MAC Heaux is a very popular limited edition lipstick shade, originally released during the Summer RiRi ♥ MAC Collection in 2013. It sold out very quickly and since then, the demand for this shade has only grown. These high demands resulted in a price increase on websites like Ebay, being offered for prices up to ~80 Euro’s. This month, MAC Cosmetics has released a new limited edition Heaux Lipstick with a different finish and a possible dupe, D for Danger. In this blogpost, I’m going to compare original Heaux to these new lipsticks.
The original MAC Heaux Lipstick of the RiRi ♥ MAC Collection has a Retro Matte finish. This was the first time that MAC had introduced this type of finish, which is different to the regular MAC Lipstick Matte finish. The new MAC Heaux Lipstick is a part of the Veluxe-A-Trois collection and has an Amplified finish. MAC D for Danger is a part of The Matte Lip collection for and has a regular Matte finish.
The original MAC Heaux Lipstick has Rihanna’s signature engraved on the lipstick bullet. All of them have the regular MAC lipstick packaging and the typical vanilla scent that all MAC lipsticks have
Swatches from left to right: MAC Heaux (Retro Matte), MAC Heaux (Amplified) and MAC D for Danger (Matte). All the lipsticks have a similar Dark Berry color. Here you can really see the differences in finish. The Retro Matte finish is completely matte, so it has no shine at all. The Amplified finish looks very glossy and wet, the Matte finish is mostly matte and has a very slight shine to it.
MAC Heaux Lipstick (Retro Matte)
MAC Heaux from the RiRi ♥ MAC Collection is a Dark Berry Lipstick with a Retro Matte finish. During application, it does pull on my lips a bit because it has a dry formula but is still easy for me to apply. Compared to the swatches, there is still a subtle shine on my lips. The lipstick is very opaque, stays on my lips during the whole day and doesn’t bleed into fine lines. It is a bit drying, but not as much compared to matte liquid lipsticks. I’m used to wearing these type of lipsticks now, so the Retro Matte formula doesn’t bother me at all.
MAC Heaux Lipstick (Amplified)
MAC Heaux from the Veluxe-A-Trois collection is a Dark Berry Lipstick with an Amplified finish. This lipstick is very slippery so easy to apply. It is extremely shiny, slightly less opaque. Compared to the original Heaux, this only has the name and color in common. I’m personally not a fan of this type of finishes since this does bleed into fine lines on me, even with a lipliner so I can’t wear this throughout the whole day. I think it looks beautiful though.
MAC D for Danger (Matte)
MAC D for Danger from The Matte Lip Collection is a Dark Berry Lipstick with a Matte finish. Since this is less matte compared to the original Heaux, it is easier to apply. The subtle shine is also present here. Like the original Heaux, it is mostly matte and I don’t see a difference in the finish or opaqueness. So by looking t it on my lips, I would personally say that D for Danger is an exact dupe for Heaux. It feels a bit more hydrating, which is good but it also does bleed a small bit in fine lines at the end of the day, so about after ~6-8 hours of wear, but at least I can fix that using a (transparent) lip liner.
Here is the original MAC Heaux (left half) and D for Danger (right half) on my lips. They look exactly the same, the only difference that I notice is during application and when I rub my lips together. Heaux is noticeably less slippery compared to D for Danger.
I was lucky enough to order MAC Heaux during the original release. Now, everyone who missed this shade can enjoy it thanks to MAC D for Danger. It is a permanent shade so you don’t have to worry for missing it again. If you like the shade but prefer the amplified finish, you should get the new Heaux. This is a Limited Edition shade however, so you have to get it now while it lasts. Both the Veluxe-A-Trois and The Matte Lip Collection already available on the MAC Cosmetics website for €19,50 Euro each. Unfortunately, Heaux is already sold out on the website but you still can get them during the release in the MAC Stores at the 15th of August 2015. MAC is always a bit vague with the store releases, the original date is 22nd of August for Veluxe-a-Trois collection and 29th of August for The Matte Lip collection, it might be handy to call a store nearby you to confirm when it will be there.
What type of lipstick finish do you prefer?
Cheers,
Lariesa
Goede vergelijking!
Thanks for this, I needed it!
That’s what I needed. Thank you so much for this review!
I know this is an older post, but I wanted to thank you for the comparison anyway haha! I’ve been looking for a good dupe for Heaux for a while!
Author
Haha I still love that you’re commenting Puck! 😀 Ooh you should definitely get D for Danger, it’s really a dead-on dupe!
Came here because I was interested in reading D for Danger reviews and you’re entry taught me so much I didn’t know about MAC lipsticks and the diff ended in matte. Thank you. Great blog