If you’re into makeup, chances are that you were highly anticipating the MAC By Request Collection, which features the winning former-bestselling-and-discontinued shades as voted on by the public.

One vote per person per day was allowed, and for nearly the entire duration of the poll, I voted for MAC Candy Yum-Yum Lipstick!

When this neon pink was originally released last year, I took too long deciding whether or not to get it, and then it sold out in the blink of an eye.

This time, I wasn’t playin’, girlfriend! I stayed up late and checked the MAC website the second it was released online (since this was an online-only release). Once I was able to, I quickly placed my order for 4 tubes in a frenzy – 2 for me and 2 for a friend. (My palms were sweaty. Yes, that’s when you know you’ve got it bad, Usher…when your palms sweat because of a coveted lipstick shade.) 😉

And, thank goodness I decided to be a crazy fanatic about it because in roughly just 12 hours of it going on sale, the limited-edition shade was sold out…again. And there doesn’t seem to be any plans by MAC to restock just yet.

So…I guess this blog post is quite the tease, but I had to share my excitement about finally getting to try out MAC Candy Yum-Yum!

And, yes, the neon-love train is still chugging along over here at Swatch And Learn. Choooo-chooooo! All aboardddd!

MAC Candy Yum-Yum Lipstick Pictures

MAC Candy Yum-Yum Lipstick Ingredients

MAC Candy Yum-Yum Lipstick Swatches

Bare Lips for Reference

Natural Light Photos (Note: Lip swatches are after 2 hours of wear & over a little bit of lip balm to show you how it settles into lines a bit. I might edit this post to include just-applied-lipstick lip swatches later…)

Flash Photos (Note: Lip swatches are after 2 hours of wear & over a little bit of lip balm to show you how it settles into lines a bit. I might edit this post to include just-applied-lipstick lip swatches later…)

Claims: TRUSTED

√ Neon pink
√ Matte

Key Notes

• Name: MAC Candy Yum-Yum Matte Lipstick
• Collection: MAC By Request Collection (was also in the previous Quite Cute Collection)
• Amount: 3 g (0.1 oz.)
• What I Paid: $18 CAD
• Where to Buy: Sorry, but this baby sold out within hours when it was re-released in the online-only MAC By Request Collection a few days ago! I literally stayed up late to place my order because I anticipated the demand…and since I missed out on it when it originally came out last year, I didn’t want the same thing to happen again. (Hopefully they’ll re-re-release it because it was super popular. *Sigh* And the eBay prices are ridiculous…$50 and even $100!)

MAC Candy Yum-Yum Lipstick Review

Colour

MAC Candy Yum-Yum (aka My Precious a la Gollum…hehe) is a bright neon pink lipstick that isn’t for the faint of heart. Well, if you are shy, this could very well be the shade that whacks you out of your comfort zone and brings out the Lipstick Beast in you.

Heck, I don’t even wear crazy or flashy lip colour often, and this one really spoke to me. I just had to try it. And I’m so glad I did! It has converted me, and now I want to wear this colour all the time.

It’s the type of pink that just makes you happy looking at it. You know how I always say that neon nail polish is like an instant pick-me-upper? Well, this lipstick does the same thing. It’s like a good therapist in a tube!

And let me tell you – I was nervous about wearing it for the first time because I had never tried anything neon on my lips before. But, it actually looked okay on my skin tone. And while I tend to just wear clear lip balm on a daily basis, I was surprised to learn that I was extremely comfortable wearing neon pink on my lips during the day.

This is a colour that’s going to get you a lot of looks and comments everywhere you go…but in a good way!

Literally, the first day I wore this, I got 4 compliments from complete strangers and 2 from co-workers!

You want a conversation starter? You’ve got it with Candy Yum-Yum!

Finish

This has a matte finish, so your lips need to be in good condition to wear this. It will accentuate any dryness. As you can see from my lip swatches, you can see some flakiness. My lips aren’t really dry – I think they’re normal, but this matte finish clings to the less-than-perfect areas a lot. For this reason, I suggest that you exfoliate your lips before wearing this. (I didn’t exfoliate my lips prior to what you see in the swatches.)

