ahora! LOL. Its such a pretty pink and I love the color payoff! I was actually looking at slimshines during the Oscars and I kept looking at the reviews for bare. LOL

Ooo I love the mattenes. That was when I really started to get into MAC and specktra. lol. I own composure (I love it!), and I did own cafe matte for a week, but I found that to be too brown on me. At one point I tried to hunt down flattering, but grrr it was sold out everywhere! I do wish MAC makes the mattenes permanent like they did with the slimshines.

Lani said...

i know you left me a comment and i swear i accepted it but it's nowhere to be found. lol. that's wierd..just stopping in, have a great day!

Distinque said...

Nice review. I don't have a slimshine yet but my Mac counter said I can use my back2mac stuff to get one. Thanks for the swatches too. You and I are about the same skin complexion. Us Hawaii people got a tan going on even when I don't go to the beach:P

christy kimchee. said...

I love how you know which shades of lipstick to buy since you're tan like myself. ): It's so hard for me to get a nice shade that doesn't make me look weird. Kudos to you! :)

Jenn said...

thanks for the comprehensive review girl!! i personally love "moist" lipsticks (bad flaky lips!!), so i'll check this out once it's available here. I'm lemming for Long Stem Rose, Bare and Funshine!

what other colors are you aiming for? :D

Mrs. Lynne, MakeupFix.net said...

Seymone Hey Seymone! I haven't tried those two on yet, but in the swatches I did, they did look very pretty! I think a lot of the Slimshines could do well with lip liner. I only have Bare and think that I can change the color of the lip liner to achieve some versatile looks with it.

Do have you a liking to any of the other MAC lipstick formulas?

Xuanie I love hauling also! Then you get all these new toys then it's like what to do with them, lol. I may admittedly be addicted to the purchasing part of the whole process!

So of your whole haul, do you have any favorites so far?

May I just checked the website and they only have 10 Mattene colors left to choose from. And sadly, Poise is not one of them. Bummer!! But let's hope and cross our fingers that they relaunch the collection with some new colors! Hah.

Were you able to snag any other Mattene lipsticks?

missjacklynrose Lol. What works for you, is like saying it'll work for me too :)

eikcaj Hi eikcaj! I love Bare too. I'm so glad that I got that one to start off with. And MAC was very nice to make it permanent, lol!

the Muse They are nicely formulated, huh? Lovey Dovey is really pretty. Next to Intimidate, I was eyeing that one also!

Did you ever hop on the release the first time it came out?

Krystle I will probably go back and get Intimidate sometime. Since its permanent, I'm not in much of a hurry, lol!

And I do wish that Mattene was perm also. That would be perfect!

Lani Uh oh, that's not good. Well, at least you were able to read it, hah.

Have a great day also Lani!

Distinque You got that right girl. We're the natural tanners for staying indoors most of the time! Lol.

How lucky are you to be able to use B2MAC for Slimshines! I haven't tried the program yet but that's great that your counter will let you do that.

Christy Kim Thanks Christy Kim! I just grabbed a safe color, lol. I wanted some of the pinker ones but was scared that it would, like you said, "look weird", hah!

Did you get any colors from this collection?

crazychick Good choices crazychick! I think you'll enjoy these because the moisturizer in them is really great. You can feel your lips conditioning even if the color has disappeared.

I would really like to get my hands on Long Stem Rose, Intimidate, Funshine, Rock Out, Scant, and Most Wanted. Of course, not in one purchase but eventually, hah.

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