Swatches: MAC Gareth Pugh 'Restrict' Lipstick

Last night I decided I would be much more organised when it came to blogging and my life in general as I'm terrible for putting things off or running out of time. I have a (gorgeous) notebook and every night I'm going to write a to-do list for the next day and mark things off as I go along, then re-assess at night and see what I've done/not done and prepare for the next day. I know it's hardly earth-shattering news or a new concept, but I'm hoping it will help me manage my time better. In doing so, I'm hoping to get through all the posts I prepare then abandon (for something else). One such item is this lipstick which I purchased last year. I took these photos in December (I think) and forgot I'd ever done so!

So, the lippie is MAC and was part of the Gareth Pugh range which was priced higher than usual collections (as part of their annual luxury range). I could've gone crazy and bought more, but decided this was a must-have shade for me and with free shipping and the offer of a free mascara sample, it was my first purchase direct from MAC for a while (I've switched my allegiance to Debenhams!).

You never ahem rarely get anything free from MAC, so I think you have to jump on it when given the opportunity! I think I've only used this mascara once then forgotten about it, so will have to look it out.

The lipstick is a cremesheen finish (my favourite) and Restrict is a very pale nude, with an icy grey/pink tone. It was damn near impossible to photograph and this was probably my reason for never posting, because I was disappointed with my crappy pics. It comes across as much darker here than it really is.

I tried every light and background and these next pics are probably the closest to the real thing.

My swatches were much better than how it looks in the tube. It's not a heavy coverage lipstick, but although it's pale, you do get a considerable amount of colour from it.  I've used it quite a lot since purchasing.

Can we also just take a minute to reflect on my fabulous nails in December. What the heck has happened to my hands since then? I don't have a single long nail currently and any time I get a bit of length, they break. It sucks, goodbye long pretty nail! I'm crying now....!