MAC Archie’s Girls Nail Lacquers – review, photos & swatches

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Comic book geeks go chic with MAC’s latest collection

As a self-confessed comic book geek, my love for the funny pages didn’t start in some dark, cramped comic book store; it began in the checkout line at the grocery store. There, nestled next to the Snickers bars and lip balm, was an Archie Comics Digest. Though I often strayed with Katy Keene or Josie and the Pussycats, Archie and his pals and their wacky adventures were often my companion on the bus ride home from middle school.

And I’m not alone; Archie Comics have sold more than 2 billion issues and are distributed in dozens of languages worldwide. Archie Comics started in 1941 as a comic about a relatable character that readers could identify with. Soon the comic grew in popularity, spawning several titles, spin-offs, cartoon and even several albums. (You’re humming Sugar, Sugar right now, aren’t you?)

Waxing and waning in popularity, Archie came back in a big way recently with the popularity of geek culture and comic books in general. Though the title came from the ginger boy next door, we all know why some of us read the ubiquitous comic – Betty and Veronica. Whether you identified with the sweet blonde Betty or the spoiled raven-haired Veronica, these lovely ladies were the ultimate teens.

The team at MAC agrees and have launched the Archie’s Girls, a limited edition line that captures the essence of both of our favorite ladies from Riverdale High. I was lucky enough to test the Archie’s Girls Nail Lacquer and as a MAC fan and a nail polish junkie, I was ecstatic. These would be my first MAC polishes and my expectations were high.

First, let’s talk packaging. One of my favorite things about MAC limited editions is the packaging is often just as good as the product itself. The Archie’s Girls boxes are adorable and I do enjoy the white caps instead of the usual black, but I was really hoping that Betty and Veronica’s faces would be on the bottles! It’s a minor detail, but it would have really razzed my berries, as Archie would say!

Both Betty and Veronica have two polishes ($17.50 each) in their collection (all creme finish, no sparkle for these clean teens!)

Comic Cute – bright yellow pink
Pep Pep Pep – light apricot nude

Archie’s Girls Veronica Nail Lacquers:
Past Curfew – deep berry
Double Trouble – bright navy

Pep Pep Pep

As a Betty girl, I immediately reached for Pep Pep Pep, a creamy peach. Being a light neutral, it applied fairly thin and streaky. I had to use three thick coats to get full opacity, but the formula seemed to dry faster than most polishes so this wasn’t too much of a problem.

Comic Cute

Stef tried Comic Cute. Be sure to check the comments to see what she thought of this bright coral, ann oh so ready for spring shade.

Past Curfew

A Veronica color, Past Curfew is a really lovely dark berry that applies and dries like a dream. It’s a gorgeous solid color that is fun, but still tame enough for those who don’t want to get too wild with their nails.

Double Trouble

But my flat-out favorite was Double Trouble. This deep navy was just gorgeous, dark but still bright and eye-catching. Maybe I’m more of a Veronica than I thought…

I got really great wear out of these polishes; after five days there was some tip wear but no chips. And I’m HARD on my nails – we’re talking doing dishes and scrubbing sinks without gloves and letting a teething baby chew on my fingers. If the polish can stand up to my punishment, it can stand up to anything.

My only issue with these polishes was the brush, which reminded me of the kind that come with elementary school watercolor kits, thick and bristly. The formula is a dream, but the brush makes it harder to apply and creates streaks in soft colors like Pep Pep Pep. At this price point, I expect more.

Overall, I really think MAC has hit it out of the park with Archie’s Girls. It’s a fun and unexpected theme for a makeup line and it captures the spirit of Betty and Veronica perfectly. If the brush quality were improved, this would be an automatic five star review, no questions asked. However, they’re still great colors with incredible wear.

we heartsters – Who else is over the moon for this new MAC launch? Let’s hear from all our Betty girls and Veronica vixens on which color makes you flip, daddy-o!

