MAC Retro Matte collection (September 12, 2013)

[MissTT]

You're right. It is partially a hydration issue. I don't tend to drink enough water and certainly can't take a lot of breaks when I'm working a long shift on the sales floor. One day I tried to take a few more drink breaks and it did help some. We're just too busy for me to leave the floor as often as I would need to, kwim? I choose mattes for the long wear, but it looks like that's not a realistic option for me when I don't have access to water. (It's not that bad when I'm working in my office where I try to stay hydrated.) Hopefully I'm not reduced to wearing lip balm.

 

[butterflyeyes]

You're right. It is partially a hydration issue. I don't tend to drink enough water and certainly can't take a lot of breaks when I'm working a long shift on the sales floor. One day I tried to take a few more drink breaks and it did help some. We're just too busy for me to leave the floor as often as I would need to, kwim? I choose mattes for the long wear, but it looks like that's not a realistic option for me when I don't have access to water. (It's not that bad when I'm working in my office where I try to stay hydrated.) Hopefully I'm not reduced to wearing lip balm.

The struggle is real! My issue is simply that I just don't like to drink water lol. I know it. I know I need to. I just don't like to. So I really have to force myself to. I'm not as great about stretching it out throughout the day so I tend to do binge drinks lol. It's better than skipping it all together but even then I sometimes skip out on that if I don't do my morning cram and midday cram. I can't sip on a bottle like some people can. If I don't go ahead and just drink it then that same bottle will sit there all day!

 

[vaisforluvrs]

Not to be funny or anything but are you much of a water drinker throughout the day on a regular basis? I ask this because it seems like those that are naturally more hydrated tend to have better success with their mattes long term than those that bodies are a bit more "thirsty". Any type of true matte is going to expose your lips lack of hydration after a few hours no matter how well you hydrate with lip balm prior to application. Just something to consider. I know my lips will quickly tell on me when I've been slacking on my water hydrating via my lipstick after a few hours...and as much as I want to blame the particular formula or brand of lipstick I know the truth because I know that I don't always hydrate the way that I truly should. Not saying that this is everyone's issue or even yours. Just pointing out a possibility that you may want to consider. Either way, sorry it doesn't work for you. I think we've all had matte frustrations before so I completely understand. They can look gorgeous on others but be a complete fail on us!

I drink water like a fish (other than my 1 cup of coffee, it's pretty much all I drink) and I still get very dehydrated from any lipstick (matte or otherwise)

They don't get crusty, but they do get dry.

 

[Addict4MAC]

The struggle is real! My issue is simply that I just don't like to drink water lol. I know it. I know I need to. I just don't like to. So I really have to force myself to. I'm not as great about stretching it out throughout the day so I tend to do binge drinks lol. It's better than skipping it all together but even then I sometimes skip out on that if I don't do my morning cram and midday cram. I can't sip on a bottle like some people can. If I don't go ahead and just drink it then that same bottle will sit there all day!

This is me

Water makes me use the restroom a lot so I don't like drinking it. I mean who wants to keep going to the restroom all day?

 

[Lipstickjunkii]

Not to be funny or anything but are you much of a water drinker throughout the day on a regular basis? I ask this because it seems like those that are naturally more hydrated tend to have better success with their mattes long term than those that bodies are a bit more "thirsty". Any type of true matte is going to expose your lips lack of hydration after a few hours no matter how well you hydrate with lip balm prior to application. Just something to consider. I know my lips will quickly tell on me when I've been slacking on my water hydrating via my lipstick after a few hours...and as much as I want to blame the particular formula or brand of lipstick I know the truth because I know that I don't always hydrate the way that I truly should. Not saying that this is everyone's issue or even yours. Just pointing out a possibility that you may want to consider. Either way, sorry it doesn't work for you. I think we've all had matte frustrations before so I completely understand. They can look gorgeous on others but be a complete fail on us!

Wow very good to know. I hardly ever drink water, I'm so terrible. I drink a lot of soda and sugary drinks and have noticed recently that my lips are very dry. After a 4 hour wear of any type of lipstick they are already dry. I got the Jack black lip balm but it hasn't worked miracles on me like everybody says it does. Definitely gotta get to drinking water for my lips and my skin.

 

[erine1881]

The struggle is real! My issue is simply that I just don't like to drink water lol. I know it. I know I need to. I just don't like to. So I really have to force myself to. I'm not as great about stretching it out throughout the day so I tend to do binge drinks lol. It's better than skipping it all together but even then I sometimes skip out on that if I don't do my morning cram and midday cram. I can't sip on a bottle like some people can. If I don't go ahead and just drink it then that same bottle will sit there all day!

