review: "so chaud" by mac

Yesterday was a stressful day, but sometimes the world sends you a little ray of sunshine just when you need it most. I got a little black box from Mac Cosmetics!

For the past week or so, I have been obsessed with orange lipstick. It seems so fun and funky, such a bright summer color. My usual summer lips are from the Buxom "Sailor Girls" lipgloss set, but I've been wanting to incorporate a matte color. Orange lips have totally captivated me, and I spent late night hours scouring swatches and reviews, trying to find the orange that was right for me. I didn't want to go too bright; neon orange is a pretty big leap to take. My initial choice was Lady Danger from Mac (love that name!): I loved the idea of a red-orange that would work with a daytime retro feel, but from the swatches I saw, it didn't look quite orange enough for me. The alternate, and the lipstick I ended up ordering, was Lady Danger's sister in color, So Chaud.



First off, I'd just like to say that Mac sends you about 5 pounds of black tissue paper to go with one itty-bitty lipstick box. It was like a treasure hunt!

This is exactly the color I was looking for, and I'm really pleased with it. It's got a lot of red to it, but it's definitely recognizably orange. It looks very orange in the tube, and I was happy that it followed through on my lips. I think with another coat it would look even oranger (photos are done with just a single application). I'm a huge fan of Mac's lipsticks: the wear and color is incredible, and I personally have never had the drying problems that some wearers report. Additionally, I always think of Mac as being at the top of my price range but while it certainly isn't cheap, at $14.50 Mac's permanent collection lipsticks are actually considerably more wallet-friendly than comparable brands (most of the lipsticks at Sephora clock in $18-$22). And yes, I adore the sleek minimalist packaging. They're like little bullets! I would love to have a bandolier of Mac lipsticks. I'm so easy for branding--that sleek M-A-C makes me all dreamy.

So Chaud gets an A+ from me and a beeline directly into my summer makeup kit. I'm already excited to try out new looks with it...I'm guessing it'll look great with some gold eyeshadow, although my rebel color-fiend heart is telling me to try teal!