Unfortunately, I have to share a sad development. I can't wear MAC lipsticks anymore. I was having problems w/ the area around my lip line breaking out. I thought it was just an issue w/ Pomposity & Vivacious since the problems didn't really start to show until after I got those two. But earlier this week, I realized that maybe it's all of them. My skin was a mess earlier this week, but it's recovered a little bit better now.

I guess this means Clinique lipsticks from now on for me. I know they have nice shades, but they don't have as much of a selection of dramatic pinks. My bathroom counter looks a little bit naked w/ only 2 lipsticks on it, so I just may have to go to the Clinique counter in a few wks. to experiment w/ some shades.

As far as all the MAC lipstick I already have, I'm going to decapitate the tubes I've already used & put them up for swap as B2Ms. I'll be updating my swap list once I'm done w/ shipping out fraffle packages & I'll have 10 B2M empties to put up there. So for those of you who are into MAC, my loss can be your gain.

I'll be putting my unused lipsticks for swap too, but not until the weather gets a little bit cooler.

That's too bad that the MAC lipsticks are doing that to you.

Clinique has some pretty shades and the new Fall collection will be beautiful.

Have you tried Flirt lipsticks from Kohl's? Many of their shades are like MAC's. Check the ingredients list also.

Sorry to hear about that Megan, I know how much you were getting into the MAC colors.

Curious, what's a B2M?

Ugh Megan, that must suck so much. But I totally understand how you feel. My problem wasn't with my lips, but my eye area goes crazy when I try anything new and sparkly on it (ie VS BR Eyeshadows). I really hated having to give those up because I loved wearing them. I think I either RAOK'd them to people or I took them back to VS. Either way, it was sad. I'm sorry that this has happened to you. And those MAC items are a lot more to lose than VS BR eyeshadows....

Becky, B2Ms are empty MAC products that can be recycled at the MAC counter. If you return 6 empty items to the counter, you get a free lipstick. I've heard that the freestanding stores will let you pick out a lipglass or e/s when redeeming B2Ms.

Anan, I remember your story about the e/s's. I think I'm going to have to put my MAC e/s's up for swap too since they have glitter in them. I only tested them once & they didn't cause any irritation, but I'm trying to prevent future problems from occurring.

Sorry to hear about your lipstick woes, Megan.
At least you now know that MAC doesn't work for you.

I thought I'd revive this old thread instead of starting a new one.

I've been having problems with lip glosses lately. I don't know what the deal is, but they keep breaking down and separating. I store them in my purse for the most part, which is always at room temperature, so it can't be a heat/cold issue. Any ideas?

In the past month, I've thrown out:

AG Pink Lemonade gloss - separated into runny oily stuff and thicker goo. But this one was about a year old, so I'll toss that one up to age.

Maybelline Shiny Licious gloss in Pink Sorbet - seperated into oily and thick stuff. In new packaging, so I know it wasn't very old.

Stila gloss in Mandarin Mist - this one is the worst of all, and it happened paractically overnight. And I paid the most for it.

Then this morning I went to put on a glodd from TBS and I got a big drop of oil from the tube instead of the nice, mixed up gloss. I had just used that one yesterday, how could it have settled that much in 24 hours?!?!

Does anyone have any ideas / suggestions?

Hey janelle, i actually own a few AG lipglosses (cause they taste like candy) and most of them have separated into the oily/thick stuff you talk about. I can't speak for the other brands, but I think the AG ones just aren't as high quality and break down pretty easily. I had mine stored at room temperature in a dark drawer and it still separated. I've noticed that a sugar and spice swirl lipgloss i have is starting to separate too. I think, for the most part, it can't be avoided and just tends to happen with the glosses.

Too bad about those lip glosses, Janelle. I have a few AG ones but I haven't opened them yet. I hope it doesn't happen to mine.
I know that last year's Temptations lip glosses are worthless, because they smelled and tasted stale after opening them a few months after getting them, and they didn't look all that fresh either.

Edward and Fryl, it's sad that BBW glosses just aren't very high quality. I think to some extent it's hit or miss, depending on the batch, but that's not very comforting.

I bought some Temptations plumper glosses a few weeks ago ... I'm not very happy with them. They haven't seperated, but the consistency is SO sticky. It's like spreading superglue. I've been thinking about returning them.

omg, what a total bummer. I'm sorry. I, too, love MAC.

I seriously think there has to be some high grade crack in those MAC lipsticks. I've swapped or fraffled all of the ones I had remaining away except for 3. And one of those 3 is Flowerplay. I wore it tonight & it looked good.

So I'm going to try to give MAC lipsticks another try, but I'll try not to be as crazy about them as I was last yr. So far, my rules are to wear them only 1x a wk., stick to lustre finishes, & stay away from hot pinks (as much as I love them). We shall see how this goes.