With Mary Kay‘s successful launch of their Gel Semi-Matte Lipstick range in the second half of 2016, we’re seeing them launch yet another range of lipsticks: the Gel Semi-Shine Lipsticks!

The Gel Semi-Shine Lipsticks promise to:

• Deliver radiant colour with luminous shine
• Provide long-lasting wear without drying out lips
• Cushion, feel-good formula delivers soft comfort
• Highly pigmented shades provide intense, stay-true colour

And you know what? YES, THEY DO, to ALL of the above! It’s really nice to see a claim by a brand actually end up being what you personally experience with the product. These are incredibly comfortable, they never dried out my lips and they did still feel cushion-y on my lips after five hours of wear.

And the pigment? Oh yes,it’s definitely there!

The only shade that is even remotely sheer is Luminous Lilac, but that’s partially down to the paleness of the shade.

Mary Kay Gel Semi-Shine Lipstick Lip Swatches

Final Thoughts

The Mary Kay Gel Semi-Shine Lipsticks are super easy and comfortable to wear. For a lipstick range that’s labelled as a “semi-shine”, I was so surprised (and impressed) with just how much pigment is in these. I suppose I was expecting more of a translucent sheen on them, but heck no – they’re full on pigment with a hint of sheen. They fit nicely into the cream category of lipstick, but with a little bit of an amped up sheen (some of them even seem a bit metallic – but definitely not overdone).

Fundamentally though? These don’t feel any different than the Gel Semi-Matte Lipsticks they launched in 2016. If you look at my lip swatches from my 2016 post on the semi-mattes, the sheen is really not that different on both sets lipsticks. So for me, this is mostly just a shade extension launch, and if you loved the semi-mattes, you’ll lose these semi-shines because they feel and wear the exact same way!

The products featured in this post were sent to me for consideration.

If you had asked me years ago if I would ever be interested in Mary Kay launches, I would’ve likely laughed you out of my apartment. But, hey, here we are! Mary Kay flies so much under the radar in the beauty community because it’s still pegged as such a grandma brand, but damnit, I’m trying to change that a little bit!

Let’s start with the nail polishes because they are hands down my FAVOURITE thing that Mary Kay makes. I won’t be swatching them for you (which is in your best interest, I promise – my nails look like I’ve been at war with them since the condo move), but if you’ve been keen enough to notice my nail polish in my YouTube videos over the last 8 months or so, you’ll have noticed that practically the only nail polish I wear anymore is by Mary Kay. These suckers are opaque in two coats, have a lovely cream finish and are overall amazing. Highly recommend.

New for the Fall 2017 limited edition collection are these Lip Suedes. They’ve only released two colours – Rose Blush and Mulberry Muse – but they’re pretty, if not somewhat conventional, colours.

These were absolutely LOVELY to wear. The colour glides on easily and smells wonderful (like vanilla). Coverage was opaque in two swipes. It goes on like a cream and eventually dries down to more of a matte finish. I liked that aspect because it made the lipstick last a heck of a lot longer than I was expecting. They’re also incredibly comfortable: I wore Mulberry Muse out for the evening last weekend, had multiple glasses of wine and there was very little fading. I also wore Rose Blush to work and didn’t even feel the need to remove it after five hours of wear which is completely unheard of for me (usually I get tired of having something on my lips).

• Rose Blush is more of your everyday pink shade. I’m not typically keen on pinks, but this shade was very easy to wear and was something that would match a multitude of eye looks.
• Mulberry Muse is way more up my alley! This kind of wine shade always comes back in style as the colder weather hits and I welcome it with open arms!

The last two items in this launch are eyeshadow quints. You can buy separate packaging to house these in, or you can slap them into one of your magnetized palettes since the back has a big ole magnet on it.

• Simply Smoky will cover all your smoky eye needs… except for a cream brow bone shade which I feel is kind of vital. The far left shade is too grey/blue to be used on the brow bone, so keep that in mind!

• A bit more cohesive, the Rose Nudes quint makes for a really lovely neutral eye with a pop of pink.

I went a little eighties with this look – smoky blue eyes with a wine-coloured lip.

I did like the way the Simply Smoky quint looked on the eyes, but as I said before, I had to pull in a brow bone shade from another palette to pull it all together.

