9 Gorgeous MAC Brown Lip Liner Swatches, Review & Comparison

A while back, you learned here about all the staple, best MAC brown lip liners – from light to ultra dark brown, the vibe was to give you options to create beautiful everyday ombre lip looks.

Lately, while on a shopping spree – at MAC Cosmetics, why change – I decided to get a few more of the MAC lip liners, which I had been eyeing for a while.

I already swatched 29 MAC lip liner shades a few months ago, but I had never really taken the time to talk about the brown ones, and aren’t they some of the most popular?!

I have here most of the brown lip liners MAC carries with swatches, from nude brown for fair skin to dark brown shades so if you’ve been wondering about the best ones for your skin tone, keep reading!

9 Gorgeous MAC Brown Lip Liner Swatches, Review & Comparison

If you’re ever looking for the best MAC products to start with, the lip liners are one of my favorite products, and one that you would never have seen me without on photoshoots.

Early on at makeup school, you learn that a lip liner makes a complete difference between a flimsy and a long lasting makeup look.

MAC used to carry the Pro Longwear lip liners, which were waterproof and super long lasting, but I have to say that the texture and wear time of the classic lip liners is also exquisite.

MAC Brown Lip Liner Swatches & Review: Details

Over the years, the MAC lip liners have seen their price rise immensely, and while they currently retail for $24, making them a luxury makeup product, they’re worth every penny.

Here are all the MAC brown lip liner shades I have today:

• MAC Oak
• MAC Cork
• MAC Stone
• MAC Chestnut
• MAC Mahogany
• MAC Auburn
• MAC Chicory
• MAC Spice
• MAC Whirl

I have already written a fair few articles about the MAC lip liners, with dupes too, so you might want to check that out if you’re on a budget:

• The Best MAC Spice Lip Liner Dupes
• The Best MAC Whirl Lip Liner Dupes
• The Best MAC Cork Lip Liner Dupes
• The Best MAC Chestnut Lip Liner Dupes
• The Best MAC Oak Lip Liner Dupes

While MAC Cosmetics sees many of their products duped, nothing ever comes close to their quality in my opinion.

For instance, even if Velvet Teddy is a Charlotte Tilbury Pillow Talk Original dupe, I prefer Velvet Teddy.

And even if you can find lots of dupes for MAC Mehr or Flat Out Fabulous, it’s MAC for me.

The MAC products have a tight grasp on my heart, and have had it for about 10 years now.

So, even if I have worked as a makeup artist for MAC Cosmetics, and even if I have had almost all the products at some point, I’m still as in love with the Canadian makeup brand as I ever was.

Read: The Most Hydrating MAC Lipsticks

MAC Brown Lip Liner Swatches

Cool MAC Brown Lip Liner Swatches: Oak, Cork, Stone, Chestnut & Whirl

We’ll start with the five cool MAC brown lip liner shades I have: Oak, Cork, Stone, Chestnut and Whirl – here is how MAC describes them:

• MAC Oak: Soft beige brown
• MAC Cork: Muted golden brown
• MAC Stone: Muted greyish-taupe brown
• MAC Chestnut: Intense brown
• MAC Whirl: Dirty rose

Read: The Best Red MAC Lip Combos

As a reminder, I have a fair olive skin tone, NW15 in MAC foundation.

If you have the same type of skin tone I have, or if you have skin with cool undertones, you might want to avoid MAC Oak and MAC Cork, which have yellow undertones.

As you can see on my skin, they look more khaki, with Cork looking almost like a proper green brown lip liner, which wouldn’t be the best for me with olive skin.

Read: The Best MAC Lipsticks for Warm Undertones

Shop MAC Oak • MAC Cork • MAC Stone • MAC Chestnut • MAC Whirl

However, if you ever buy MAC Cork or Oak and see that you can’t send/bring it back to the shop, you will still be able to use them to overline lighter lipsticks, provided you use a cool toned lipstick shade.

For instance, you could use You Wouldn’t Get It or Mehr to create a warmer ombre lip look, leaving only a teeny tiny bit of the lip liner showing.

The Stone lip liner is one of my favorites, a very grey MAC brown lip liner that tends to look really good on fair skin and medium skin.

Chestnut is the darkest brown you’ll find at MAC, and a perfect lip liner for dark skin and fair skin who wants a bit of that autumn vibe in their makeup look.

Whirl, finally, is a pinkish brown lip liner that tends to look great with many different lipsticks, from Thanks It’s MAC to Modesty and Cosmo.

