RubyHue Lipstick Review: MAC Spice It Up (Lustre)

Are you decrepit enough to remember getting those American sultanas in the tiny little cardboard boxes as part of your school lunch?  Back when food came from trees instead of being popped out of moulds?  MAC Spice It Up is quite a bit like those delicious things; nostalgic.  Sweetish. Caramelised and brownish.  Something you don't think you're really in the mood for... until you partake, and then you can't put the damn thing down.  

Spice It Up was something I picked up entirely on spec since no real buzz regarding it had ever come my way. I can't decide if it's just that zero-expectation halo around these obscure, unfashionable MAC shades or their genuine intrinsic awesomeness that makes them so appealing, but SIU has definitely settled into high rotation.

That's in spite of it hailing from the much-reviled MAC Lustre stable, that bastion of lip-fucking, mouth-fleeing three minute wonders that I'm hardly alone in hating.  Impressive.

Lustres usually suck, by and large, which is doubly annoying because the concept of a reduced opacity formula in non-naff casual shades was totally righteous and is still pretty underserved. ​

But let's get down on Spice It Up.

All this is assuming moderate lip pigmentation in the potential subject (i.e. you).  That's probably the most important thing to consider about  Lustres and their ilk- your mouth is the X factor.

We're looking at a medium nutty raisin shade, which sounds warm and brown but really isn't that simple- SIU is neutral at best and actually leans cool.  

Smoothing it over one's hand reveals those secretive notes that make it far more of a success on the lip than may be implied by any verbal description. Hints of aged mahogany red and wine pink lurking in the undertones are elevating, prettifying elements.  No matter how hard you slap it on, SIU won't take you to clown town or Instaho alley, but it will deliver something of more lasting value- subtle, tinted contrast. The elusive 'half look' that understudies a dramatic eye or just rubs the ashy horror off a generally dismal face situation.  It is remediation for dummies.  A 10 second morale-boost when you just can't be arsed to do anything else.

Underlying lip colour supports Spice It Up to be all it can be; the combination of these naturally-derived shades becomes more than the sum of its parts.  You may not get the same agreeable visual payday if you're one of those ghost-lipped types who have trouble persuading lipstick to look anything but garish and unsympathetic... then again, SIU can supply a subdued dead-petal stain to light/cool lips and that sort of low-key journée gothique result can be tremendously alluring.  I'm hard-pressed to think of someone who really, fully could not wear this shade under any circumstances.  Maybe give it a miss if you're pale and yellow-toned?  

​Nars Golshan pencil is probably Spice It Up's closest tonal relation in my collection, comparatively speaking, despite the latter being darker and more intense.  Together they form a beautiful and effortlessly flattering ombre. MAC Brick-O-La is way pinker.  MAC Taupe and Mocha are a far more explicitly sandy tan.  Retro holds a lot more dirty mauve and its heavier pigmentation gives a completely different effect, so I don't particularly associate them.

I think SIU looks best patted on and/or finger-smudged which yields a nice, slightly autumnal tweak, oddly more toffeeish than the pinkish hand swatch, plus a modest sheen.  You get 50% opacity from one swipe and while that's perfectly sufficient to make an impact even on darker lips, SIU is buildable to around 80% before it veers into slippy patchiness; that's a great result for this sort of finish.  When patted on it's got a sweet little density which settles well on the mouth and lasts (in the absence of serious assault) for around half a day before needing maintenance with that bonus gentle fade that characterises all the worthwhile Lustres.  I don't experience wrinkle bleeds or that slimy de-emulsification effect that can strike down some MAC Cremesheens as well as the lesser shades in this category 

Unusually, I have nothing bad to say about Spice It Up.  It's a nice change from all those hard neutral mattes when you don't want too much look.  I don't even begrudge the fact that it won't stick around til dinnertime- it doesn't even outstay its damn welcome.  You can't claim that about very much these days.

L2R (MAC unless stated): Russian Red, Del Rio, Spice It Up, Nars Golshan, Taupe, Verve, Retro
a range of natural in+outdoor natural light

*   RubyHue Lipstick Review: a feast for your face   *

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