The only lipstick that drew me in from MAC’s Surf, Baby! Collection is ‘Hibiscus’ – a startling coral/honeysuckle shade, yet made totally wearable by its slightly sheer finish. Something about this shade which has elements of orange, pink, red and something in between, as well as how glossy it wears all spell “SUMMER” to me (yes, in capital letters!) and I could not resist either the island imagery the name conjures up, or its vivid siren call!
When viewed in full sun, ‘Hibiscus’ takes on a vivid coral hue, but the Cremesheen formula keeps this shade from appearing too dense, and instead imparts a nice translucency to the finish, along with a healthy dose of shine.
Shaded light brings out the inner pink hue of this shade and almost seems to tone down its vibrancy, all the while still looking Summer fresh & bright.
I had originally resisted Hibiscus’ allure, as I was convinced it was basically a dupe for MAC’s Toxic Tale (from their Fall 2010 Venomous Villains Collection) but as soon as I swatched the two to compare, I could immediately see the differences…and the similarities, of course. The following photos are ‘Toxic Tale’ on the left and ‘Hibiscus’ on the right, all swatched over MAC’s STudio Fix Powder in C4 as a base.
The base tone of the two lipsticks is practically identical, with both leaning towards that same coral/honeysuckle pink hue. Seen in sunlight, you can see that where they differ greatly is in the finish, with ‘Toxic Tale’ bearing a satin formula, and thus making it so much more opaque and definitely less glossy and emollient on the lips.
Shaded light once again picks out the more pink side of both lipstick shades, but it also takes away much of the reflective finish of ‘Toxic Tale’, giving it an even deeper pink tone.
Final thoughts: When I initially saw images of ‘Hibiscus’ before it launched, I immediately dismissed it, believing it to be too vivid for my tastes and skin colouring, although I wanted to see it in person just the same; I’m sure glad I did, as this is the most wearable bright shade I have ever come across. It is very aptly named as well, being both a “crème” and bearing “sheen”, but it’s also quite emollient, glides smoothly and wore on me for at least 5-6 hours before I noticed any significant fading. While it’s true that if you already own ‘Toxic Tale’ you could probably skip ‘Hibiscus’, I usually prefer a lighter look to my makeup for summer, and that makes ‘Hibiscus’ with its brilliant yet sheer finish, both unique and a win for me!
8 Responses to MAC Hibiscus Cremesheen Lipstick – Surf, Baby! Collection (review, swatch & comparison)