On the eyes, here are the makeup colors and eyeshadows that would look best combined with these MAC brown lip liner shades:

• MAC Oak: neutral brown, taupe, warm mauve eyeshadow
• MAC Cork: olive green eyeshadow, mustard, burgundy, teal
• MAC Stone: mauve, pink eyeshadow, dark purple eyeshadow, matte red eyeshadow
• MAC Chestnut: copper eyeshadow, coral, red, warm pink, electric blue
• MAC Whirl: neutral brown, light pink, mauve, bright yellow, mint green

Shop MAC Oak • MAC Cork • MAC Stone • MAC Chestnut • MAC Whirl

Warm MAC Brown Lip Liner Swatches: Spice, Chicory, Auburn & Mahogany

Then, we have four warm MAC brown lip liner shades; Spice, Chicory, Auburn and Mahogany – here is how the brand describes them:

• MAC Spice: Pink cinnamon stick
• MAC Chicory: Soft muted peachy brown
• MAC Auburn: Intense orange-reddish brown
• MAC Mahogany: Intense reddish brown

Read: The Best MAC Blushes for Medium Skin

Spice is one of my favorite brown lip liners ever; I do have to wear bronzer so it looks perfect, otherwise, it’s just a tad too warm-toned for me.

The Spice lip liner and the Spice Lipglass make for a very pretty combo for skin with warm undertones, by the way.

It’s that type of soft warm brown lip liner that you can wear with lipsticks like Honeylove or Kinda Sexy, or even Down to an Art, and perfect for everyday looks.

The Chicory lip liner is darker and redder.

Doesn’t it feel like Chicory, Auburn and Mahogany all belong to the same color family, with a strong red undertone?

Chicory and Honeylove are one of the prettiest nude lip combos you could create if you have warm skin, from fair to medium skin tones.

The Auburn lip liner is a brown lip liner shade as well, even if it looks very red.

Plus it’s the kind of shade you’d want to wear with Chili and Devoted to Chili, which are both great for warm skin.

Shop MAC Spice • MAC Chicory • MAC Auburn • MAC Mahogany

The Mahogany lip liner has been one of my favorites for a long time now, and since the brown is not too yellow-toned but rather reddish, it’s very easy to wear for anyone from fair olive skin to dark skin.

To be honest, it’s easier to find dupes for Spice than it is to find dupes for MAC Mahogany.

Still, there are a few drugstore picks that, once blended one, could come close, like the Wycon Pro Lip Pencil in Brownstone.

Read: MAC Spirit vs Velvet Teddy vs Creme in Your Coffee Lipstick Swatches

These four MAC brown lip liner shades can easily be worn with neutral and warm nude shades like the Satin lipsticks Spirit, Mocha and Cherish.

On the eyes, here are the makeup colors and eyeshadows that would look best combined with these MAC brown lip liner shades:

• MAC Spice: mustard, burnt orange eyeshadow, warm brown, electric blue, emerald
• MAC Chicory: baby blue, cobalt blue, lilac, warm berry eyeshadow
• MAC Auburn: navy blue, teal blue, emerald green
• MAC Mahogany: plum, rose gold eyeshadow, champagne, khaki, olive

Shop MAC Spice • MAC Chicory • MAC Auburn • MAC Mahogany

All MAC Brown Lip Liner Swatches

I have swatched the brown lip liners I have from MAC Cosmetics at the moment below, so you can really see the difference in tone and hue.

If you’re looking for the best:

• lip liners for pale skin (depending on skin undertone): Spice, Oak, Whirl, Chicory, Auburn
• lip liners for fair skin: Spice, Whirl, Chicory, Oak, Auburn, Auburn, Mahogany
• lip liners for olive skin: Whirl, Chicory, Auburn, Stone, Chestnut, Mahogany
• lip liners for Asian skin: Chicory, Auburn, Mahogany, Oak, Cork, Chestnut, Spice
• lip liners for Indian skin: Chicory, Auburn, Mahogany, Whirl, Chestnut
• lip liners for medium skin: Chicory, Cork, Stone, Chestnut, Auburn, Mahogany, Spice, Whirl
• lip liners for dark skin: Cork, Chestnut, Mahogany, Auburn

Shop MAC Oak • MAC Cork • MAC Stone • MAC Chestnut • MAC Whirl • MAC Spice • MAC Chicory • MAC Auburn • MAC Mahogany

Shop MAC Oak • MAC Cork • MAC Stone • MAC Chestnut • MAC Whirl • MAC Spice • MAC Chicory • MAC Auburn • MAC Mahogany

9 Gorgeous MAC Brown Lip Liner Swatches, Review & Comparison

Here you have them, all the most popular MAC brown lip liner shades swatched and reviewed – hopefully, you’ll have found your next favorites here!

The texture of these lip pencils is one I have always admired; not too waxy, yet not too soft, they write very well, and still seem to dry down a little bit, making them very long lasting.

Some, like the Whirl lip liner, Spice or Chicory, are my staples for any kind of nude lip combo, and are nude enough for my fair skin that I can combine them with lots of different eyeshadow colors.

In any case, you have here most of the nude MAC lip liners, and hopefully, you now know which type of shade to get for yourself!

Shop MAC Oak • MAC Cork • MAC Stone • MAC Chestnut • MAC Whirl • MAC Spice • MAC Chicory • MAC Auburn • MAC Mahogany

Until next time!

Other MAC Swatches

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