Review - MAC Baking Beauties Lipstick in Raspberry Swirl.

When I first hauled the Baking Beauties collection, I just stuck with Lavender Whip and Pink Buttercream - Telling myself that if Raspberry Swirl was still in stock the next week..well, it was just meant to be. I may be doing the same thing for Pure Decoration as well, after seeing it look totally stunning on someone I ran into today!

But really; is this the year of the Cremesheens or something? Good Gravy! I feel like all we've seen is Cremesheens!

Raspberry Swirl is a Limited Edition shade in the Baking Beauties collection. I do not recall if this shade has been released in past collections - I'm fairly sure it is new for this year. As stated above, it has a Cremesheen finish and MAC describes the shade as a "light white blue pink". The description is pretty spot on; it is a pale, very cool toned baby pink with a semi-opaque finish.

I personally feel that MAC has made an improvement in their Cremesheen formula - I've found the Cremesheens released this year to be more even on the lips, and this shade is (mostly) included. Raspberry Swirl applied far more evenly than shades of similar paleness (Creme Cup, Shy Girl), with only minimal un-evenness at the lip lines. This shade had the same kind of stain-like look to it that Lavender Whip did.

The wear time was shorter, as I basically expected for a shade like this. This was something that the shade shared with the average, light hued Cremesheen; the short wear time. It did travel as it faded a bit, and though I can definitely say that I've seen worse, I was left with a little bit of color at my liplines and not much anywhere else. The shade itself was as drying as the average Cremesheen for me; which kind of surprised me, as the newer Cremesheens have been feeling a lot better on my lips this year.

MAC is no stranger to this kind of shade, which is why I restricted myself from purchasing it early on. While I have a myriad of similar shades, I narrowed it down to ones that were close enough to be possible dupes.

On the left is MAC Raspberry Swirl, middle is MAC Saint Germain and the right is NARS Roman Holiday. Saint Germain is a touch more of a whiter pink, which makes it appear slightly less blue than Raspberry Swirl. It is also a bit more opaque, as it has an Amplified Creme finish, but the two look quite similar on the lips. Roman Holiday was a little pinker and less white, but the sheerness of this shade made it a bit similar as well. Neither are spot on dupes, but they both look quite similar applied.

Overall;

Pros:

- Applied more evenly than what I was used to for Cremesheens.

- Had a stain like look to the shade.

Cons:

- Short wear time.

- Drying.

- Uneven fading.

The shade was fun and very pretty, but its not essential. If you're not able to get your hands on this before it sells out, Saint Germain would be a great option for you.

7/10