MAC Nail Transformations Swatches and Review

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MAC-Studio-nail-lacquer-1Press Sample Affiliate Link

MAC Cosmetics proves change is good!

Try googling just about any mainstream brand and “formula change,” and you’ll find throngs of upset makeup addicts gnashing their teeth and crying to the heavens. So it was with excitement and trepidation that I opened my review box and saw that I received nearly the entire MAC Nail Transformations collection as well a few MAC Studio Nail Lacquers, all of which boasted a new formula.

I really liked MAC’s previous formula, but I had a lot of issues with its brush. I received a base coat, top coat, four cremes and the Transformations Collection – three pearl transformers, three top coat effects and one glitter – all reformulated and a with newly designed brush. Wait…a new brush?! Hallelujah and pass the cuticle oil!

MAC-Studio-nail-lacquer-2MAC Studio Nail Lacquers: Rebel, Coffee Break, Girl about Town, Saint Germain

MAC-Studio-nail-lacquer-3-swatches

In order to test the line, I tried them over the creme MAC Studio Nail Lacquers ($12 each); above you can see two base coats of Rebel, Coffee Break, Girl about Town and Saint Germain (my thumb has a basic black in all pictures).

MAC-Studio-nail-lacquer-Pearls-4

The Transformations line consists of ‘transforming’ liquid pigments – think top coats – that create subtle to dramatic changes in the color and/or finish of any nail polish. I think all of them are a great way to change up a color that you no longer love, or a nice boost to make your favorite shade just a bit more fancy.

MAC-Studio-Nail-Lacquer-Pink-Pearl-5

MAC-Studio-Nail-Lacquer-Pink-Pearl-6Pink Pearl Sheer over Rebel, Coffee Break, Girl about Town, Saint Germain and a black base on the thumb

A very pretty duochrome, Pink Pearl Sheer gave a nice warmth to all of the creme shades, with a shimmer that flashed from deep pink to a golden orange.

MAC-Studio-Nail-Lacquer-Highlight-7Highlight over Rebel, Coffee Break, Girl about Town, Saint Germain and a black base on the thumb

I’m not sure why Highlight was not named Blue Pearl, but it gave an icy blue shine that worked best on the darker colors.

MAC-Studio-Nail-Lacquer-Green-Pearl-8

MAC-Studio-Nail-Lacquer-Green-Pearl-9Green Pearl over Rebel, Coffee Break, Girl about Town and Saint Germain

Green Pearl had the biggest shift of the bunch, from deep green to gold with almost a purple in certain light. I really only liked it over the black creme, but I’m sure others will enjoy playing with this one.

MAC-Studio-Nail-Lacquer-Gold-Pearl-10

MAC-Studio-Nail-Lacquer-Gold-Pearl-11Gold Pearl over Rebel, Coffee Break, Girl about Town, Saint Germain and a black base on the thumb

Gold Pearl was my favorite, but it was also the hardest to apply without overdoing it or getting streaks.

MAC-Studio-nail-lacquer-toppers-12Matte Overlacquer, Silver Dew, Shadow and Texturize

The special effects are not limited to just pearly finishes! The matte look, lots of glitter, a little texture – MAC has something for you.

MAC-Studio-nail-lacquer-matte-topper-13Matte Overlacquer over Rebel, Coffee Break, Girl about Town, Saint Germain and a black base on the thumb

For me Matte Overlacquer was the least exciting of the bunch; though a great matte topcoat, it wasn’t that different from any of the other mattes on the market.

MAC-Studio-nail-lacquer-texturize-topper-14

MAC-Studio-nail-lacquer-texturize-topper-15Texturize over Rebel, Coffee Break, Girl about Town, Saint Germain and a black base on the thumb

I’ve never hid my distaste for texture polishes (so weird and bumpy!) but the slight sugaring in Texturize was very subtle, though I’m not too sure I’d call this a “leather effect.”

MAC-Studio-nail-lacquer-silver-dew-topper-16

MAC-Studio-nail-lacquer-silver-dew-topper-17Silver Dew over Rebel, Coffee Break, Girl about Town and Saint Germain

Silver Dew from the Studio Nail Lacquer line is a gold based, glitter bomb that’s packed with multi colored sparkles. While I used it as a topcoat, it could be worn alone as well.

MAC-Studio-nail-lacquer-shadow-topper-18Shadow over Rebel, Coffee Break, Girl about Town and Saint Germain

I really thought I’d adore Shadow, a top coat designed to blacken the basecoat and give a deeper color. The blackening effect works well on darker colors, but made light colors look dirty. It took two coats to get a noticeable difference, but any more than that built the color up too much and gave a thick jelly look.

Overall, the collection is stellar. The new formula makes the polishes apply buttery smooth and dry in just a few minutes. The Underlacquer and Overlacquer are worth getting on their own, my chipping was minimal and I had a mirror shine on every manicure I used it on. The pearls can be a bit streaky, but that’s expected with something so sheer and can be avoided with light touch. But the pearls can also bring new life to your polish collection, which make them definitely worth trying!

we heartsters – What do you think? Would you let MAC Transformations transform your old polishes?

photos: Alyssa for we heart this

Underlacquer – Basecoat
Overlacquer – Topcoat

Highlight – Sheer blue pearl transformer
Pink Pearl Sheer – Pink pearl transformer (Liquid Pigment)
Green Pearl – Sheer green pearl transformer (Liquid Pigment)
Gold Pearl – Sheer gold pearl transformer (Liquid Pigment)
Matte Overlacquer – Matte top coat
Texturize – Clear leather effect top coat
Shadow – Sheer blackening top coat
Silver Dew – Gold glitter base with multi-colored large glitter

Saint Germain – Light cool pink
Girl about Town – Bright blue fuchsia
Coffee Break – Midtonal cool taupe
Rebel – Midtonal cream plum (Creme)

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

6 Comments

  1. These are so fun! Yet an extra incentive to go after that new years resolution to stop biting my nails (eek)

  2. Super eye catching colors! What a plethora of shine and brilliant colors, in your face! I see fun fingers everywhere..

  3. I had so much fun looking at all the ways you used these cool products! Highlight and Green Pearl really appeal to me.

  4. These are sooo cool, I didn’t know what to look at first, but I know I’ll be keeping my nail lady busy trying some of these combos out!

  5. Great post, @lyssachelle! That Green Pearl is intriguing me! I love how much it changed the original colors. Fun!

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