Get those flavoured powders to add to your water? I've been drinking water like crazy lately, but I have been getting back into making Starbucks's raspberry passion tea lemonade at home. Both the passion tea and the lemonade are made from water, so I'm getting my water intake that way, but it's flavoured (and I'm saving money!).

This is me :haha: Water makes me use the restroom a lot so I don't like drinking it. I mean who wants to keep going to the restroom all day?

I've got a medical condition that makes me go all the time anyway, so I'm screwed either way :dunno: water and my starbucks tea are pretty much my only drink options

 

[Addict4MAC]

I've got a medical condition that makes me go all the time anyway, so I'm screwed either way

water and my starbucks tea are pretty much my only drink options

I love the passion iced tea lemonades. You make them from home? Do share.

Oh, I wasn't trying to be offensive.

 

[MissTT]

Quote: Originally Posted by Addict4MAC
This is me

Water makes me use the restroom a lot so I don't like drinking it. I mean who wants to keep going to the restroom all day?


Preach! This is why I hate drinking fluids. I have been pushing myself to drink more water during the day in the last year. We have a water cooler at work so I try to get a cup at least 3x/day which is a lot for me. It's kept my tension headaches away and my eyes feel better. Like BFE, my drinks just sit there all day. I can't finish a whole soda. I don't really finish any drinks. When I go out to eat I'll only order water or sweet tea. Last night I had a beer though and it was there for our entire meal including appetizers. I didn't even finish the thing. The only liquid I can easily finish is chocolate milk and I actually chug that. It's so weird. People keep recommending flavorings like Erin said, but I don't really care for anything I've ever tried. I actually don't like the way most drinks taste. I love chocolate milk and sweet tea. I occasionally order orange/grape soda or Schwepps if I see it somewhere, but that's rare. Usually I just have water, but then I don't even drink it. I don't like sports drinks, Crystal Light, hot tea or most sodas.

 

[erine1881]

I love the passion iced tea lemonades. You make them from home? Do share. Oh, I wasn't trying to be offensive.

No offense taken at all hun! I've been dealing with it for almost 10 years now (wow!), it's really a joke now. I have a SUPER restricted diet and even have a nerve stimulator implant and everything! My sister calls me a robot! As for the tea, i buy the Tazo brand (what starbucks uses) iced passion tea bags from Starbucks's site, but you can also get them at target and other grocery stores. Then i just make it according to the directions (steep it longer for stronger flavour) and mix it 50/50 with any lemonade brand you choose. You can just drink it like that, but i like the raspberry passion tea lemonade, so i also buy the raspberry syrup from starbucks, either from their store (if they have enough in stock to sell) or online when i buy the tea. Voila! I make it a gallon at a time and it'll last me at most a week. It ends up costing about $2-$3 a gallon (with the tea, lemonade, and syrup) vs $5 per treinta i used to get.

 

[martiangurll]

I really don't think drinking water helps with these mattes or with dry skin in general, just my opinion. Products work for me or don't and has little to do with my hydration status. I think some of these mattes retro or otherwise are super drying and some work perfectly. RH makes my lips look like I'm a thousands of years old mummy for reals. I think the only fix is to layer with a lipstick that balances out the formula like a lustre or a cremesheen. Of course then it won't stain or last hours and hours, but this to me is preferred to looking like mummy dust. IDK, sometimes I don't really want to work that hard to make something work, but the color in RH is really pretty so I decided to keep it. If you really hate it, swap it back for something you LOVE. If the product does not work for you, I think returning it is completely reasonable. Now, all these folks that buy something and return it because they don't like the color or have something else close to it, is abusing the system a little in my opinion but returning a product because it doesn't work for you, looks really off on your coloring although you tried to make it work, all that, it needs to go back and MAC needs to work harder to get the formula right next time before it sells. Just my opinion, don't throw rocks at me if you are one of those folks that return something once a week, if MAC allows it, its your right!

 

[liba]

The struggle is real! My issue is simply that I just don't like to drink water lol. I know it. I know I need to. I just don't like to. So I really have to force myself to. I'm not as great about stretching it out throughout the day so I tend to do binge drinks lol. It's better than skipping it all together but even then I sometimes skip out on that if I don't do my morning cram and midday cram. I can't sip on a bottle like some people can. If I don't go ahead and just drink it then that same bottle will sit there all day!

Actually, from a Chinese medicine perspective, it's best to power-load your water first thing when you wake up - chug as much as you can hold, until you're almost ready to burst. Then you can taper your water drinking off through the day. It's not considered healthy to drink lots of water at night, because Chinese medicine feels like at this time, your kidneys are trying to rest, so you don't want to fight with their recuperation time of the day.

