Did anybody else notice the new Cremesheen Pearl collection of lipsticks and lip glosses, that appeared out of nowhere on MAC website the other day? I’m not one to swoon over the latest MAC releases, but even I was smitten by the beauty of these colors and picked up two to try – Koi Coral & Little Buddha.
Cremesheen Pearl, the shimmering twist on a M∙A∙C classic, is back with a brilliant bang. Cremesheen Lipstick and Cremesheen Glass, both infused with pearlized pigments, are available in 15 new Asian-inspired shades. Prominent pinks, radiant reds and contemporary corals glow strikingly against all skin tones with a finish that leaves lips luminous and decidedly lacquered. With foolproof colour coverage and gleamingly creamy gloss, this eye-catching update to Cremesheen is the new yin and yang for your lips.
Koi Coral was the first color I took note of when I saw the promo images, so I added it to my wishlist because I just have to have all the nudes 🙂 It’s described as a pale peachy nude, but what MAC doesn’t mention is the glorious pink and orange microglitter that is also present in the formula. The glitter is practically invisible when applied fresh from the bullet, but it stays on the lips as the color wears off, and eventually you will be left with nothing but glittery flakes if you don’t usually touch up your lippies midday.
P.S.: Unfortunately, as soon as I twisted up the bullet to swatch it, I noticed that it was slightly tilted. When I ran it across my skin, the tip broke off and fell on the table 🙁
Little Buddha is described as a bright peachy pink, and to me it looks even a little shrimpy. The color has neutral undertones, but it leans a little cooler than I anticipated, while I normally prefer warmer shades, so I don’t particularly like how it looks on me [selfies will be added to the post a little later, I have a mountain of things to do right now and no time for editing them]. The color wears off gradually and evenly, and leaves a pretty bright pink stain behind, which makes the lips look nice even if you forget to reapply.
The bullet was nice and sturdy, and I didn’t experience any problems with it like I did with Koi Coral, so it has to be something with the softness of that bullet, as it did seem unusually buttery in comparison when I swatched them side by side.
Cremesheen Pearl formula is supposed to provide a touch of sheer pigment, but if your lips are normally pale, be prepared for some bright colors! Little Buddha in particular looks very very pink on me, for example. For comparison, check out this review, where Karen MBB posted a couple lip swatches and they look pretty sheer on her naturally pigmented lips.
Both of these lipsticks are unforgiving to any dryness or chapped spots, as they definitely accentuated all of mine. The color goes on a little patchy and evens out slightly with consecutive strokes. And in case you’re curious about the fragrance, the formula has a typical MAC vanilla frosting scent which is fairly strong but not overwhelming.
The wear time on me is roughly 2-3 hours, without eating or drinking, which is about right for sheer buttery lipsticks. I get about the same result with MAC’s Lustre finishes, which are also sheer and moisturizing, but unlike Cremesheen Pearl they don’t make my lips look drier than they are.
Swatch reference: My skin tone is between MAC NC15 and NW15 with yellowish hue and neutral undertones. Sometimes I can wear NW20 in the Summer. I thought this would be useful to know, since all screens show colors differently, and I also don’t have a studio setup with consistent lighting. Hope that helps!
Overall, I don’t think I’m a big fan of this particular release. Yes, the colors are beautiful, and I love the idea of Japan-inspired collection, but there were all these little things that made my experience not as good as it should have been. Koi Coral contains glitter that stays on the lips as the color fades, and it’s not mentioned on the site. If I’d known that, I probably wouldn’t have ordered this one and went for another nude shade instead [Nippon]. Also, the bullet felt very soft, which was probably the reason why it broke, so it seems like a manufacturing defect or just an odd formulation, or maybe both. And like I said, these shades are unforgiving to any dryness on the lips, showcasing all the little dry spots and gathering in them. For now, I think I’ll stick to my fave Lustres if I want to grab another sheer MAC lipstick 🙂
These colors are now permanent, and will be available at MAC stores and counters on July 23rd.
WHERE TO BUY: $17 USD for 0.01 oz. Available online at Nordstrom, Macy’s, MAC.
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The colours are pretty, to be sure I think I’d like Little Buddha for myself. I would e-mail MAC about my broken lipstick, tell them what happened and ask for a replacement or credit for a new shade. A brand new lipstick breaking under normal use is no bueno.
Yeah, a brand new lippie breaking off after one use would make anyone sad. I emailed, and hopefully they will be understanding.
I adore the shades but if they accentuate dryness on you, they won’t work for me either. Too bad coz they’re so pretty
And my lips aren’t even that dry! I’m hesitant to post lip swatches, because it just looks awful.
These shades are beautiful! Must haves for all!
They’re gorgeous indeed 🙂 I had a hard time picking two from the new collection, since all of them are so pretty.
What pretty, wearable shades! Pity about the breakage, though. Even in the Summer, MAC lippies usually stay put.
It has to be some kind of a defect, I have other MAC lippies and none of them ever broke like that.
I love them both!! I would probably have cried if mine broke, haha.
I almost did, girl!
I love both shades, it’s so disappointing about the formula. I notice a lot of MAC lipsticks leave behind glitter with no color.
I was lucky enough to buy colors that didn’t seem to have any glitter, so finding it in this one was a huge surprise.
I was looking for an older cremesheen tonight that I had missed and saw they just have these new pearl ones. The colors of yours are beautiful but the glitter would drive me nuts.
I am not a fan of glitter in my lipsticks, so that was an unpleasant surprise.
These are so pretty! I’ve never tried lipsticks from Mac.
They’re definitely gorgeous! Tell you what, I honestly don’t think they’re much better than Milani Color Statement, so you aren’t really missing out. I bought these mostly for the shades themselves.
Koi Coral is so pretty, but I’m not sure that outweighs the cons. I hope that MAC will replace it for you – I would be so sad to not be able to use their pretty bullets!
Hopefully they will, since their return policy only allows for returning/exchanging of unused items, and they could just blame it all on me that I broke the bullet. We’ll see what they say,
Yum to Koi Coral! That one looks like it’s right up my alley! I have one MAC lippie – and I try to use it sparingly haha
Haha, yeah, for some reason MAC lipsticks always feel like a rare commodity 🙂 I love my other MAC lippies, and I also try not to use them much.
Bummer on glitters and patchiness, I don’t like ’em on lippies. No bueno for sure
I was very disappointed that they didn’t work for me, because the colors are to die for 🙁
I like the colors, but I think the formula does not sound good 🙁
The colors are drop dead gorgeous, I had such high hopes! Bummer that the formula doesn’t work for me, so I’ll stick with MAC Lustres or with new sheers from Colourpop. Finally tried a few yesterday, and they’re fantastic!
I love these colors but I’m not loving the sound of the formulas. Damn 🙁
Yeah, I definitely recommend skipping these. Just read Temptalia’s review today, and looks like she had a similar negative experience with Koi Coral sans the broken bullet.
I wish I had read this before I ordered it last night. : (
Can’t blame you girl, after all MAC is known for their lipsticks, and the colors are drop dead gorgeous. I was itching to grab more, too, but now I’m glad I didn’t.