MAC Beth Ditto Collection Nail Lacquers
Near Beth Experience, Nocturnelle, Vagabondage
MAC Near Beth Experience. A light pastel yellow creme with a hint of warmth. It seems a little cooler in my picture than it does in real life. It's a custard yellow, only very slightly warm and with a very soft looking finish. Limited edition.
MAC Nocturnelle. Plain black creme. Two coat opacity. Very subtle jelly finish. Permanent.
MAC Vagabondage. Light lavender pink creme. Halfway in between pink and light purple. It's bright and really stands out on the nails, but at the same time it's soft and creamy looking. Not harsh or chalky like white-based pastels. Reminds me a little of OPI Lucky Lucky Lavender. Limited edition.
There is a fourth shade in this collection, Life and Beth, described as a milky peach. I don't have this one, but it is available online with the rest of the shades.
The formula on these was great. MAC isn't really known for having a good nail polish formula, and most of my older MAC polish shades aren't the nicest to apply. The bottle of Nocturnelle I have here is actually the old formula and it is watery and hard to control. Near Beth Experience and Vagabondage are completely different. They were smooth and creamy, not too runny, not terribly streaky and not uneven or difficult in any way. They even smell different. They applied beautifully and didn't give me any trouble at all. I did three coats of each shade and they were perfect at three. Dry time was average and they all dried glossy even without topcoat.
Nocturnelle is just a plain black creme, and the old formula version I have is a two coater. I don't know if the new formula Nocturnelle released with this collection is any different or better, but even if it is, there aren't many plain black cremes that are worth $16, including this one. The other two shades I tried were fantastic. The formula and application were lovely and the colors are super pretty.
Life and Beth, Near Beth Experience and Vagabondage are limited edition. Nocturnelle is permanent. Each MAC/Beth Ditto Collection Nail Lacquer is $16 for 10 ml / 0.34 fl oz.
(Near Beth Experience and Vagabondage were sent for review.)
MAC Near Beth Experience. A light pastel yellow creme with a hint of warmth. It seems a little cooler in my picture than it does in real life. It's a custard yellow, only very slightly warm and with a very soft looking finish. Limited edition.
MAC Nocturnelle. Plain black creme. Two coat opacity. Very subtle jelly finish. Permanent.
MAC Vagabondage. Light lavender pink creme. Halfway in between pink and light purple. It's bright and really stands out on the nails, but at the same time it's soft and creamy looking. Not harsh or chalky like white-based pastels. Reminds me a little of OPI Lucky Lucky Lavender. Limited edition.
There is a fourth shade in this collection, Life and Beth, described as a milky peach. I don't have this one, but it is available online with the rest of the shades.The formula on these was great. MAC isn't really known for having a good nail polish formula, and most of my older MAC polish shades aren't the nicest to apply. The bottle of Nocturnelle I have here is actually the old formula and it is watery and hard to control. Near Beth Experience and Vagabondage are completely different. They were smooth and creamy, not too runny, not terribly streaky and not uneven or difficult in any way. They even smell different. They applied beautifully and didn't give me any trouble at all. I did three coats of each shade and they were perfect at three. Dry time was average and they all dried glossy even without topcoat.
Nocturnelle is just a plain black creme, and the old formula version I have is a two coater. I don't know if the new formula Nocturnelle released with this collection is any different or better, but even if it is, there aren't many plain black cremes that are worth $16, including this one. The other two shades I tried were fantastic. The formula and application were lovely and the colors are super pretty.
Life and Beth, Near Beth Experience and Vagabondage are limited edition. Nocturnelle is permanent. Each MAC/Beth Ditto Collection Nail Lacquer is $16 for 10 ml / 0.34 fl oz.
(Near Beth Experience and Vagabondage were sent for review.)
Vagabondage is gorgeous! Life and Beth looks amazing too. I like Near Beth Experience too but.. I have enough pale yellows that look like hot death on me..will resist!
ReplyDeleteI'm going to have to see Life and Beth in person. It looks really nice in the picture, doesn't it?
DeleteThat yellow intrigues me... I've never really liked yellow polishes and I don't own any, but there's something I quite like about this creamy pastel.
ReplyDeleteYou need to try a yellow polish! I love yellow polish, though some are a little hard to wear. There's a few cheap ones out there that you can try (Sally Hansen has a few) to see if you like yellow on your nails :D
DeleteKinda curious to see the vagabondage in real life. I have yet to get my first Mac-polish.
ReplyDeleteBut as i already have so many polishes should i get my hands on the mac one?
Hmmm, will check it out though.
Definitely take a look at it in real life if you get the chance. I don't know if it's worth $16, but it is pretty.
DeleteOnly the black really stands out for me, the other two you swatched are really similar to a couple of Nails Inc ones I have.
ReplyDeleteI need to get those Nails Inc. ones then! I like their formula even better.
DeleteI am loving the yellow and black! :)
ReplyDeleteI bet they'd look nice together, like a bumblebee :D
DeleteI just can't bring myself to pay $16 for MAC nail polish when only a few years ago I could buy it for $11. Plus it chips like crazy one me!
ReplyDeleteI don't have the chipping problem, but I agree that $16 is way too much. Only if the color is really, really cool.
DeleteI just saw these yesterday. The MAC girl said they improved the formula and soon they will be out with a new nail line.
ReplyDeleteThis formula is definitely better than any of my old MAC polishes, that's for sure. And they are releasing a big permanent lineup of polishes soon!
Deletenear beth experience reminds me of the yellow illamasqua, nudge i think, do you think they are similar?
ReplyDeleteI think it's Blow that's the pale yellow one... Blow is more saturated, Near Beth Experience is more whitish/pale/pastel
DeleteIts interesting that you say these polishes applied so well because other blogs that I trust and respect as much as yours told me they were horrible and streaky...hmmm weird
ReplyDeleteI honestly didn't have a problem with them, they were especially nice compared to the watery, crappy, old formula bottle of Nocturnelle I swatched with these. They had streaks on the first coat like any pastel does, but after the second coat they were even but still a little sheer. Maybe we're just applying them differently? Too much pressure on the brush and not enough polish can cause even a good polish to look streaky.
DeleteBut, yes, definitely weird that othera are having problems with them. I thought they were great. =/
I agree with you that they probably applied them differently because I can't think of any other reason for the difference. Thanks for replying, I love your blog! I visit it everyday :)
DeleteI can't stop reading "MAC Beth" as "Macbeth."
ReplyDeleteShh! It's The Scottish Play! ;-)
DeleteI must know your application secret for vagabondage! I have it and love the color but it applied almost like it was sticky.
ReplyDeleteI also got Life and Beth... it seems a lot of negative reviews went up about that too, but I adore it. Maybe different batches?
Either way, I must know your secret for Vagabondage!
You're the second person now who has mentioned the sticky texture to me... My bottle wasn't sticky at all, it felt a little thick, but smooth and creamy like any other creme nail polish. I honestly didn't do anything special to apply it, just did what I always do and waited about a minute in between coats and that was it.
DeleteCould be different batches, I know some brands are notorious for that, but mine felt and applied perfectly normal, so I'm not sure what the deal with it is =/ Did you use a sticky basecoat or a ridge filler? I know those types of basecoats can sometimes have an effect on application. But nope, no special application secret here, I'm afraid. Wish I knew what to tell you!