I do have to agree that staying hydrated isn't the only thing that will affect your lip texture, though. Allergies, sleep issues where you're sleeping with your mouth open, hormonal shifts all play a big role. My personal experience is also that a lot of lip balms wind up being too harsh on the lips. Rather than actually helping, they wind up hurting - just too many chemicals to potentially have a reaction to. I actually have had lip balms that are rougher on my lips than my toughest lipsticks.

I haven't had much trouble with any of these retro mattes, either applying them or them staying looking OK. They definitely all need regular reapplication, more than some creamier lipsticks, surprisingly. TTT is the main one that was a pain in the neck and I bought some Prep & Prime Lip on everyone's suggestion and it fixed it all right up immediately. I was really impressed with it and am going to be using it a lot more regularly. My usual attitude is just skip all the prep stuff unless I specifically know there's going to be a lot of eating and drinking, but P&PL is some handy stuff!

 

[Addict4MAC]

Preach! This is why I hate drinking fluids. I have been pushing myself to drink more water during the day in the last year. We have a water cooler at work so I try to get a cup at least 3x/day which is a lot for me. It's kept my tension headaches away and my eyes feel better. Like BFE, my drinks just sit there all day. I can't finish a whole soda. I don't really finish any drinks. When I go out to eat I'll only order water or sweet tea. Last night I had a beer though and it was there for our entire meal including appetizers. I didn't even finish the thing. The only liquid I can easily finish is chocolate milk and I actually chug that. It's so weird. People keep recommending flavorings like Erin said, but I don't really care for anything I've ever tried. I actually don't like the way most drinks taste. I love chocolate milk and sweet tea. I occasionally order orange/grape soda or Schwepps if I see it somewhere, but that's rare. Usually I just have water, but then I don't even drink it. I don't like sports drinks, Crystal Light, hot tea or most sodas.
I can never finish my drinks either. I really just drink to quench my thirst while I'm eating, if that makes sense.

Quote: Originally Posted by erine1881

No offense taken at all hun! I've been dealing with it for almost 10 years now (wow!), it's really a joke now. I have a SUPER restricted diet and even have a nerve stimulator implant and everything! My sister calls me a robot!

As for the tea, i buy the Tazo brand (what starbucks uses) iced passion tea bags from Starbucks's site, but you can also get them at target and other grocery stores. Then i just make it according to the directions (steep it longer for stronger flavour) and mix it 50/50 with any lemonade brand you choose. You can just drink it like that, but i like the raspberry passion tea lemonade, so i also buy the raspberry syrup from starbucks, either from their store (if they have enough in stock to sell) or online when i buy the tea. Voila! I make it a gallon at a time and it'll last me at most a week. It ends up costing about $2-$3 a gallon (with the tea, lemonade, and syrup) vs $5 per treinta i used to get.

Thanks for sharing. I will grab some next time I'm at Target or Starbucks.

 

[butterflyeyes]

Wow very good to know. I hardly ever drink water, I'm so terrible. I drink a lot of soda and sugary drinks and have noticed recently that my lips are very dry. After a 4 hour wear of any type of lipstick they are already dry. I got the Jack black lip balm but it hasn't worked miracles on me like everybody says it does. Definitely gotta get to drinking water for my lips and my skin.

JB is great if you don't have some underlying issue that it can't work with but for a lot of people including myself it is pretty amazing. Not saying the water thing will be your answer but it won't hurt you. The worse thing that will happen is you'll have to go to the potty a few more times lol.

Get those flavoured powders to add to your water? I've been drinking water like crazy lately, but I have been getting back into making Starbucks's raspberry passion tea lemonade at home. Both the passion tea and the lemonade are made from water, so I'm getting my water intake that way, but it's flavoured (and I'm saving money!). I've got a medical condition that makes me go all the time anyway, so I'm screwed either way :dunno: water and my starbucks tea are pretty much my only drink options

I really need to go back to using flavored mixes. I used to do it but I think I did it so much that I got sick of it lol. At one point I had so many different kinds in my pantry that I ended up throwing them away! It was a case of going all in on that phase...where I was on a full fledge water drinking kick and was flavoring it with teas and juice mixers and sports drink mixers...everything! Pretty sure I was drinking everything BUT unflavored water lol. And to those that are drinking water sufficiently and still having trouble...never meant to imply that water was everyone's issue. Pretty sure I said that this may not be the case but it's something worth considering. All kinds of things could be the culprit. An ingredient. Hormones. Diet. Etc. Water is an easy thing to try and see if it helps. If it doesn't you've lost nothing and you've caused yourself no harm other than a few extra potty runs at the most. But if you just really feel like these or any other product just won't work for you and it's the product then by all means, return it. It's your money and you have the right to use the return policy in the manner that it is meant to be used. These are just suggestions, not guaranteed fixes. Would love for everyone to enjoy what they got but that just doesn't happen. And if you don't want the products to go in the makeup graveyard that MAC will put them in then list them in the clearance bin. I'm sure someone will gladly give them a loving home.