Archie’s Girls Nail Lacquers
Betty:
Pep Pep Pep – Light peach nude
Comic Cute – Bright coral

Veronica:
Past Curfew – Deep berry
Double Trouble – Deep navy
$17.50 US/$21 CDN

Alyssa is kinda geeky, kinda girly and all the way in love with her cowboy husband who can say words like, “ornery” with a straight face. She live in Texas and is working on her Masters, being a good cook and the art of looking cute in the morning AND being on time for work. Visit her blog Kind of a Mess.

Disclosure: This review includes products that were provided by the manufacturer/PR firm for our consideration. For more info, or any questions, please see our disclosure policy.

Author

  • lyssachelle

    Alyssa is kinda geeky, kinda girly and all the way in love with her cowboy husband who can say words like, “ornery” with a straight face. She live in Texas and is working on her Masters, being a good cook and the art of looking cute in the morning AND being on time for work. skin tone: NC42 skin type: oily to normal favorite beauty product: nail polish and mascara

13 Comments

  1. I heart the Archie line for MAC! These nail polishes are adorable but I must say that I didn’t think to get any because the colors are cute but not super special. and I wish there was a Betty or Veronica on them as well! I think my favorite is Comic Cute!

    1. @mandabear, definitely think about swatching these the next time you’re in the store, you might be pleasantly surprised! I felt the same way about Double Trouble; I thought it was just another navy, but on my nail it definitely looked different than I thought. :-)
      But I’m glad you feel the same about the ladies being missing from the bottles, how cute would that have been?

  2. Nice job, @Alyssa! I am especially drawn to “Pep Pep Pep” and “Comic Cute.” Thanks for giving the real head’s up on the brush. At $17.50 each, I like these a lot but don’t think I’ll dig into my savings for them. It is very nice to know that they are long-wearing. Your photos are beautiful!

    1. Thanks, @gigi! It’s a shame about the brushes because pretty much everything else about them is fabulous! However, I don’t think they are a deal-breaker if you really love the colors, but it does make you pause.

  3. Another exciting MAC collection – I am consistently amazed at their muses for these LE lines. I can’t wait to see the swatches for all of the other products (we’ve got more Archie’s Girls coming over the week) – the colors are so much fun and spring-y.
    As for the polishes I really love Comic Cute – I’m not a big coral wearer (at least with with blush, gloss etc) – but would love to wear this on my nails to welcome the new Spring season. I’m also digging the Double Trouble – I love dark polish and this one has just enough color and shine to keep me from looking like the walking dead.

    1. I’m still amazed at the depth of Double Trouble; so many dark navy color lean black but this one is a DEFINITE blue and does not play around!

    2. That’s exactly what I love about Double Trouble too – it’s the darkest blue that still reads as blue and not black.

  4. It’s a shame about the brush. Colors like Pep Pep Pep nad Comic Cute make me drool, but I don’t have the patience to work with a bad brush when it comes to light shades. Colors like Double Trouble are probably okay with sub-par brushes because it’s easier to hide streaks, but I would hope for a better brush in future collections. Still! I wouldn’t push a single one of these colors out of my collection. So cute!

    1. What’s weird is I had less trouble with the darker color’s brushes rather than Pep Pep Pep. It is disappointing, but the colors are so lovely!!

    2. Light opaque cremes are almost always troublesome for me. Sadly, especially MAC’s.

  5. I am the proud owner of Comic Cute and I love it. It’s bright and bubblegum pink leaning coral (a yellow pink, if you will) and I’m proud to say I don’t have anything like it already! I found that this creme was a bit more self adjusting than Pep Pep Pep (the streaks sorted themselves out by the second coat) and it have just enough of a satin finish to it that it wasn’t a total pain to work with. I did not have any trouble with the brush, but I know what @alyssa means – they do seem a tad on the cheap side.

  6. I am loving Comic Cute, Past Curfew, and especially Double Trouble! Great review and intro/reminder of why I loved the series too!

  7. Comic Cute and Double Trouble both look like fun… and a Double Trouble mani with Comic Cute on your ring fingers would be fun too! I’m glad to hear these have decent length of wear. MAC’s prices are too high to have chipping so quickly.

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