I thought it’d be helpful to swatch some of MAC’s transition shades side by side since it can be hard to see the undertone differences on the website. These are shades I find suitable for my skin tone (MAC is C7/C8 and sometimes I can get away with NC45). The brand does offer both lighter and darker colors than what I have swatched here, so if nothing here suits your skin tone, all is not lost.
L to R: cork, saddle, brown script, soft brown, texture, uninterrupted
Top, L to R: cork, saddle, brown script, soft brown | Bottom, L to R: texture, uninterrupted
L to R, Bottom to top: brown script, swiss chocolate, bougie babe (LE)
L to R: brown script, swiss chocolate, bougie babe (LE)
I know that Bougie Babe was a limited edition shade, but anyone who does have it may want to know how it compares to some of the permanent shades. All of the shades swatched with the exception of bougie babe are still available in the permanent range. The refill pans like the ones pictured cost $8. If you want any shade in regular packaging, those cost $18. Unfortunately the shade brown script can only be purchased as a refill pan.
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Brands A-Z: Check out this index if you want to know what products I have posted about in the past.
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**Disclaimer: I purchased all products featured with my own money. For my full disclosure policy, click here.
Although this isn’t an exhaustive round-up of the entire brand, I wanted to talk about the current products that I own from Lancome before I let them go. This is a great brand that I can truly show appreciation for, but I’ve just come to realize that it’s not for me. I always have a good experience using their products and I’m always able to find items that suit my skin tone. But on the downside, I’m continually disappointed by the packaging when considering the price I paid. That is saying a lot considering I never pay full price for Lancome, and I still come away feeling like I overpaid. As a military spouse, I can get Lancome products for 15% off and I don’t have to pay tax. The products I’ve tried just feel lighter and cheaper than brands in a comparable price range like NARS and Bobbi Brown.
Cheek & Contour Brush #25, $40
Lancome cheek and contour brush, #25
This brush was such a disappointment despite getting it for $32 instead of the $40 retail price. It is a natural goat hair brush, which commands a higher price, but that is where the price justification ends. It is not as soft as it should be at this price and I’m not impressed with the construction of the brush. It is technically put together better than a drugstore brush, but it doesn’t feel like a $40 brush to me. I can’t tell you how the small/contour end works. Since I never intended to use that part of the brush, I never tested it.
Overall it doesn’t look as nice to me as other comparably priced brushes and the longer I’ve owned it the more it sheds. As an example, my Estee Lauder blush brush is natural hair, cost $42, and doesn’t shed at all. I’ve had the Estee Lauder brush since early-2019 whereas I just got the Lancome brush in March 2020. I guess I should give it some credit because it picks up just enough product and it does blend well. The problem is that I have used much cheaper brushes that I can say that about.
Dual Finish Highlighting Powder, $41
Lancome 05 Dazzling Bronze
Even though this formula is too intense for my taste, I think this is a really nice underrated formula. It comes in a nice range of shades and has a unique creamy texture. I do have dry skin which I think makes some highlight formulas appear more intense. In the height of summer when my t-zone produces some oil, I notice that highlights melt into the skin making them appear less intense. You can see swatches and my full review here.
Color Design High Pigment – True Color Eye Shadow, $22
Lancome Color Design Eyeshadows in Gold Lamé (left) and Canyon (right)
This is one of the nicest eyeshadow formulas I’ve used, but I still don’t manage to use them enough. That just happens sometimes, we can think something is objectively better and still prefer something else. For a point of reference, this formula reminds me most of the bareMinerals Gen Nude formula but is less dense. They are somewhat hard pressed, but at the same time I wouldn’t lump them in with old school MAC eyeshadows. I wish the lids were a flip top instead of sliding up to open, but that is just a personal quirk. You can see swatches and my full review here.
Teint Idole Ultra Stick Foundation, $43
L to R: 415 Bisque W and 435 Bisque W
Lancome has just released an updated formula for their stick foundation and in doing so has dropped from having 29 shades to just 22. The above shades, 415 Bisque W and 435 Bisque W, didn’t make it into the new lineup. Both of these shades are available in the liquid version of Teint Idole Ultra so I decided to go ahead and show swatches of them. The brand seems to do a decent job keeping their shades consistent across formulas, so maybe that is still helpful for someone.
Lancome Teint Idole Ultra Stick Foundation (discontinued) L to R: 415 Bisque W and 435 Bisque W (heavy swatch, wet)
Lancome Stick Foundation (discontinued) L to R: 415 Bisque W and 435 Bisque W (blended, dried down)
As far as my untrained non-cosmetic chemist eye can tell, they have removed the sunscreen ingredients and the tambourissa trichophylla leaf extract (also called rosabora) from the new formula. Based on the below ingredient listings, I have a hard time believing the new formula will perform much differently than the old formula. However, I recognize that I am not a cosmetic chemist and that, at times, any change no matter the size can make a difference.
