Goddamn it took me forever to make up my mind about this shade. Couldn't find a decent swatch of the thing anywhere and just gave up and bought it blind, basically. Then I was all like shit, it's going to be a Riri Bad Girl dupe, isn't it? But it turns out that Pander Me falls right in the middle of my modest nudie collection, and that is a relief. (However I do long to beat the fool who was snapchatting and sucking on coconut water when they decided on that fucking name. And I mean beat them with a bag of to's made of some sort of heavy radioactive alloy). | 
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| You can see Pander Me's real-life affinity with actual terracotta in the above right pic, a shade which is paler than many imagine. It is not a pink and only reads remotely that way in cool shade, really. Compare it to MAC Mehr and you'll see they're not in the same family. Don't think you're getting into orange, either, a lá MAC Chili- it's a long way short of that sort of warmth. I just can't bring myself to call it peach for some reason. It's pretty... toasty, more than anything. Sun-bleached toasty terracotta. 
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Or neutral to slightly warm sandy biscuit with just a tiny hint of mallow. It resembles MAC Taupe more than anything else in this group; in reality there's about a 15% differential, with Taupe being deeper, more medium wood-brown and Pander Me being lighter and fleshier. A fleshy, savoury caramel. I know you can use that word salad to describe virtually any neutral lipstick, but it's so bloody mutable and lighting-dependant. You'll just have to consult the swatches carefully and to that end I tried to be comprehensive about varying lighting scenarios.
The pic above left was taken in direct warm sunlight against weathered decking and is quite true. The one to the right is in indoor shade and throws lighter and pinker, but this it the look you might get under say, office lighting.
Your actual lips will probably be the deciding factor as to bueno v no bueno. Mine are dark, which is a great base for reds but makes paler product a gamble, especially ones (like this) that wander away from the range of natural lip shades. Pander Me flirts with inadequacy when it comes to coverage on someone like me in that there is a bit of central lippage peeping through in the initial application; this tends to even out a bit with wear and warming up but I don't experience this deficit with Nars Velvet Matte neutrals like Walkyrie or Dolce Vita.
The colour payoff is good and the texture is fine- a medium (rather than hardcore) matte that will move around enough to facilitate application and some comfort. It does dry down to a suede finish and is not for fucked up lips; if you're suffering chapping or patchiness, Pander Me won't exactly pander to you. Once it's settled it will make a rough mouth look like 100 miles of thirsty hell so if that's you, engage balm or just avoid altogether.
Your actual lips will probably be the deciding factor as to bueno v no bueno. Mine are dark, which is a great base for reds but makes paler product a gamble, especially ones (like this) that wander away from the range of natural lip shades. Pander Me flirts with inadequacy when it comes to coverage on someone like me in that there is a bit of central lippage peeping through in the initial application; this tends to even out a bit with wear and warming up but I don't experience this deficit with Nars Velvet Matte neutrals like Walkyrie or Dolce Vita.
The colour payoff is good and the texture is fine- a medium (rather than hardcore) matte that will move around enough to facilitate application and some comfort. It does dry down to a suede finish and is not for fucked up lips; if you're suffering chapping or patchiness, Pander Me won't exactly pander to you. Once it's settled it will make a rough mouth look like 100 miles of thirsty hell so if that's you, engage balm or just avoid altogether.
L 2 R: MAC Taupe, Riri Bad Girl (LE) Pander Me, Mehr, Nars Walkyrie, top is Bite Honey Berry
below left pic is indoor cool shade, below right is neutral indoor window light
below left pic is indoor cool shade, below right is neutral indoor window light
I would suggest giving it a miss if you're a fellow cool, pink-toned, dark-lipped creature. Like many other harmless-looking neutrals, when this shade attacks a pale peep it is a rather horrific amplifier of facial blotchiness and ashiness, an effect that can be amped further by the wrong clothing choice. | To cut a long story short, Pander Me is best on warm, yellow-toned and neutral-pale girls, and possibly favours blondes, which means I'm shit out of luck. 
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With it being probably too light to be everyday-useful for a lot of darker Indian and African complexions, we're looking at a narrow zone of suitability. Never mind- on the right person, Pander Me is really lovely and probably the neutral or nude that many devotees of the genre have been praying for, so don't let me put you off if that's your thingy ding dingy. Personally, I like its long-wearing, food-resistant tenacity, and its unusual tone makes it a great candidate for amending a wide range of other shades- from muting dirty reds (a look I'm really into at the moment) to pulling back too-pink pinks and screechy corals.
I can't help but think people should be mixing their shit a bit more than they do. Some of my best lips are a three-shade combination.
I can't help but think people should be mixing their shit a bit more than they do. Some of my best lips are a three-shade combination.
L 2 R: MAC Taupe, Riri Bad Girl (LE) Pander Me, Mehr, Nars Walkyrie, Top is Bite Honey Berry
above is warm direct sunlight, below is cooler outdoor shade
above is warm direct sunlight, below is cooler outdoor shade
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