MAC Hey Sailor! Lipstick Review, Swatches and Dupes

MAC's grandiose summer collection Hey Sailor! features four limited edition lipsticks ($18.50 CA/16.50 US). All photos taken in natural light on NC 35/40 skin.

Salute!, To Catch a Sailor, Sail La Vie and Red Racer

Salute! - A very pale, opaque yellow toned  peachy beige in an amplified creme finish. Probably only the most pale skinned people can pull this one off successfully! In the tube (and on the lips) it looks like concealer.

To Catch a Sailor - A frost finish shimmery beige brown. Not too cool or to warm with sheerer coverage. Would look nice as a highlight over richer shades of lipstick.

Sail La Vie - a straight up red-orange, satin finish lipstick. Very opaque with a natural sheen.

Red Racer - a beautiful satin finish blue based red. Very opaque with a natural sheen.

I think with the exception of Salute! the lipsticks of this collection are fun and pretty. The two standout shades are definitely Sail La Vie and Red Racer, both of which are rich, bright and very wearable. You could dilute either shade with some lip balm or gloss for day, then go for full coverage at night. I also like To Catch a Sailor, it's a little more predictable in the usual scheme of bronzey summer colours, but I think it would create some nice effects over other lipsticks.

Due to the continuous hype and craze for bright lipsticks, especially those in the coral/orange family, Sail La Vie and Red Racer sold out online and in many store locations very quickly. I thought I would do a few swatches comparing Sail La Vie with other corals/oranges MAC has released. All the shades swatched here are/were LE.

Hibiscus, Sail La Vie, Scarlet Ibis and Watch Me Simmer

Out of the four, Scarlet Ibis is the closest to Sail La Vie, the main difference being it's formula is matte, a little denser and perhaps a shade darker than Sail La Vie. If you mixed some lip balm or clear gloss with Scarlet Ibis to give it a little sheen and lighten it a bit I think it would be a close dupe. 

P.S: If you want any of the LE shades and they show as sold out online, it never hurts to call customer service to double check. Often when stock on an item decreases to a certain level, they will show the item as being sold out despite there being a few left in the warehouse.

Which of the Hey Sailor! lipsticks did you pick up?

J