Also important to note is that in my lip swatches, that’s what the shade looks like after 2 hours of wear. Still pretty good, I think. I actually did eat and drink a bit. (Haha, looking back now, I should’ve just swatched it like other bloggers do when the lipstick is applied fresh, but I also really wanted to show you what it looks like after a while.)

Because the matte finish is drying, I found it impossible to wear solo. I don’t have naturally dry lips, but just wearing this lipstick solo felt very uncomfortable since I’m used to wearing clear lip balm all the time.

So, I suggest that you put on a bit of lip balm, do the rest of your makeup or your hair. Then, take a tissue and blot your lips prior to applying Candy Yum-Yum. This will leave some balm on, but not so much that your lips are slick and the lipstick doesn’t apply the colour strongly. And in this way, you’ll get the good colour pay-off without feeling like your lips have kissed a lizard. 😉

Longevity

I was extremely impressed by how long Candy Yum-Yum by MAC lasted on me. I put it on in the morning before heading to work. And, during work, I tend to drink a lot of water. Some of the lipstick came off on my water bottle, but I was surprised that a lot of the colour remained on my lips, although after a couple of hours, it does settle into lines a bit. (However, in person, it doesn’t look as nasty as in my lip swatches. Remember, my swatches blow up every little imperfection!)

To further test it, I even ate lunch with it on. (See, this is usually why I don’t wear lipstick. Pretty much all the ones I’ve ever worn just come off after I’ve eaten.)

Butttt….Candy Yum-Yum didn’t completely disappear even after I ate 4 slices of pizza and drank a can of iced tea!

In total, the lipstick lasted about 4 hours and still looked fresh enough, despite eating and drinking. Then, it began to fade, however, my lips were still bright. This brings me to the next issue…

Staining

This is the first lipstick I’ve ever worn that actually stained my lips. Even if you take a tissue and wipe your lips, your lips are actually stained a bright pink. For this shade, I actually don’t mind the staining because it helps avoid that embarrassing leftover ring-around-the-lips look.

Also, if you go over your lips longer and rub more, the colour will eventually come off. So, don’t worry – it’s not like this is a stain that’ll last 24 hours!

Price

MAC lipsticks are the most expensive lipsticks I own…probably because I’m just not a lipstick junkie (YET!). 😉

They sell for $18 CAD a pop, which, in my makeup book is quite pricey. (Also, MAC has regular price increases.) However, I totally support MAC lipsticks! They’re always top-notch quality, and they’re available in tons of different shades and finishes, so I think it’s worth the high price.

I do, hope, however, that there’ll eventually be a ceiling they hit and that they don’t keep increasing the price. It’ll be crazy if it just keeps going up…and if it hits $30 CAD. In that case, I would keep my money in my pocket. I think that’d be excessive.

Fragrance

Despite having a sensitive snout, I actually reallllllly love the vanilla-cake-batter fragrance that’s the MAC lipstick signature scent. It smells delicious, it’s very mild, and it makes putting on lipstick an even more enjoyable experience.

Packaging

I’ve always loved how sleek and professional the MAC lipstick tubes look. They’re simple, but it works.

Pros Awesome neon pink! Lasts a long time (partially due to staining) Yummy vanilla-cake-batter MAC signature scent Great packaging

Cons Matte finish accentuates dryness Stains lips (but it can be rubbed off with a little effort) Limited edition & discontinued (even during the re-release, it sold out in mere hours!) $18 CAD is pricey for a lipstick (however, I think it’s worth it)

Final Verdict: 9.5/10

I took off half a point because the matte formula accentuates dryness, but as for the colour and the way it brightens up my mood and complexion, I give it top marks!

Did you buy anything from the MAC By Request Collection? Do you or have you worn neon lip colour before? What’s the one lip colour that intimidates you? (For me, it’s bright orange!)