MAC • Bare Venus • Lipstick

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pinkcl0uds on 5/11/2013 12:57:00 PM more reviews by pinkcl0uds

Age: 19-24   Skin: Other   Hair: Other   Eyes: Other    

The swatch from this color is so deceiving. When swatched on the hand it looks like a pretty cool toned pink, but when worn, it washes me out, makes my teeth look like a horrible shade of yellow gray, and emphasizes the lines on my lip.

I don't find it moisturizing at all and can't make this lipstick work for me even when wearing with a gloss.

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violetsky on 3/31/2010 3:31:00 PM more reviews by violetsky

Age: 19-24   Skin: Dry, Fair, Warm   Hair: Brunette, Relaxed, Medium   Eyes: Green    

I'm pink toned, and too be honest, I have no idea why I even bought this. It makes me look like a corpse.

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*TOP REVIEWER* niclyf on 4/13/2009 12:24:00 AM more reviews by niclyf

Age: 30-35   Skin: Combination, Medium, Warm   Hair: Brunette, Straight, Fine   Eyes: Brown    

I recently acquired Bare Venus in swap and fell in love with it almost instantly. I've had a hard time finding an arsenal of good nude lipsticks that I truly love, so this earned a place in my heart right off the bat! On me .. this is a pale pinky nude that's pigmented enough to acquire that "nude lip" look without making me look like a corpse. it's an Amplified formula, so it's satiny smooth and just slightly glossy. One of my go-to lippies when I want to rock the smokey eye/nude lip look!

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mrs_nico on 4/11/2007 10:58:00 PM more reviews by mrs_nico

Age: 25-29   Skin: Combination   Hair: Black   Eyes: Brown    

This gives me the nude pinkish lips I've always wanted. I'm NC 35, pigmented lips.

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*TOP REVIEWER* fetishdolly on 2/2/2007 11:30:00 AM more reviews by fetishdolly

Age: 25-29   Skin: Combination, Fair, Cool   Hair: Red, Straight, Fine   Eyes: Blue    

I am surprised to even see some bad reviews on this lipstick! If you're warm toned, why would you pick such a cool lipstick to wear? That's not the lipstick's fault. I am in seriously in love with this shade! It's a perfect pink, without being too pink. It does have a tad of grey in it, but that just tones the pink down. I don't see the grey or anything. The only thing I hate about this lipstick is the fact it's LE, and hard to find now. I would buy it otherwise.

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*TOP REVIEWER* thaliaucla on 3/27/2006 1:06:00 PM more reviews by thaliaucla

Age: 25-29   Skin: Other   Hair: Other   Eyes: Other    

Bare Venus is the prettiest nude lipstick I own (and I own a lot!). I wear it nearly everyday! It's a gorgeous pale nudey pinky lavender grey. It is exactly what Test Pattern l/l would be if it was a lipstick. Probably not good for extremely warm gals. I'm neutral cool and can wear a few warm things. This has everything I want in a nude lipstick. I love to pair Pink Grapefruit l/g over this. I get a lot of compliments on this :o)

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*TOP REVIEWER* Posh_Patricia on 3/15/2006 11:38:00 AM more reviews by Posh_Patricia

Age: 19-24   Skin: Normal, Fair   Hair: Brunette, Wavy, Fine   Eyes: Brown    

This is a very pale beige, even kinda grey, nude shade. It's a very special colour and it can't be very very unflattering if worn alone. I'm very very pale (so pale that I look yellowy LOL) but I'm a sucker for nudes so I just HAD to make it work somehow. Well, first of make sure you wear some bright eye look with this and then mix it with a nice lip liner. My fave combo is with Beurre Cremestick. If you find this colour unflattering but love nudes, then try Blankety lipstick, it's very similar but even prettier because it's not that grey, but pinker. They are the same formula. The Amplified Cream formula is incredibly nice and creamy.