More of a neutral look for this one – pink on pink!

Rosé Nudes was my favourite quint between the two. The colours blended onto my eye seamlessly and made for a really beautiful look. (Please disregard the horrible creasing foundation around my eyes – I have a scathing review coming up on that later on in the month.)

In short? Mary Kay makes some really, REALLY decent makeup products and I was quite impressed with the Fall launch. My picks are definitely the nail polishes, as well as the lip suedes.

Mary Kay‘s Spring 2017 collection took me by complete surprise. I was expecting something more along the lines of florals (as per last year) and instead I got a whole pile of bright, cheery and FUN colours! The collection is called “Light, Reinvented” and I’m really, really in love with that concept.

Just to get it out of the way, let’s talk about the product I didn’t love: the Mary Kay Glossy Lip Oils.

Infused with grapeseed oil, this glossy lip oil conditions lips by quenching them with moisture. This innovative lip oil provides a comfortable application with a non-sticky, luminous shine. In shades that range from sheer to pigmented, these glossy lip products deliver colour and shine while doubling as a moisturizer.

While I can’t say that the glossy lip oils feel overly uncomfortable on the lips, the thing I find the hardest to get over is the weird fruity but gooey scent. They’re kinda gelatinous and if you apply too much to your lips… well they just look like a pile of ooze.

In swatches, I have to say they look rather pretty, but these are just a pass for me.

Magenta Ray has the most pigment in the bunch and it’s definitely a beautiful colour.

Brilliant Violet is kind of patchy and sinks into my lip lines.

And Sheer Pink is just a milky, streaky mess.

Lip Oils aside, let’s talk about the good stuff! These Light, Reinvented Eye Color Palettes were a pleasant surprise.

Glistening Horizon is definitely my favourite quad out of the two: the colour combination is really, REALLY nice. The purple may swatch a little weakly but it did apply better to the eye. That deep blue shade as well as the shimmery pale cream are EXCELLENT!

On the eye, Glistening Horizon makes one hell of an impact. I honestly think my favourite shade in that quad is the palest champagne colour – it’s gorgeous!

The Sunlight Eye Color Palette is a little bit more powdery in texture when you compare it to Glistening Horizon. I do wish there was a bit more depth to this quad because you may be hard pressed to create a look without keeping it very, very mild. That being said, the pink is INCREDIBLY pigmented and the orange has absolutely beautiful shimmer thrown in.

On the eyes, the pink and the orange translate really well. (Although in hindsight since the pink has more pigment, I should’ve put the orange in the crease and the pink in the outer corner.) The pale peach is fine and versatile as a brow bone highlight on my complexion. The one that really doesn’t end up translating very well is the pale lavender which basically diffused itself so much that it’s no even apparent (it’s on my inner corner).

I’ve saved the absolute best for last: Now I get to talk about the limited edition Light, Reinvented nail lacquers. These are INCREDIBLE and are hands down my absolute favourite nail polishes right now. I’ve worn each shade at least once, and I’ve already started in on my second rotation of wearing them (currently sporting Brilliant Violet again). These are wonderfully pigmented cream polishes (two coats for full opacity) in absolutely breathtaking shades. I’ve got nothing bad to say about these, and in fact I’d encourage you to get your hands on these as quickly as possible before they sell out. The formula, the colours and the wear time are all absolutely incredible.

And seriously, I’ve been wearing them in practically ever video I’ve recorded lately:

• How To Wear Bright Eyeshadow (Easy)
• More Drugstore Favourites
• QUO Matte Revolution Foundation Time Trial + Review
• Vibrant, Warm-toned Inglot Makeup Tutorial 
• and I even talked about how much I loved them in my February 2017 Favourites video!

Since I’m not an epic nail swatcher like my friend Kaitlyn is, please head over to this blog post of hers in order to see these gorgeous polishes swatched. (Seriously, go over there – not only to see these beautiful polishes in action, but also to see just how amazing her nails are!)

In Short

• The Glossy Lip Oils are a pass in my book.
• The Eye Color Palettes are a lot of fun, the Glistening Horizon one in particular.
• The Light, Reinvented nail lacquers are what you need in your life RIGHT NOW. If you only get one product from this launch, make it the nail lacquers.

The products featured in this post were sent to me for consideration. Post may contain affiliate links.