 

[MissTT]

I'm sure hydration would help me, but I don't have time to drink water in the morning before my shift starts. I'm too busy trying to get ready. I'm also wondering if I'm going through a change b/c my face isn't as oily as it used to be either. It's actually been feeling dry over the last week or so. I's getting older...

 

[tirurit]

Just a reflection, but to me it sounds so strange to think of drinking water as kind of a chore, of having to add flavours to it (no thank you, I hate artificial flavours in anything). It is something that I do whenever I feel like it (like going to the bathroom or sleeping), to me it's just something authomatic: thristy = drink water. I wonder why these different approaches/habits originated

 

[vaisforluvrs]

And to those that are drinking water sufficiently and still having trouble...never meant to imply that water was everyone's issue. Pretty sure I said that this may not be the case but it's something worth considering. All kinds of things could be the culprit. An ingredient. Hormones. Diet. Etc. Water is an easy thing to try and see if it helps. If it doesn't you've lost nothing and you've caused yourself no harm other than a few extra potty runs at the most. But if you just really feel like these or any other product just won't work for you and it's the product then by all means, return it. It's your money and you have the right to use the return policy in the manner that it is meant to be used. These are just suggestions, not guaranteed fixes. Would love for everyone to enjoy what they got but that just doesn't happen. And if you don't want the products to go in the makeup graveyard that MAC will put them in then list them in the clearance bin. I'm sure someone will gladly give them a loving home.

I didn't think you were making that implication at all. Everyone is different.

Lipsticks in general are too drying for my lips even with Prep and Prime, so maybe I actually have a hydration issue (despite drinking tons of water) that's contributing to my dry lips.

 

[LC Balthazar]

I'm sure hydration would help me, but I don't have time to drink water in the morning before my shift starts. I'm too busy trying to get ready. I'm also wondering if I'm going through a change b/c my face isn't as oily as it used to be either. It's actually been feeling dry over the last week or so. I's getting older...

I've been noticing that my face is drier than before too. I think it is somewhat related to age. However, I am also starting to use a humidifier at night. I think that is helping some.

 

[Vandekamp]

I really don't think drinking water helps with these mattes or with dry skin in general, just my opinion.  Products work for me or don't and has little to do with my hydration status.  I think some of these mattes retro or otherwise are super drying and some work perfectly.  RH makes my lips look like I'm a thousands of years old mummy for reals.  I think the only fix is to layer with a lipstick that balances out the formula like a lustre or a cremesheen.  Of course then it won't stain or last hours and hours, but this to me is preferred to looking like mummy dust.  IDK, sometimes I don't really want to work that hard to make something work, but the color in RH is really pretty so I decided to keep it.  If you really hate it, swap it back for something you LOVE.  If the product does not work for you, I think returning it is completely reasonable.  Now, all these folks that buy something and return it because they don't like the color or have something else close to it, is abusing the system a little in my opinion but returning a product because it doesn't work for you, looks really off on your coloring although you tried to make it work, all that, it needs to go back and MAC needs to work harder to get the formula right next time before it sells.  Just my opinion, don't throw rocks at me if you are one of those folks that return something once a week, if MAC allows it, its your right!

I agree. Try it on in the store first. The l/s that you've wasted could have been avail to someone who really wanted it.

 

[Wolverina]

I agree. Try it on in the store first. The l/s that you've wasted could have been avail to someone who really wanted it.

Thank you for saying this- I tend to feel quite strongly about people that buy a ton of things they are lackadaisical about. I mean it's wasteful and it makes it harder for others. I know that wasn't exactly what you were saying but some of my views about this aren't very popular. Then again I never understand why someone needs five backups of every lipstick. I know we live in a culture of choice and excess, but I suppose I'm a bit too sensitive on this point.

 

[Vandekamp]

Thank you for saying this- I tend to feel quite strongly about people that buy a ton of things they are lackadaisical about. I mean it's wasteful and it makes it harder for others. I know that wasn't exactly what you were saying but some of my views about this aren't very popular. Then again I never understand why someone needs five backups of every lipstick. I know we live in a culture of choice and excess, but I suppose I'm a bit too sensitive on this point.

Amen. That is exactly what I meant. You were just more articulate in stating the case. Thank you. I have only gone through one, maybe two, lipsticks in my life. I am 48. I don't think I would ever need more than one lipstick from a particular collection. HOWEVER, I may consider buying two HEROINE lipsticks because i love the color so much and I never got it the first or second time it came out. If you are a BUSY makeup artist you may need a few extras.