*EDIT* Bare Venus + Prrr = LOVE! (no liner)

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*TOP REVIEWER* RedBetty on 3/7/2006 3:21:00 PM more reviews by RedBetty

Age: 25-29   Skin: Oily, Fair   Hair: Red   Eyes: Brown    

I'm an NC15, and I agree with everyone that this can not be worn alone. You definately need a dramatic eye and some blush and/or bronzer with this lipstick. But I'm still in love with it! The amplified formula is my favorite hands down, and I love this pale, almost greyish nude. It's a great night time color, and I especially love it when I do a smokey eye with humid e/s. I would rebuy... but since it's LE, I'm outta luck. Although I will be checking out blankety.

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*TOP REVIEWER* silvershimmer on 2/6/2006 2:16:00 AM more reviews by silvershimmer

Age: 19-24   Skin: Other   Hair: Other   Eyes: Other    

This is a pale, cool-toned nude that washes me out when worn alone. For reference, I have LLL (MAC C2) skintone and not very pigmented lips. It takes some effort to make Bare Venus to work on me and I'd only wear this lip colour with smokey eyes. I like to use it with a variety of lipliners such as MAC Subculture, EL Automatic Lip Pencil in Soft Pink or EL Spice. I also like it topped with MAC Nymphette Lipglass and Spring Fling Juicy Tube. I won't purchase again because I just don't see myself finishing this lipstick.

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ffsgal on 12/11/2005 11:50:00 PM more reviews by ffsgal

Age: 19-24   Skin: Oily   Hair: Brunette   Eyes: Blue    

I am a big fan of Mac, but I have to say that this lipstick does nothing for me. In fact it washes me out and makes me look dead. I am not too light being a C3, I will be giving it away. The reason I gave it a two is because a) this would probably work for some just fine and b) I do love the amplified formula, get smooth color, longevity of a matte without drying out the lips. Will not repurchase!

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mbeck53 on 11/19/2005 3:36:00 AM more reviews by mbeck53

Age: 19-24   Skin: Combination, Fair-Medium   Hair: Brunette   Eyes: Green    

Ugh...nasty. Normally I look good with a pale lip since my lips are very full, but this lipstick has too much grey in it. Buh bye. I like Nars Chelsea Girls much better!

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neene on 11/9/2005 9:07:00 AM more reviews by neene

Age: 25-29   Skin: Normal, Fair-Medium   Hair: Brown   Eyes: Green    

This was my fastest purchase ever and also one of the best, I saw it from the window, tried it on my hand and bought it. I had been looking for something like this forever!
The texture is smooth and creamy and the colour is a lovely beige pink with a light grey tone that turns the pink in my lips into a pale, nude subtle colour.
I guess it can look grey or strange on warmer complexions or pale lips, but my lips are pink and pigmented, so it just looks great.
I recommend you try this on your lips before you buy it because it is a tricky shade.

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*TOP REVIEWER* emiliejolie on 10/22/2005 12:37:00 PM more reviews by emiliejolie

Age: 25-29   Skin: Combination, Fair   Hair: Other   Eyes: Hazel    

I like Bare Venus. It has a nice creamy cool pink tone that has a very sublte hint of mauve. I personnaly don't see any beige in this shade and I don't consider this to be a "nude" shade. To me, it's more pink and somewhat more cool than Blankety. For references, I am PPP with dark-brown hair.

I love, love, love the texture!!!! It's so smooth and creamy, and goes on nicely.

On my thin and not-so-pigmented lips, it looks pretty alone or paired with a clear or light pink gloss. It's absolutely gorgeous with Lu-Be-Lu Lipgelee over it! I would buy it again (but it's a limited edition...).

