The “soft blur” effect on lips is one of my all time favourite looks. Anything that will give that popsicle stain effect or the wine stain on the lips – I am here for ALL of it. Enter the MAC Cosmetics Powder Kiss Lipstick. These are basically the embodiment of that, without the dryness or intensity that usually comes with the territory. Read on to see some swatches and some brief thoughts!
Overview
Here’s a quick summary of what this lipstick is meant to be used for:
Matte, totally reinvented. Delivering a romantic blur of soft-focus colour, this weightless moisture-matte lipstick was developed to replicate a backstage technique: blending out edges of matte lipstick for a hazy effect. Its groundbreaking formula contains moisture-coated powder pigments that condition and hydrate lips. The result is the zero-shine look of a matte lipstick with the cushiony, lightweight feel of a balm.
Off the bat, I have to say that the lipsticks definitely look more matte in the bullet than on the lips. The lipstick itself in the tube seems to have an outer coating that mattifies it. On the lips, however, while it is more of a matte formula, it is nowhere near as matte as I expected it to be. It feels balmy, the colour pay-off isn’t opaque (which I think is a good thing), and it certainly feels lightweight. I wouldn’t say it’s moisturizing, it feels like a very waxy balm, maybe more silicone-y more than anything.
I have 4 shades: Mull It Over (dirty peach), Stay Curious (muted pinky red), Devoted to Chili (warm brick red), and Burning Love (deepened red wine). The shades aren’t anything ground breaking, and you’ll even see further down the post that I have very similar shades within the MAC lipstick line. Nonetheless, they are beautiful shades with an interesting formula. Something I noticed about that the lightest shade, Mull It Over, it was more patchy in application compared to the other 3 in my collection. Maybe it’s just me, but I find lighter shades in MAC lipstick formulations sometimes have that issue in general.
Swatches
As shown on the lip swatches, the lipsticks have decent colour payoff but are certainly more sheer than the classic MAC lipstick formula. They also blur out really easily, if that’s the look you’re going for. The lipsticks also aren’t ultra matte. As I mentioned earlier, these have more of a silicone feel to them. The best ‘dupe’ for formula would probably be the Colourpop Blur Lux lipsticks.
Compared to other MAC lipsticks in my collection, the MAC Powder Kiss lipsticks are more sheer. They also look just as matte as the other matte lipsticks from the regular line, like Kinda Sexy, Velvet Teddy, Chili, and D for Danger.
Final Thoughts
I like these lipsticks, and I’ll probably end up picking up more shades as the line expands. It’s clear that most of the current shades are very similar to ones that are already part of the original MAC lipstick fleet. If you’re looking for a lightweight, soft matte lipstick for that blurred out look, the MAC Powder Kiss lipsticks are definitely some to consider!
