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6 women get matched to their 'most flattering' MAC lipstick
MAC's Senior Artist, Debbie Finnegan, reveals the shades we should be wearing...
Walking into a MAC store can be kinda overwhelming... You're met with blinding spotlights, 5000 mirrors, and enough makeup to supply a whole season of RuPaul's Drag Race. It's a lot. So where do you start? Well, we asked Senior Artist, Debbie Finnegan, to be our 'MAC matchmaker' if you will, and help a few Cosmopolitan UK staffers find our lipstick soul mate...
Debbie studied our skin tones, hair colour and eye shade in order to pair us with the most flattering MAC lipstick. Intrigued? Here's what happened...
Photos courtesy of King of the Booth
Jess Edwards, Digital Fashion Editor
MAC's Senior Artist, Debbie Finnegan says: "Jess has intense green eyes and of course that makes me instinctively reach for a plum tone to get a great contrast. M∙A∙C Lipstick in Rebel is a violet and can be worn as a stain in the day and layered up at night for a more dramatic feel."
Jess says: "I love a berry lip colour, so when Debbie choose this purple-red lipstick as my 'signature shade', I knew it'd be a winner... The satin finish is comfortable enough to wear all day (without drying out my lips), whilst the formula is pigmented enough to stay put without fading."
Keeks Reid, Contributing Digital Beauty Writer
MAC Senior Artist, Debbie Finnegan says: “MAC's lipstick in VIVA GLAM 5 is the perfect natural shade of pinky brown that looks sensational on all skin tones. Here it will add creamy colour and a beautiful golden fleck that will compliment her flawless skin.”
Keeks says: "I was a little bit worried about this on first sight because a) The pale pink colour and b) The glittery specks. Lighter lippies tend to make me look like I've eaten a ton of powdered doughnuts. However, this wasn't too pale, it was a tad lighter than my natural lip colour and the glitter actually made it look more glossy than sparkly. I'm pleasantly surprised."
Victoria Jowett, Digital Beauty Editor
MAC Senior Artist, Debbie Finnegan says: “Medium Rare Liptensity Lipstick is a creamy soft pink that will compliment Vic’s warm skin tone and make her blue grey eyes pop.”
Victoria says: "I feel like Debbie picked the ultimate my-lips-but-better shade with this one. I know it's suuuper similar to my natural lip colour, but I think the added sheen and cool undertone enhances the blue in my eyes. When it comes to lipstick I'm usually drawn to warmer tones like corals or nudes, but this experiment has taught me not to overlook a simple pale pink for everyday."
Alex Hering, Multimedia Producer
MAC Senior Artist, Debbie Finnegan says: “MAC's Lipstick In Ruby Woo will be show stopping on Alex’s olive skin and will make her already white teeth dazzle even more.”
Alex says: "I don’t typically wear any colour on my lips since I feel it draws attention to my already huge smile. BUT, this one worked really well with my skin tone.. Weird. Its almost like someone chose it for me?! As nice as it looked I think I’ll stick to my chapstick for now, I'll definitely hold on to this shade for big nights out though."
Dusty Baxter-Wright, Digital Writer
MAC Senior Artist, Debbie Finnegan says: “On Dusty’s light golden skin tone and green eyes so many shades could work but I'd love to try a plum based shade to contrast against the eyes. MAC Lipstick in Captive is super wearable and a little smudge blended well on cheeks can really help work that contrast.”
Dusty says: "My taste in lipstick varies very little, and excluding the occasional dabble with coral, I solely use pinky nudes. So this deep plum shade wasn’t really my cup of tea – and I’m not sure it was my face’s either. I feel like it made my lips look thinner and my face redder, although two colleagues did comment on what a “good night out” colour it was. Not sure if I’ll use it again though, sorry MAC."
Laura Capon, Digital Fashion & Beauty Writer
MAC Senior Artist, Debbie Finnegan says: “M∙A∙C Lipstick in Lady Danger, which is an orange based red, is such a statement shade anyway but pair it with these crystal clear blue eyes, warm toned skin and the combo will be a major WOW factor.”
Laura says: "I actually used to own Lady Danger so I knew it was a shade I liked. I really love the orangey/red hues but I do think it makes my teeth look a bit yellow so I might be getting the whitening strips out this weekend!"
Victoria Jowett is an award-winning journalist and the former Beauty Director at Cosmopolitan UK. She was named one of PPA’s 30 Under 30 for her work in beauty journalism and oversees the skincare, hair, makeup and fragrance content across all of Cosmopolitan’s platforms. She's worked in the beauty industry for over 13 years (and tested 1000s of products), making her an expert when it comes to recommending beauty brands that truly work. Having started her career working weekends on a makeup counter, Victoria began interning at the likes of AnOther and IDOL magazine, before landing her first Beauty Writer job at weekly fashion magazine, LOOK. Joining Cosmopolitan in 2016, Victoria has always remained a beauty fanatic and has been lucky enough to interview everyone from Britney Spears to Kourtney Kardashian about their beauty routines. Follow her on LinkedIn.
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