MAC Midnight Media Mattene Lipstick

In retrospect, this should have been posted last Halloween.  However, in my world, black lipstick can be used anytime

Imagine my excitement last year, when this became in fashion.  Unfortunately, only a handful of these MAC lipsticks were in stock and were gone in a matter of days.  It's a good thing that these were still available in Canada.  I asked one of my best friends to get me a tube.

In order to get a solid black color, I had to apply several coats.  The color didn't last long - it faded within an hour.  My lips felt dry and flaky.  I was very disappointed.

Come to think of it, I had the same experience with MAC's other matte lipsticks - the first one I tried was the original Viva Glam back when I was in high school.  Yeah, so stay away from their matte lip stuff.

I didn't want this product to go to waste so I had to experiment.  Finally, I found a way to wear this:  first, I wore a moisturizing bright red lipstick (in this particular case, the one from Bobbi Brown worked great).  Then I applied several coats of the black lipstick on top of the red and blended it using a cotton swab.

Another way to make this more wearable is to first apply a lip conditioner or lip balm.  Use a lipbrush to apply Midnight Media and top it with a dark colored lipgloss.

This would do for now but my search for the perfect black lipstick still continues... And your recommendations would be much appreciated ;)