MAC lipsticks: Relentlessy Red, Captive, Rebel, Darkside

If there is one brand whose lipstick I love it would be MAC. I remember the days when everyone was raving about their favorite colors and you weren’t part of the beauty community if 50% of your make up collection wasn’t MAC. Boy, how times have changed. But MAC lipsticks are still getting a lot of love and I decided to expand my MAC lipstick collection a little bit further, with a few shades that I think are perfect for fall. Meet my new babies.

MAC lipsticks:
Relentlessy Red (Retro Matte)
Captive (Satin)
Rebel (Satin)
Darkside (Amplified)

One reason why I think MAC lipsticks are still some of the best is because their regularly available line of lipsticks is amazing. It features some great shades: from bold to neutral and anything in between. The fact that you can get nearly every single color under the rainbow in an array of finishes is one of the powers of the MAC lipstick collection. At €19.50 a pop, MAC lipsticks aren’t cheap, but do not set you back as much as a Chanel or Dior lipstick.

For my last trip to MAC, I decided to add a few fall shades to my collection. I found out that what was really missing from my MAC lipstick collection were some darker, vampier shades. After lots of swatching, I updated my wishlist and by the end of summer, I decided to bite the bullet. I threw in Relentlessly Red, not a very fall shade, but perfect for those nice bright indian summer days.

Relentlessy Red (Retro Matte)

Relentlessly Red was one of those shades that I have been umming and arring about for the past year. I love the color of this: it is a pink toned red that is very brightening and the face. In certain lights it looks more fuchsia and in others it looks more red. What had me doubting this purchase was the finish. I have the Ririwoo lipstick from the Rihanna collection which is also in a Retro Matte finish. Unfortunately that lipstick bleeds on me like there is no tomorrow and I was afraid that this would be the same. Luckily for me that is not the case with Relentlessly Red.

Captive (Satin)

My next choice went between Craving and Captive. The difference between the two? Not so much the shade, but the finish. Craving is an Amplified lipstick and Captive is a Satin. I ended up going with Captive in the end, because I am totally in love with MAC’s Satin finish lipsticks. They are incredibly creamy and comfortable on the lips, yet have an almost matte finish, which means they last a long time. Captive is the same and a great plum toned neutral: a fall staple sure thing.

Rebel (Satin)

After falling in love with the Satin finishes, I knew that Rebel would have to be added to my lipstick collection. It was just a matter of deciding when to buy it. Rebel is a bright purple berry shade with a pink undertone. It is very much in your face and a stunning color to wear with a smokey eye for a more vampy look, or with a very neutral eye and have the lipstick be the eyecatcher of your make up. This makes it a great allrounder. I was wearing this lipstick in last week’s video.

Darkside (Amplified)

Another shade on my wishlist was a deep dark vampy red. I had been going back and forth between Sin, Diva, and Darkside. At first I opted for Sin (which I bought, but have yet to review), which is a matte and very dark and intense shade. It is darker and has more of a brown undertone than Darkside does. So I went back and compared Darkside and Diva: Diva is no more than the matte version of Darkside and since I already own a matte dark vampy red (namely Sin), I decided to go with Darkside instead. It is more like a true dark red, with just a hint of sheen to it. Very reminiscent of the NARS Audacious lipsticks.

Relentlessly Red, Captive, Rebel, Darkside

Swatched you can clearly see that each shade is nice and intense in its pigmentation. You can also clearly see the differences between the different finishes. Relentlessly Red looks drier than all the others and Darkside has a touch more sheen to it than Captive and Rebel. My favorite shade here has to be Rebel. I don’t have anything like it in my entire lipstick collection and it looks surprisingly flattering on.

Relentlessly Red, Captive
Rebel, Darkside

On my lips each lipstick performs nicely. Relentlessly Red is the most difficult to apply: it tugs at your lips, but I don’t find it too bothersome. It does emphasize some dry patches, so a good scrub and lipbalm treatment before wearing this is advised. The only lipstick that applied a bit patchy was Darkside: it is barely noticeable from a distance, plus it wasn’t easy to see in real life. It is mostly the camera that is picking up on it.

Relentlessly Red, Captive

Rebel, Darkside

My love for MAC lipsticks just knows no bounds, but I do feel that with this and the other lipsticks I still need to review, I pretty much have a bit of everything. In short, I feel that my MAC lipstick collection is now well-rounded with a bit of everything in it: from bold vampy darks to flattering neutrals. Be on the look out, because if I have enough time one of these months, I will make sure to do a MAC lipswatch video.

What is your favorite MAC lipstick?