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| MAC Patentpolish Lip Pencils |
As a fan of Chubby Stick style lip balm crayons and pencils, I have been looking forward to the release of the MAC Patentpolish Lip Pencils. Recently I have found myself wearing balm sticks more and more and they are an especially great product for summer time.
There are many different types of these on the market now ranging from balm only Clinique Chubby Sticks, to the Revlon Kissable Balm Stains (which as the name suggests contain a stain AND balm), the Revlon Matte Balms (no stain - I reviewed these here) and similar offerings from Bourjois and Rimmel - and these are just the ones I have tried. When MAC released the Patentpolish Lip Pencils I really wanted see how they compared to other brands, rather than because they were a radically new type of product (I am as you know by now a bit of a MAC junkie).
The MAC Patentpolish Lip Pencils come in 12 shades ranging from neutrals to vibrant pinks through to plums. I ordered 4 of them from House of Fraser having looked at swatches online - again the frustration of living miles away from the nearest MAC counter means I have to guess which shade to buy. Still, I'm glad I did. These are a limited edition and won't stick around for long so I wanted to get them whilst I still could.
I bought (L-R in the photo above) Teen Dream (orange), Revved Up (a neutral peach), Go for girlie (a bright yellow toned pink) and Kittenish (a cool mauve pink). The pencils come in the usual black MAC packaging but with a slight glitter to it. They are twist up and so don't need sharpening and the balm has the trademark MAC vanilla scent to it. The actual bullet of colour has a rounded end which I still found easy to apply despite the lack of a angled point.
The colour applies sheer - which is the nature of balm pencils. Don't expect bold, opaque one-swipe colour payoff from these or you will be disappointed. But I find sheer lip products a great way to wear brighter colours, especially for every day wear. Since I have been back working in an office I have been loving lip crayon type products - I can sneakily and easily reapply them at my desk without having to find a mirror which I would need for a proper lipstick.
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| MAC Patentpolish Lip Pencils - top-bottom: Teen Dream, Revved Up, Go for Girlie & Kittenish |
The Patentpolish Lip Pencils feel really nice, glossy and moisturising on your lips and not sticky like a lipgloss. Because they are sheer they need to be reapplied every couple of hours as they don't have huge staying power. This is more of an issue for the paler shades. The formula is just a balm and does not have a stain in it like the Revlon Kissable Balm Stains (which I am happy about because I have had strange experiences with balm stains where the stain is a generic bright pink despite the original balm being more a neutral colour - not good!).
Compared to the MAC Huggable Lipcolours (which I reviewed here and here) the Patentpolish Lip Pencils are more sheer and feel less gel-like on the lips. I loved the Huggable Lipcolours and liked the gel feel, which does give them better lasting power than the Patentpolish Lip Pencils. Although the Patentpolish Lip Pencils are easier to apply as the more 'clingy' formula of the Huggable Lipcolours tends to drag your lips when you first apply (not unpleasantly though).
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| MAC Patentpolish Lip Pencil in Teen Dream colour comparison. Top-bottom: MAC Teen Dream, MAC Vegas Volt, Bourjois Colour Boost Orange Punch, Revlon Kissable Balm Stain Rendezvous & Revlon Matte Balm Mischievous |
Teen Dream is an orange shade. I am always drawn to peaches and oranges (especially for spring/summer) as they suit my complexion best. I was initially cautious of this shade in case it was too bright for me and because I already have many similar products in this shade. I can only wear an opaque bright orange for a night out but a softer shade is great for everyday. Teen Dream is probably my favourite Patentpolish Lip Pencil. It is quite sheer and even with several layers is not too bright.
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| MAC Patentpolish Lip Pencil in Revved Up colour comparison. Top-bottom: MAC Revved Up, MAC Fresh & Frisky, MAC Shy Girl, & L'Oreal L'Extraordinaire Nude Vibrato |
Revved Up was the first shade I was drawn to as it is a pretty, neutral peach colour. It is very similar to my favourite MAC Huggable Lipcolour in Fresh & Frisky (review here), but it is more sheer. I am a bit disapppointed with this shade as it doesn't really show up on me at all. There is an even more nude shade in the Patentpolish collection called Innocent which I am pleased I didn't go for as this would basically be just be a colourless lip balm for me.
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| MAC Patentpolish Lip Pencil in Go for Girlie colour comparison. Top-bottom: Rimmel Coral Britannia, MAC Go for Girlie, Rimmel Colour Rush Give Me a Cuddle & Bourjois Colour Boost Peach on the Beach |
Go for girlie is a yellow toned pink which reminded me of the colour I was searching for in this post. It is quite bright but because of the sheer formula I am brave enough to wear it. It is a warm toned colour and will be lovely in the summer.
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| MAC Patentpolish Lip Pencil in Kittenish colour comparison. Top-bottom: MAC Kittenish, Revlon Matte Balm Elusive, MAC Please Me, MAC Plumful & Revlon Kissable Balm Stain Honey |
Kittenish is a cool toned pink which I chose because the swatches online looked less blue toned than it is in the flesh. I am always hesitant of blue toned pinks as I can't always pull them off. Kittenish has a definite mauve vibe going on and oddly I have found that I like it better on grey cloudy days, but when the sun shines it feels too cool toned for me... In the photos I took it looks fine though, so perhaps I am just being a little paranoid. There is a similar shade in the collection called Spontaneous which looked good, but reviews said it was just a darker version of Kittenish and that you didn't need both (I still wish I had picked it up though. Knowing me, I still might...).
Overall I like these. They aren't radically different to other lip balm pencils and crayons, but I am pleased to add the MAC version to my collection. These are likely to sell out fast, but there will be some re-releases of Innocent (nude) and Patentpink (cool toned barbie pink) in the forthcoming MAC Osbournes collection. The Sharon Osbourne collection contains a caramel and a deep rose colour too which look amazing so I will definitely try and get hold of these when they launch later in the summer.
The MAC Patentpolish Lip Pencils are £14.50 - House of Fraser have stock of most shades HERE otherwise try Debenhams HERE.
You can also pick up the the Bourjois Colourboosts and the Rimmel Colour Rushes at Look Fantastic HERE and the Revlon Balms and the L'Oreal L'extraordinaire (which I reviewed here) at Boots HERE.
Which are your favourites shades?
MAC Monday is my weekly celebration of my favourite MAC products! Here are my previous MAC Monday posts:
MAC 217 Blending Brush HERE
MAC Greenluxe Veluxe Pearlfusion Eyeshadow Palette HERE
MAC Pressed Blot Powder HERE
MAC Swiss Chocolate Eyeshadow HERE
MAC Chroma Copper Cobra Nail Polish HERE
MAC 210 Precise Eye Liner Brush HERE
MAC Kinda Sexy Lipstick HERE
MAC Warm Neutral Eyeshadow Palette HERE
MAC Mineralize Blush in Petal Power HERE
MAC Mineralize Skinfinish in Stereo Rose HERE
MAC Cremesheen Glass in Deelight HERE
MAC Club Eyeshadow HERE
MAC Prep+Prime Skin HERE
MAC Fanfare Lipstick HERE
MAC Huggable Lipcolour in Out For Passion HERE
MAC Soft Brown Eyeshadow HERE
MAC Pro Longwear Paint Pot in Let's Skate HERE
MAC Cranberry Eyeshadow HERE
MAC Huggable Lip Colours in Fresh and Frisky HERE
MAC Brick-O-La Lipstick HERE
MAC Divine Night Fluidline in Deliciously Rich HERE
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