Pleeeease believe me when I say that my lips are actually going to fall off my face and run away in search of a better life. I spent my day off work doing lip swatches for the incredibly stunning, beautiful, ah-mazing MAC Snow Ball Mini Lipstick Kit which I was so bleedin’ lucky to get for Christmas. Included in the beautiful (rather large) box is twelve limited edition and classic favourite MAC lipstick shades, and here are my thoughts…
Let’s get down to business; the packaging is killing me in more ways than one. For a start, it’s pretty big. It’s a gorgeous champagne gold with a lacy look about it. It closes with a magnetic strip and is hard on the outside to protect the lippies inside. My only irk is that it’s slightly large. I keep all my makeup in a smallish chest of drawers, and this thing simply won’t fit. But am I mad? No. No I am not.
Potentially my favourite thing about the set is that the lipstick tubes match the colour of the lipstick inside. I adore the traditional trademark black MAC bullets, but these are too pretty. They’re also super shiny and just look so beautiful all together.
The shades go roughly from lightest to darkest. They shades go through pinks to nudes, purples to reds and finish with deep taupe shades. I kinda think that if you owned this kit, you’d have a complete lipstick wardrobe for any occasion imaginable.
L-R: Party Commencing, Little Darling, Please Me, Mangrove, Ruby Woo, Rebel, Flat Out Fab, Good Kisser, Diva, Velvet Teddy, Whirl, Stone.
Party Commencing is the first shade, and it’s what I’d describe as a blue-toned pale pink. Think Mean Girls, think bitchy girl at high school who was the first to wear makeup, think cake icing. It’s not a shade I’d gravitate towards usually - it did make my teeth look a bit yellow due to the bluey hues. It sits beautifully and feels comfortably matte on the lips. I think this shade is only available as part of the set, but please don’t quote me as I don’t know anything really.
Little Darling pleasantly surprised me. I was expecting another nudey pink that didn’t suit me, but I think this is a light nude I’d actually wear. It’s peachy and pretty, and I think it’d look gorgeous during springtime. Again, it’s a matte (they all are apart from Rebel) and smells vanillary and lovely and feels comfortable.
Please Me is a cult favourite that I’ve never actually tried. A lot of YouTubers I watch are always using this colour, but I always thought it looked *too* pink (is there such a thing?), but now I’ve tried it, I actually love it. It’s definitely girlier than I usually go for, but undeniably pretty.
Mangrove was one of the Pop Lipstick shades released by MAC, and I’d not heard of it until I pulled it out of this kit. It’s a stunning coral-based red. MAC says it’s a matte, but I’d say it was slightly creamier. I think this would look absolutely amazing during spring and summertime as a variation of the classic red.
Ruby Woo is iconic. It is respected. It is classic. It might just be the perfect red. I was never keen on MAC’s red lippies after I splashed the cash on Russian Red, which doesn’t suit me at all. But Ruby Woo is on a whole other level of gorgeous. I felt a bit like Marilyn when I watched this. It’s one I’ll definitely be wearing though winter.
Rebel is the only satin finish of the bunch, and satin finishes usually fill me with dread. Satin lipsticks have had a habit of dribbling down my chin and bleeding and smearing themselves on my teeth which AINT CUTE. Oh well, it’s nothing a bit of translucent setting powder can’t fix, I guess. The shade itself is flippin’ beautiful; a deep purple with warm burgundy undertones. It is giving me aaaall the vampy vibes.
Flat Out Fab is PIIIINK. It’s a matte, so you know it’s gonna last, and it is pigmented beyond belief. Again, it’s not a shade I’d usually buy myself, but family and friends have said how much it suits me after seeing my swatch video on YouTube (it’s below if you wanna see it!). It’s a colour I’m glad to now have in my collection. It could make a nice and unexpected change for my makeup when the weather starts to get warmer!
Good Kisser is EVEN PIIIINKERRRR. When I swatched it on my lips I was like “……ok……ok……are you sure….”, but I’m actually kind of feeling it now I’m writing this blog post up. It’s even brighter than the shade before, with an almost fluorescent look to it. But I’m actually digging it. Again, with this one, it felt slightly creamier or glossier than a matte, but MAC insists it’s a matte, so whatevs.
Diva has been on my radar for the looooongest time, so I was so excited when I saw it was in this kit. It’s a vampy, bloody, sexy burgundy red with a gorgeous matte finish. Application-wise, it’s the only lipstick I thought I’d definitely need a lipliner to use with it. It made my lips look full and plump (despite darker shades usually make lips appear slightly smaller), and overdrawing my lips wasn’t an issue with this lipstick. Diva is gonna be one of my most-worn shades through winter. I can feel it in me waters.
Velvet Teddy needs no introduction. I’ve been a faithful and loyal lover of the cult-fave since I started uni back in 2015. It was the first lipstick I bought when I moved to Bristol as there was no MAC counter anywhere near my hometown at the time. It’s the most beautiful nude with a slight peach-rose undertone. It goes with almost anyone’s skin tone, and it’s honestly just one of my faaave fave fave lipsticks ever. Always good to have a mini backup handy!
Whirl is another one I already own, but I honestly haven’t worn it for the longest time. I’m not really sure what excuse I have for that, as when I tried it on the other day, I fell in love again. It’s almost like if Velvet Teddy went on holiday and got a nice tan; it has the same rosiness to it, but it’s still a true nude, just darker. Again, it’s matte, and again, I think it goes with so many makeup looks on so many skin tones. I heart it.
Stone is YET another one I own already, and I absolutely love love love it. I feel like it was the shade that kicked off the ‘greige’ trend of 2016/17. It’s a beautiful slate-grey with cool nude tones through it. I loved it last winter, and I’m sure I’ll be picking it up a whole lot more through January and February (it’ll match the weather so y not). It’s certainly not a shade for everyone, because people have literally asked wtf is on my lips when I’ve worn it in the past, but I think it weeeerks and it werks well.
I filmed a swatch video for my YouTube channel that you can watch here!
I’ve only got one gripe really, and it is that the lipsticks feel very thin. They’re quite long; maybe even as long as the original lipsticks, but only about half as wide. This makes it feel a little bit precarious when applying. You’d have to be sure that only the tip was poking out the top to make sure it doesn’t break off. I read a couple of reviews on the MAC website which said some of their lipsticks had arrived broken at the base, which is a bit shit but also understandable considering the disproportionate width/length. So, if you decide to invest, be very very careful! I’ve not had any problems yet, but only because I’m paranoid I’ll snap one.
Other than that, I’m really impressed with MAC’s festive collection this year, and especially this Snow Ball Mini Lipstick Kit. I think that it was a great idea to create this limited edition set with all the matching tubes, and filling it with cult favourites. There’s a shade in here for everyone; I’m quite impressed they managed to include 12 shades that I think most people would like and wear. The Kit retails for £85.
Would you try this mini lipstick kit? What do you think of the shades they’ve included?
Lots of love,
Jasmine x
Oh wow! I would personally wear all of those shades! I like Diva in particular. The box looks huge hahaha xx
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