AHHHH! Allow me to fly my MAC freak flag for a second, because I can remember with shocking clarity the night I wore MAC Skew Lipstick, one of the seven lipsticks in the MAC Throwback collection, to my friend Cindy’s birthday party in 2002.
I can’t remember what I had for lunch yesterday, but I remember wearing Skew 16 years ago with a blackened gray smoky eye (complete with glitter). I also remember touching it up beneath blue lights in a Castro dance club (and I may or may not have been a little tipsy) and thinking, “This is the best lipstick ever! This is the best night ever! I’m gonna dance like this forever!”
LOL. Ah, the good times I had with Skew. 🙂
I love this pink duochrome coral so much, and I went through several tubes. I can’t believe I didn’t realize it had been discontinued.
That’s MAC for ya. So many colors, so little time…
Like the other six lipsticks in MAC Throwback, Skew was cast aside!
OK, maybe that’s a little dramatic. It was “quietly retired.”
Well, now they’re back, at least temporarily.
I didn’t wear all seven of these colors way back when, but I remember seeing most of them around, especially the dark mattes, Marrakesh and Rocker, which are/were very 1995.
I think the nude mattes, Shrimpton and Bronx, are completely new to me, but they look like something I would’ve layered under MAC Oyster Girl in the early aughts.
Ooh, that’s old-school right there! Fist bump if you get that ref. 🙂
And Icon and Spanish Fly (both Frosts) look like colors I wore around 1997 with super dark lip liner (which would have been left unblended, of course).
The mattes in the collection feel like the MAC formula felt back in the day. They seem thicker and heavier than the newer MAC mattes to me, and the finish looks flatter and more stark.
Aaaand, they’re also just as drying as those older MAC mattes were, FYI. So keep your favorite lip balm at the ready.
Even though these seven shades had their moment, I think this is a great idea for a collection. If you’re thinking about getting just one, I say grab Skew, or at least take a look at it. I think it’ll look fab on most skin tones. It’s coral, but it has a pink duochrome, so sometimes it looks more pink, depending on what you’re wearing on your eyes and cheeks.
Bonus: It’s only moderately pigmented, which means that you can touch it up without a mirror.
These seven are $17.50 each, and they’re available now at select MAC counters and the MAC website.
Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,
Karen
Love that MAC brought these babies back! Shrimpton was one of my first MAC lipsticks in the mid-90s…my first was Faux.
I think Bronx is pretty!
I bought 6 “ O’s “ which has been discontinued! Which is the story of my life !
Marrakesh is such a beautiful brick red. And Skew does look gorgeous! I wore Paramount from about 1995-1998. 😉
I always looved the look and color of Icon and Spanish fly but sadly I’m one of those people that can’t pull off a frost color. But Marrakesh used to be my jam back in the day.
I’m from Toronto (birthplace of MAC) and I’ve been wearing MAC for 30 years! Back in the day you could only buy MAC from their tiny store on Carlton St. in any case, I’m still looking for a dupe for my fave lipstick ever from them…I don’t even recall the name it’s been so long! Lol It was a cream/semi matte duo chrome…it looked coral/orange in the tube but flashed a pink when applied (but not frosty at all)…worn with Spice lipliner…it was perfection! I haven’t ever been able to dupe it! It would have been circa 1990-91. If there are any MAC devotee out there as old as me who can lend there expertise it would be appreciated! I thought it was called Cinema but I can’t be sure…I do know that the name Cinema has had many incarnations over the years.
Thanks all!
Best Lisa
@LittleMama71
Was your favorite 3-D? It was a peachy brown with a violet shimmer. It was my most favorite. They discontinued it :(( I am getting Skew soon. Then I am adding a sheer violet Dazzleglass lipgloss on top. Hopefully a close version of the very much missed 3-D lipstick.
I have worked for MAC since 2001 and love trying to find old favourites – I thought it could possibly be DELISH – but looking back over old products we did have a CINEMA lipstick discontinued 01/09/1998 and the recommended products to get the same look are Jubilee Lustre Lipstick blended with Lasting Sensation Lip Pencil, hope that helps!
I don’t remember wearing any of these lip sticks, but Marrakesh looks beautiful.
I BEGGED MAC to bring back Spanish Fly! I had my original tube from 2003 and was using the last of what I could dig out the tube a week before it was re-released. I even got an email telling me when it was to be launched! All the colors MAC te-released are beautiful. I am happy they are back.
I wish other companies would do this, I’m still pining for a Dior lipstick called Velvet Rose that I wore in 1993 and 1994. It was a perfect rosy pink and no matter how hard I’ve looked over the years I’ve never found a true dupe for it. Sigh. ?
love rocker
Marrakesh is a dupe for a discontinued color from another brand. I’ve been looking for a dupe for ages and here it is in Marrakesh. I am so incredibly excited! I am in love!!
I once was addicted to a lipstick called Coffee by Jordana. Could not stop using it. Then, while running low, I made some inquiries as to where I could get some more. I found out then that it had been discontinued. After that startling piece of information, I started full-time research on where I could find at least one more tube. This was before Google. Took a long time, but I found a little beauty supply store many miles from me that still was carrying it. I was prepared without hesitation to purchase it and have it mailed to me. For some reason, I decided to ask them how many they had left, and the man responded they still had 15 tubes. Needless to say, I purchased all 15 tubes and am now down to 3 left. Never to see that color again. This is what frightens me most, when I find a product I like, it is always discontinued shortly after I start relying on it. Will this happen to me again after I start using Marrakash? I also experienced the same thing with a face foundation from Smashbox. I think I am becoming cosmetic shy,
Thank you for the swatches!! I am so excited about this release!! I’m definitely getting Marrakesh, (which I’d searched for ever since reading that it was Dana Scully’s signature lip color on the X-Files). I can’t believe it’s back! and Icon which I owned back in the day.
90s makeup was the best. MAC had beautiful 90s shades- 3-D, Wuss, Modem were some other favorites. I hope they release another throwback:)