MAC 'Creme Cup' Lipstick

MAC 'Creme Cup' Lipstick, £14 online and in stores
Although not officially one of MAC's bestsellers, Creme Cup is a much talked about lipstick from their permanent collection. It is described as a light blue pink and falls under their Cremesheen category, and was originally released as part of the Cremeteam collection that debuted in February 2009. As with most Cremesheens, Creme Cup is well-pigmented but - again like most Cremesheens - I find a little drying. Personally I'm much more of a fan of the Amplified/Amplified Creme formulas, because as you can see from the photo, I find the lipstick settles easily into any imperfections in the lip. I don't consider myself to have dry lips at all really, but you'd be forgiven for thinking otherwise from the photo! It's also prone to looking quite cakey on the lips, so be sure to have a blotting tissue or a light hand to avoid that.

So aside from the slightly misleading 'cremesheen' title, this is a very pretty colour and - thanks to its bluer undertones - flattering when it comes to making your teeth look white. It's also a very easy every day colour to wear and goes equally well with understated, 'no make-up' make up as it does with a smokier brown or taupe eye. I don't generally wear this in the evenings, but I do like a bold lip, so there's nothing to say you couldn't.

Personally I think it's a very dupeable shade and you'd be better off looking elsewhere to find the right formula. I find I get a much smoother, prettier finish from the Revlon Lip Butters and L'Oreal Rouge Caresse, which are near enough half the price, and the YSL Sheer Candy Lipsticks, all three ranges of which have similar shades.

Altogether, not a great MAC lipstick for me. Do you have Creme Cup? What do you think of it?