MAC Boyfriend Stealer Lipstick: Review & Swatches

I'm such a sucker for MAC's more kitschy collections. It's the packaging. I just can't resist cute packaging. I splurged big time on the Wonder Woman collection from a few years ago . These days I'm much more restrained when it comes to MAC, so I only grabbed one lipstick from the Archie's Girls collection.

 I don't know if Archie comics were ever a thing in Australia, but if you've watched as much American TV as I have you'll no doubt have heard of them. The only thing I know with certainty is that Betty (the girl next door) and Veronica (the spoiled brunette) were in an endless love triangle with Archie. 

Playing on the good girl/bad girl theme, MAC has broken the massive Archie's Girls collection into two parts. There's Betty, which is all about pretty peaches and corals, and Veronica, which is less sweet and more sexy. I just knew I wanted one of the lipsticks and I chose Boyfriend Stealer because it looked like the most unique of the bunch.

 Don't be too scared by how it looks in the tube, it's vampy for sure but not quite so dark on the lips.

MAC calls the shade a deep blackened plum. I'd keep things simple and call it eggplant. It's a Cremesheen, a finish I don't have much experience with (99% of my MAC lippies are Amplified Cremes and Mattes). I wasn't expecting something so sheer and glossy, but it actually turned out to be a pleasant surprise. The sheerness makes this particular colour quite versatile. It would be a great lipstick for anyone wanting to try dark lips for the first time as it can be worn as a soft stain and built up from there.

 L-R: One swipe, three swipes

3-4 layers

After 3 hours wear

It's a little darker in real life than in my pictures. The colour is definitely an acquired taste (I got some weird looks wearing this), but I really love it. I've been looking for the perfect dark, vampy lipstick for ages and I'm pretty sure I've found it in Boyfriend Stealer. All my other dark purples and berry's have a lot of pink in them and I've been wanting something less bright, something more subdued. Boyfriend Stealer is a brown tinged purple, which for me makes it a lot easier to wear.

It's certainly not long-lasting. It looks good up until you eat or drink, at which point it simply calls it a day, leaving just a slight stain behind. Definitely a lipstick you have to touch up every few hours. I find it a little drying too.

So basically I love the colour but the formula's nothing special. That pretty much sums up MAC for me. If MAC were as cheap as here as it is in the US I'd go nuts, but at Australian prices I'll only buy something if I fall in love with a colour I can't get from a cheaper brand. Boyfriend Stealer is one of those colours.

I actually bought this off of Ebay (from a seller I trust). The Archie collection hasn't hit Australia yet, it's due to arrive on the 4th of March. I thought I'd better do a post on this lipstick now as it sold out very fast in other markets.

Are you planning on purchasing anything from the Archie's Girls collection? Ever read the comics?