MAC Ruffian – review, photos & swatches

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photos: we heart this

Thinking about scooping something up from the MAC Ruffian collection? Well you better get scooping, this limited edition launch won’t be around for much longer. And there lies the crux of the problem for me, a sufferer of Limited Edition Disorder (or LED).

You see, I own approximately a gizllion red lipsticks. So when I saw that Ruffian Red was being re-released, a shade that was formerly available in 2009 to only “VIP’s and editors” (as their beautiful video on the MAC site says) I felt my disorder really kicking in. And so far, I’ve fought it.

Today, I bring you a quick look at the two Ruffian products we did get to take a look at. If you feel your LED kick in too, maybe we can lean on each other!

The tidy collection is only six products; three lipsticks and three coordinating press-on manicures in the shades of gold, nude and red. The shades and the products sum up this New York fashion house quite nicely; I see it as classic redefined. Much like Brian Wolk and Claude Morais themselves, the absolutely divine duo behind the label.

Ruffian Gold lipstick is a sea of gold micro glitter in a transparent base. You can use this as just a wash of glitter (either alone or over another shade as seen below) or easily build it up to a uber-glittery gold disco ball sort of lip. I absolutely love the way it catches light. And for the amount of glitter, it doesn’t feel gritty either.

Ruffian Gold on left

Applied over my three go-to shades; coral, red and nude

Wolk and Morais see the Ruffian Manicure as an accessory (agreed). But also, a way to get manicures on a lot of models very quickly. And isn’t the box fabulous? That’s a ruffle illustration around the outside. I got to try Demilune, which is a square tipped yellow gold metallic nail oversprayed with a matte black lacquer. The design is a reverse half moon manicure.

Forget everything you may have encountered in the past with cheap press-on nails. These sets have 24 nail sizes to chose from, that’s 12 sizes for each hand. I was able to get very close to exact fits, something I never had before. The length is fabulous, long enough to feel fancy but not verging on dragon lady.

I think these are perfect for special occasions. The adhesive is also officially the business. These stayed on firmly during a very long night in Vegas, yet easily pulled off during a very rough morning after with no damage to my natural nails at all. Plus, they’re instantly dry so I didn’t have to worry about smudges as I was getting ready. $25 is a tad expensive, and for that price I was bummed to see jagged edges. But I could totally see me buying them again if they weren’t limited edition.

Now about that Ruffian Red lipstick that’s about to become red lipstick number gizllion and one…

we heartsters – are you feeling the pull (or ruffle) of Ruffian?

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.