MAC Vamplify Lipgloss- Spanking Haute

Any relatively frequent reader to this blog already knows the following things about me:

• I don't generally like lip gloss. I'm a lipstick girl, and not a liquid lipstick one at that.
• I'm especially not a lip gloss girl in the middle of hot and sticky summer.
• I have pigmented lips, so I generally struggle with nudes and avoid them.

So why on Earth am I raving about MAC Vamplify Lipgloss in Spanking Haute, a pinky nude full-coverage lipgloss (and lightest of the recently re-launched Vamplify lipglosses)? I don't know. I just don't know. There's no logical reason why, but this is one of my more random purchases and one of the ones that has brought me an unexpected amount of joy.

I'd like to think I was swayed by a review from one of my favorite bloggers, who noted that this is a totally wearable nude. Add in that I was flush with Plenti points, and suddenly I found myself asking the local MAC counter for "ok, will you be honest with me? I've got pigmented lips. Can I do this without any extra work? I don't want to have to Lip Erase for lipgloss." And when I was told "you can totally do it, they're super pigmented," I had to have this bad boy.

OK, the deets. MAC's Vamplify lipglosses are back, $20 each, and limited edition (again). They're opaque (yay!) and guess what? You can totally have fun with the colors. This is the lightest shade... I've been lemming a good peachy nude color as of late. That's what happens when it's 10934893483 degrees out.

One of the reasons why this gloss just works is the applicator- it's different than the regular MAC glosses with that hard-to-control brush.

OK, I've held out long enough- here's my hand swatch against my NW15 skin of Spanking Haute. It was love at first swatch:

This is by far and away the most true-to-color swatch in this post. Isn't it awesome? I think lots of smokey eyes with this.

I've been complaining about the weather a lot lately, so I was forced to try to take photos inside, where the light is... lacking, to be kind. This photo is meant to demonstrate coverage with one swipe. Everything's washed out, especially my lip pigment.

So maybe the color's off, but hopefully you'll get the idea....

That's really excellent coverage without a liner! Seriously- no liner. Pure Spanking Haute out of the tube on half of my lips, a bit washed out. However, if the lightest shade is this opaque, you know how the darker shades will be.

I had a hard time getting an accurate full-lips shot, so I'll just point you back to the hand swatch since it's accurate. I think it would've melted if I would've gone outside.

In terms of wear time, about 3-4 hours or until I eat/drink. I'm totally in love with the formula and find it a bit moisturizing. I wish these would be permanent. Until then, nab them at your local counter or online for the next month or so. Don't wait though!