Wednesday, June 15, 2011

MAC Vegas Volt Lipstick



MAC Vegas Volt is a color I've been eyeing for a while, partially because the name brings back Las Vegas memories and partially because it's an awesome bright pink-coral. In fact, it's a lot brighter and pinker and orange-er in person. I've tried to capture it best I could in the following photos and swatch.

MAC Vegas Volt, outdoors with no flash

I figured with the colors this season trending towards orange, this might be a good pick for me. Not to mention, with the yellow tones in my skin, corals should look good. However, no matter how much I wanted to love Vegas Volt, I can't really get it to work for me. The reasons are complex:

1. Partially, it's my skin tone. Although I have some yellow tones in my skin, I also have strong pink and sometimes cooler cast as well.  The swatches on my arm comes across as slightly more orange than they should, which indicates the pink undertones are predominating and pulling out some of the pink character from the lipstick. I may be a little too cool to wear this "warm" lipstick.

2. I have very flushed lips. This makes whatever color you wear on top that more intense. I found this out when my friend visited recently, and she has paler lips. Even dark colors looked pretty wearable on her. On me, dark or bright colors are much more intense. That's also why beiges and boring colors look pretty on me. The brightness of MAC Vegas Volt plus my lips was too much.

3. My face structure meshes better with a more classic color palette.

MAC Vegas Volt lipstick swatch, indoor with flash
Usually I pride myself on color choice, however I went a little wrong here! It's kind of bummer, considering this is my first MAC lipstick. There's nothing wrong with Vegas Volt, otherwise. I loved the vanilla smell, the smooth creaminess, and the packaging, and would not hesitate to recommend this to someone with warm skin who looks good in brights. You can see really beautiful pictures of Vegas Volt on Vampy VarnishSteal My Heart Lovee, Blusherine and Short 'N Chic. I gifted the lipstick to my mom, who despite being older, looks good in these types of colors. As for me, I'll stick with my beiges. If I'm feeling nostalgic about Vegas, I can always pick up NARS Viva Las Vegas lipstick, a "sheer shimmering taupe champagne."

Thanks for reading! Are you a bright-lippie Vegas Volt type person? Any veterans of the what-happens-in-Vegas...... mantra? =P

Love, Dovey

15 comments:

  1. I actually think it looks nice on you, but that could be because I am a bright lippie kind of gal. Sorry to hear about your dissatisfaction.

    ReplyDelete
  2. AnonymousJune 15, 2011

    Great post! Your photos are amazing in quality. :D

    It's unfortunate you did not like the lipstick shade. To be honest, I can't wear this Vegas Volt alone. I had to pair Vegas Volt with MAC Charismatic for it to compliment my skin tone.

    I know you've given it away, but next time for you don't like the shade try pairing it with something else to see if it might work out for you.

    ReplyDelete
  3. I've never been to Vegas, but I definitely like the lipstick! It's for the braver days, though! :-)

    ReplyDelete
  4. I love orange lipsticks! Great colour!

    ReplyDelete
  5. Vegas Volt was my first MAC lipstick too! It's a shame you can't get it to work for you. It's such a nice color. Also, my mother would never wear it. Your mom sounds awesome.

    ReplyDelete
  6. aww you should have kept it! i dont like wearing vegas volt on its own on me, i first put a thin layer of concealer on my lips to pale them out and then add a little bit of vegas volt to give this really pretty pale coral. that might be too much work for just a lippie but i really like the finished results

    ReplyDelete
  7. I love the color! Though it's probably unwearable for me as well.... lol

    Also I really really like beige/ nude lipsticks but unfortunately it also does not work for me..... matching lip color is a lot harder than i thought!

    ReplyDelete
  8. See I knew there was a reason I liked you ;P I love nudish lippies best too. This is a beautiful color though- did you try it as a stain and then add some light sparkle over it?
    Glad you got the package- enjoy lovely!

    xx

    ReplyDelete
  9. I got married in Vegas, enough said (although it wasn't a drive thru wedding if that is what you were thinking. I'm a proper lady and my daddy walked me down the aisle, we had a minister, our families were there -everything). LOL! In theory I like bright lips, but it never seems to work on me, so I feel you there.

    ReplyDelete
  10. I miss Vegas - I haven't been since my daughter was born. That's too bad that it didn't work for you. It looks like a fun color - what a Vegas color should be, right? Did you try applying it with your finger or using a nude lip color to tone it down?

    Oh well at least you gave it the ol'college try, right??

    Yeah, the last BRIGHT color I bought was Illmasqua's orangey-red 'Ignite' I still feel that it's a bit much for the office but maybe I should try it out again!

    ReplyDelete
  11. JC- lucky girl! bright lips are so fun.

    StealMyHeartLove- hm, perhaps I shall steal it back for a try at blending--- the pink and orange base colors are really nice.

    Blusherine- I think it looked really lovely on your lips!

    Jamilla- well, now's the time for orange lips, so you're a lucky girl!

    Stephanie- LOL! what an awesome coincidence =P too bad I'm not awesome enough to wear it.

    Kellyyes- that sounds like a good idea. If I ever get my hands on it again, I'll try that!

    ZZ- Yay for beige!! I agree about finding the right lip color, it's hard!

    Makeup Merriment- I did try a sheer amount, and it looked ok, but I'm not adventurous enough to take it and run.... back to neutrals for moi!

    HDTM- =D Wow!!! Getting married there is pretty hardcore! And makes for a great story! I was so surprised when I saw your comment--- and had a definite LOL moment about the drive thru =P

    Lexi- Nope, not creative at all. Judging from everyone's comments I oughta be a little more creative than applying straight from the tube, which is my usual un-creative MO! I googled Ignite, and it looks really pretty =D

    ReplyDelete
  12. I really like that color, but I wonder what it would love like on me ;)

    Btw, Just wanted to let you know that I'm having a giveaway ;)

    artofbeingcool.blogspot.com
    I'm having a giveaway at 12:01PM
    check out my features in the meantime ;)

    ReplyDelete
  13. Vegas Volt is such an amazing color <3 Too bad it looks awful on me :(
    I really love your blog, your photography is so amazing! :)

    http://thedollhousediary.blogspot.com/

    ReplyDelete
  14. oooh i like the color of the lipstick. i don't know if i could wear the color either though, with my skin tone. :/

    haha, what happens in Vegas........... brings back interesting memories of the last vegas trip for me. as i am sure you know :p

    ReplyDelete
  15. Thanks CollegeCurl, Summer, and Ponyo!

    ReplyDelete

Thank you for taking the time to comment! I truly enjoy hearing your thoughts!

Comments are moderated to prevent spam. Please note that links, promotions, and offensive / irrelevant / questionable comments will be deleted at my discretion.