INGREDIENTS CYCLOHEXASILOXANE ● PHENYL TRIMETHICONE ● ISOHEXADECANE ● POLYETHYLENE ● METHYL METHACRYLATE CROSSPOLYMER ● ALUMINUM CALCIUM SODIUM SILICATE ● CYCLOPENTASILOXANE ● ARACHIDYL PROPIONATE ● ACRYLATES CROSSPOLYMER ● PERLITE ● ALUMINUM HYDROXIDE ● DISODIUM STEAROYL GLUTAMATE ● LAUROYL LYSINE ●[+/- MAY CONTAIN CI 77491, CI 77492, CI 77499 / IRON OXIDES ● CI 77891 / TITANIUM DIOXIDE ● MICA ●
Past Experiences
Despite my occasional disappointment in packaging that seems cheap, there are some exceptions. But even when I do like the packaging, it usually turns out those are the times I don’t like the product inside. For instance, I love the L’absolu Rouge lipstick ($32) packaging, but the scent of it bothers me. Fortunately, in my experience, the scent of the lipstick doesn’t linger after application. It just bothered me so much I didn’t even want to open the ones that I owned in the past. I also think the packaging of their liquid Teint Idole Ultra Foundation ($47) is quite nice, although the formula didn’t work out for me when I tried it. And taking it way back, I did like the packaging and included brush for the Audacity in Paris eyeshadow palette ($68).
So there you have it. As it turns out Lancome just isn’t a good fit for me personally. I do think they excel at formulating great makeup, and that for some people, it will surely tick all the boxes. For me, however, it just doesn’t live up to the price tag. I also think that someone who hasn’t tried as many products as I have over the years, would have a totally different take on the brand. I’ll definitely be keeping an eye on this brand, but for now, I’m done buying from it.
What are your thoughts on Lancome? Let me know in the comments below.
Oh and last thing. If you are a Lancome fan, or have your eye on something, they have a 25% off sale on the website that ends at 1:59 PM PT February 12, 2021.
**Disclaimer: I purchased all products featured with my own money. For my full disclosure policy, click here.
The wanderlust list is my way of enjoying and using items I already own. I hope to encourage myself and others to use some of the products we have rather than being so quick to buy something new. If this concept interests you, you can check out the previous versions of the Wanderlust List below.
Instead of buying the Becca Light Shifter Veil Finishing Powder, I’m revisiting some powders that I already own from Laura Mercier, MAC, and NARS.
L to R: Laura Mercier Candleglow (5), MAC Studio Waterweight (dark), NARS Light Reflecting (sunstone)
As a dry skin person, satin or luminous powder is always intriguing. When I saw Becca release this powder, I was going to purchase it as soon as it made its way to Sephora. I’ve talked with Lili (a fellow blogger that you should check out if you haven’t) about it and I talked about it again in a Monday Edit. I still think it looks promising, but the more time that passed, the more I realized that I already have powders that have a similar finish.
L to R: Laura Mercier Candleglow (5), MAC Studio Waterweight (dark), NARS Light Reflecting (sunstone)
So the powders pictured above are the Laura Mercier Candleglow Sheer Perfecting Powder (shade 5), the MAC Studio Waterweight Pressed Powder (shade dark), and the NARS Light Reflecting Pressed Setting Powder (shade sunstone). All of these powders leave a satin to luminous finish on the skin and don’t cling if I have dry patches. It is important to keep in mind that if you do not have dry skin and need oil control in your setting powder, these may not be for you.
Laura Mercier Candleglow Sheer Perfecting Powder (5)
The Laura Mercier Candleglow Powder is the most luminous of the three products. It leaves a luminous finish and I try to be careful using this with non-matte foundations and I don’t use it if the finish of my foundation is luminous. If you want to learn more about this powder and see shade 4, I’ve featured it previously in Setting Powders That Work for My Dry Skin.
MAC Studio Waterweight Pressed Powder (dark)
The MAC Waterweight Powder is a natural finish with just a hint of luminosity to it. If you are familiar with MAC’s mineralize skinfinish natural, that is more matte than this waterweight powder. I typically just mix the two colors together, but I swatched them separately to show the different undertones of the two sides. There are only two shades left in stock on the MAC website, so this product may be getting discontinued. If you are interested in it, you could always try to see if a MAC counter has more shades in stock.
The NARS Light Reflecting Powder leans more satin in finish but it still has a nice luminosity to it. This powder is the newest to me, but so far I prefer the Laura Mercier since this one is a little too orange on me. It is sheer, since it is a setting powder, so I do think that makes it more workable.
Even though the powders I own are all slightly different, they all get me to pretty much the same place. I’m just trying to be more careful about buying new products that duplicate something that is already a favorite. I’m not always good at it, but we’re all works in progress, so I just do my best.
If you enjoyed this post, please consider sticking around and checking out more of my content.
MAC Cosmetics: I likely have some swatches you’ve been searching for if you love Mac as much as I do.
Shop My Stash: Join me as I share swatches of my products and occasionally search for alternatives to new releases.
Buying anything from Mac Cosmetics can my intimidating because they have such a vast range. The brand has many more shades of red than I have to show you, but I hope it’s still helpful to see some of the shades side by side.
Top row, left to right:
Mac red – Satin (vivid bright bluish-red)
Russian red – Matte (intense bluish-red)
Chili – Matte (brownish orange-red)
Marrakesh – Mattte (intense orange brown)
Bottom row, left to right:
D for Danger – Matte (brick red)
Spice it Up – Lustre (mulled brown berry)
Top L to R: mac red, russian red, chili, marrakesh | Bottom L to R: d for danger, spice it up
If you enjoyed this post, please consider sticking around and checking out more of my content.
MAC Cosmetics: I likely have some swatches you’ve been searching for if you love Mac as much as I do.
Shop My Stash: Join me as I share swatches of my products and occasionally search for alternatives to new releases.
