Last night, when I returned home from work, I was greeted by a lovely package from MAC. My order finally arrived...well part of it anyway (more on that subject later). Today, I decided to play around with this retro matte lipstick and see how it compares to a regular 'ol matte. It's taken me a while to come around to matte lips and I think it's partly due to how dry my lips are, normally. But...enough blabber...let's get to the pics!
RiRi Woo has been compared to Ruby Woo (a color that I don't own). I never felt much pressure to run out and get Ruby Woo, because I always felt like I could "Back 2 MAC" for it. When I heard that the formulation of RiRi Woo was a bit different than Ruby Woo, I felt compelled to jump on the opportunity. When RiRi Woo first launched, last month, I deliberately passed; however, while visiting the MAC's site, for the purpose of purchasing more Face and Body foundation, I gave RiRi Woo a second thought.
I did some comparison swatches to other matte or matte-ish red lip colors that I have in my collection. Unfortunately, I was not able to capture an image that really showed the difference in shades/hues. In other words, I guess there were only nuance differences with the exception of "Cockney" because that was the only non-matte lipstick in the line-up. I have to say though, with the NYX shades, the difference in color is remarkable and it baffles me why that wouldn't come across on camera.
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| L-R: NYX Amsterdam, NYX Monte Carlo, MAC Cockney LE, MAC Ronnie Red LE, MAC RiRi Woo LE (In-Doors/Flash) |
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| L-R: NYX Amsterdam, NYX Monte Carlo, MAC Cockney LE, MAC Ronnie Red LE, MAC RiRi Woo LE (Outside/Sunlight) |
If I had to describe the colors, I would as follows:
- Amsterdam: soft, tomato red (soft matte lip cream)
- Monte Carlo: deep wine red (soft matte lip cream)
- Cockney: true red/yellow based red with sparse, micro glitter flecks (lustre finish)
- Ronnie Red: berry red (matte)
- RiRi Woo: deep red (retro matte)
RiRi Woo is definitely very matte. Ronnie Red (which is a matte) gives a much more noticeable sheen compared to RiRi Woo (the retro matte). Although I did not wear RiRi Woo for very long, it did not feel drying. My lips were pretty thankful.
There were two other lipstick colors promoted with June's relaunch of RiRi loves/hearts MAC, "RiRi Boy" and "Heaux". As I mentioned in a previous post, I ordered RiRi Boy, which is described as a "matte vivid lavender". It's being compared to MAC's Up The Amp (which I also do not own). I received an e-mail from MAC that RiRi Boy is on back order, but the website has it listed as "SOLD OUT". The third lipstick, Heaux, is described as a "matte berry". From many of the swatches that I've managed to find, it looks like a deeper and darker version of RiRi Woo and not at all what the swatch on the MAC site puts across.
The last two items featured with this collection were a blush/bronzer duo in "Hibiscus Kiss" and lustre drops in "Barbados Girl". Lustre drops can be a fun addition to makeup during the warmer months. I currently have MAC's lustre drops in "Bronze Hero", "Sun Rush", and "Pink Rebel" (all of them are limited edition shades, but they seem to be re-promoted regularly enough). Although I can't be sure, but "Barbados Girl" comes across as a mix between "Bronze Hero" and "Pink Rebel".
I think MAC must have heard their public, because the popular shade, RiRi Woo (which originally sold out in three hours) still remains on the site (at least while I'm typing this sentence). So, if you're thinking about getting it, or missed it the first go-round, you may not want to contemplate for very long.