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*TOP REVIEWER* audrey12299 on 10/20/2005 6:28:00 PM more reviews by audrey12299

Age: 19-24   Skin: Acne-prone, Fair, Cool   Hair: Blond, Straight, Fine   Eyes: Blue    

I used MAC Live Chat and the MA said the model on the website wore Bare Venus in the promo pic. I didn't like this at all. I also bought this because everyone was saying how it is a such a pale color that toned down pigmented lips....not on me!!! I am LLL/blue/dark blonde and have pigmented lips. Bare Venus was a medium mauve on me, looked horrible. I returned this the very next day. Wish it was as light on me as it was for the rest of you girls :(

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LazyDaisyDaze on 10/20/2005 12:41:00 AM more reviews by LazyDaisyDaze

Age: 36-43   Skin: Combination   Hair: Brunette   Eyes: Hazel    

Ugh! This took my natural lip shade down about 10 shades...I looked like a corpse.

BUT, I still LOVE MAC lipsticks...the texture and the smell! Just NOT this color!

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Pam_Too on 10/12/2005 8:42:00 PM more reviews by Pam_Too

Age: 25-29   Skin: Other   Hair: Other   Eyes: Other    

As others have said, this is very similar to MAC Blankety (my favourite pink beige nude!), but...something is a bit off with Bare Venus, on my skin. Not sure what, but I think Bare Venus is lacking the brown tone that is in Blankety (though Blankety is still a very muted greyed pink nude). In Bare Venus, without the brown tone grounding it, it seems a bit lost. A bit too cool, almost a "pale grey mauvey pink beige nude". On my olive skin (blonde hair, brown eyes, light olive skin), this can seem a bit blah, unless I pair it with a more pink toned lip liner. Stripdown, Oak, and Stone didn't work with BV on me. But, Alexis Vogel's "Adobe" was perfect (it's a pinker version of Mac Spice). Having said that, I hate the hard texture of Adobe. I think I'll try Bare Venus with MAC Whirl, Pink Treat, or Dervish next.
BV looks like a cross between Blankety (which is paler and more muted, grey-brown based) + VG II (which is a bit pinker, less grey and also brown based). BV seems fairly neutral with slight cool tones, w/o the brown, but with ALL the grey.

All in all, I like Bare Venus, but I don't "love" it; it takes a bit of work to make it look good on me. :/

Update: I raised my rating to 5 Stars. I'm finding that as my faux tan fades, and my pale cool/neutral olive skin emerges, Bare Venus is easier and easier to wear. This makes me think that Bare Venus is most certainly better suited to cooler skintones. Warmer toned girls who still want to try that "pale pink beige nude" lip, might want to try MAC Blankety or VG2, as they are similar to BV, but have more brown tones in the base color. Bare Venus is now a must-have to compliment my smokey eye/nude lip looks.

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Jen1234 on 10/12/2005 5:44:00 PM more reviews by Jen1234

Age: 25-29   Skin: Other   Hair: Other   Eyes: Other    

This color was all wrong for me (NW20). It completely washed me out. In the tube, it looks like a pretty beige pink. It went on much lighter and made me look pale, and sunk into my lips looking downright scary actually.

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*TOP REVIEWER* MissLaura2 on 10/6/2005 4:56:00 PM more reviews by MissLaura2

Age: 19-24   Skin: Very Dry, Fair   Hair: Blond   Eyes: Blue    

gorgeous Pinky Nude shade. non-shimmer....very creamy. I'm fair w/ blonde hair, blue eyes and this looks so soft on me. It's to die for with C-Thu lipglass on top

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*TOP REVIEWER* DebbieB43 on 10/5/2005 11:07:00 PM more reviews by DebbieB43

Age: 30-35   Skin: Dry, Fair   Hair: Brunette   Eyes: Blue    

This was way too pale on me(fair/ppp) washed me out big time, beautiful color in the tube, I guess for most, it would be ideal for the nude lip/smokey eye look.
If you like MAC Wuss..it's very similar to this.

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Satanic_Hairspray on 10/5/2005 2:15:00 AM more reviews by Satanic_Hairspray

Age: 19-24   Skin: Dry   Hair: Black   Eyes: Hazel    

its a lovely colour - hard to get used to at first since its so, well fair :) but it does look gorgeous with Pink Treat or Cream o Spice creamliner :) :)

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