Is It A Dupe? NYX Soft Matte Lip Cream v. Mac Kissable Lipcolour

I'm back with another installment of "Why are you paying that much when you can get the same product for less?"

Well... maybe...

Today I'm examining two new products: NYX's Soft Matte Lip Cream versus Mac's Kissable Lipcolour.























I heard rumors on a couple of forums that these were similar, if not identical to each other. I happened to pick up the NYX lippie a couple of weeks before Mac released theirs, so it worked out that I could compare them.

NYX is available on their website, at Ulta, and on CherryCulture.com... apparently some drugstores are starting to sell it now as well. You guys know where Mac is :D Anyway, the NYX lip product is $6.00 (will probably be more at Ulta... more like $6.99) and Mac's is $18.50. I honestly cannot locate how much product is in the NYX tube -- the Mac has 0.17oz. I think they are about the same looking at them -- but it is hard to tell as the tubes are completely different sizes.

Next, let's compare the color selection. Mac has 12 colours available in the Kissable colour line while NYX has 11. Right off, I can honestly say that I feel like Mac's color selection is more wearable but NYX's online swatches are terrible. I would need to see the rest in person to know for sure. I will say that NYX has stuck to more pinks and nudes, and one red, where Mac did a blue, a vampy dark red... you get the picture.

Here are swatches of the Kissables:





















Top row: Strut Your Stuff, Flaunting It, Temper Tantra, So Vain, Super, Woo Me
Bottom Row: Enchantee, Vanity Fair, Scandelicious, Exxxhibitionist, Love Peck, Peacocky

This won't be very accurate because my swatch photo completely desecrated some of the colors, but from what I can tell, there may be possible similaries between NYX Tokyo and Mac Enchantée, NYX Stockholm and Mac Super, and NYX Amsterdam and Mac Strut Your Stuff (which is red in real life, not orangeish like in the photo). There may be more but it is nearly impossible to tell as there are not many good swatches of the NYX lippies up yet.

So the important part is performance. The Mac Kissables are glossy and apply slick and smooth, but don't feel sticky like a lipgloss would (especially from Mac). The NYX matte lip cream is a MUCH drier formula, and suffers from streaking due to the matte finish and how dry said formula is.

The issue with comparing these two is that they are not meant to do the same thing. Mac's product is meant to be slick and glossy like a latex lipstick, while the NYX is supposed to be a long wearing, natural matte line. The consistency of the glosses is really not similar in any way. You may find some colors that are close -- so if you like a shade from Mac, there may be something similar in NYX (I found NYX Tokyo to be slightly less blue toned than Mac Enchantée, but close)... so you could save yourself about $12.00. Just don't expect the same formula.

One of my down points with NYX -- you need more colors! They have an amazing lipstick and gloss range and yet put these out with some pretty boring and basic colors. How about a vamp red? Or a nice purple? Maybe a coral? Hot pink? None of those are present in the line.

Quick swatch of what I have from the two lines - Mac Flaunting It and NYX Tokyo:




















Obviously not similar in ANY way but now that we've determined the two products aren't similar... I can review each individually.

















The Mac Kissable Lipcolour I will probably return... in fact, I will return it. First off, I don't find the formula particularly amazing for $18.50. I know they up the price on limited edition products, but the price for what it is is just ridiculous. It's not all that long wearing, and suffers from A LOT of slip on the lips once it's applied. The product stays slick for quite some time and while the effect is sort of okay, if anything touches your lips while wearing it, the product will be all around your mouth and chin. It smudges entirely too easily. I also found that it did not last at all through eating or drinking. It disappeared faster than my NYX Mega Shine glosses and those have a very similar texture. I did like the way these smelled -- it's an enhanced vanilla scent and even better than their regular lip products. The main reason it will be going back is because of A) the price and B) the color. I have tons of other lippies that look like Flaunting It... and perform better for that matter.

Onto the NYX Soft Matte Lip Cream. I'm not a huge fan of this either to be honest. Tokyo (the shade I have) is VERY close to Viva Glam Gaga though... just a different texture. The color may not be flattering on everyone. My main issue with this product is the formula. It is SO dry. The texture is like a Fyrinnae Lip Lustre but even drier (I've not mastered the technique of wearing those yet). I exfoliated my lips before taking this photo and you can still see the product clinging to every imperfection in my lips:



















Now, I know it's cold here, but COME ON. My lips aren't that nasty. I apply lip balm religiously... nearly every hour because it's habit. I may be able to wear this in the summer but right now, it's way too cold and my lips are too fragile to wear this. Moral of the story is that if you have drier lips, skip this product. You have to have pretty perfect lips to rock this without looking ridiculous.

I did not test the wear time on this simply because I couldn't keep it on my mouth. I could feel the chunkiness of the product (which is another problem with this shade... streaky like woah) against my mouth and I had to wipe it off after a few minutes. Last issue -- the smell. These have a really disgusting perfumey smell that you continue to notice after application. I really wish they would have done cherry or something because the scent is completely offputting.

Both of these products were sort of a fail for me, unfortunately... as usual, this is just my opinion. Have you tried either of these? Let me know what you think!