Thursday 12 March 2015

MAC High Energy & Lady Danger | Review

Do you ever head into a store with very specific intentions, only to leave with something completely different? Well, that seems to be all I ever do. True to form, I found myself wandering over to the MAC counter in Selfridges, eyes glazing over everything I'd seen a million times before.

My standard routine at the lipstick section is to pick out the ones I already own, swatch a few and walk away, but I was determined to leave with something. The only thing that managed to grab my attention was Lady Danger. Having recently discovered how life-changing a good lip liner can be, I opted for the pro longwear lip liner in High Energy to match, and without further ado made my way to the till.


I've never really been a red lipstick girl, with a good 3 years of Russian Red being my only shade (I'm ashamed to admit that even that has been used maybe 10 times maximum). I've just always tended to stick to a safe pale pink for every occasion. How boring! But, no more. I have ventured into the surprisingly wearable world of orange-red, and my only regret is not doing so sooner.

Left-right: High Energy, Lady Danger
Starting with High Energy, the liner applied so easily with a lovely formulation, coming out matte with an incredible staying power - as is to be expected from a pro longwear product - making it the perfect base. After swatching, the liner would only budge for some cleansing oil, compared to the lipstick which could mostly be wiped away with some micellar water and a soft cotton pad. When it comes to lip liner, the longer-lasting the better, so this is a real winner for me.


As you can see, the two products look pretty similar when placed next to each other. However, High Energy is slightly less orange once swatched, and could definitely be worn alone as something that's a little less vibrant. Together, they're the perfect combination.


As for the lipstick, I'm pretty sure I'm late to the party with this one, so there's probably nothing I can say that hasn't been said before. Lady Danger is so pigmented and eye-catching, and despite being a matte finish does not feel drying on the lips at all. My lips are naturally quite dry, no matter what time of year it is, so this is a welcome change for me. I suspect this is probably due to wearing the liner and lipstick at the same time, but in any case I consider it to be a substantial feat.

My initial aversion to red lipstick stemmed from the fear of drawing attention to something that might not particularly suit me, but I've been pleasantly surprised by this. Having more tanned friends who are also big fans of this shade, I can safely say it suits everyone I've ever seen it on, and in my (unbiased) opinion it looks especially striking against white pale skin.



This lipstick has definitely inspired me to be more adventurous when it comes to lip colour, and I'm looking forward to getting a lot of wear out of something I would have been completely opposed to pre-Lady Danger.


Overall verdict:
  • High Energy 8/10 for its staying power and matte finish
  • Lady Danger 9/10 for being so nice it changed my whole outlook on reds



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