MAC Mull It Over vs Stay Curious vs Brickthrough Lipstick Swatches

After a brief hiatus that allowed me to travel to London and snap a lot of shots for new posts about historic London, I am back with something we all know I love: MAC lipsticks!

And today is all about a lipstick comparison between MAC Mull It Over vs Stay Curious vs Brickthrough, currently three of the bestselling Powder Kiss lipsticks.

I worked for MAC Cosmetics for quite a long time, both in their Paris and London makeup stores, and even years after ending my contracts, I can’t rave enough about the MAC products.

I’ve actually written a good few dozen articles about the best matte MAC lipsticks, satin, Amplified, Love Me lipsticks and many more products you can already check out on the website.

But since Mull It Over, Brickthrough and Stay Curious are indeed some of the easiest-to-wear MAC shades, I thought a good in-depth comparison was in order – so keep reading to learn the ins and outs of these three colors!

MAC Mull It Over vs Stay Curious vs Brickthrough Lipstick Swatches

The first range of MAC Powder Kiss lipsticks was released a few years ago, when I was still working at MAC in Paris.

At that time, we only had a dozen shades available, among which Mull It Over and Stay Curious, which held hands with other popular colors like Sultriness, A Little Tamed and Lasting Passion.

Then, a few months ago, new shades were released that clearly compete with some of the lipsticks Asian skin loves to wear, Marrakesh and Chili, for instance (in the Powder Kiss range: Marrakesh-mere and Devoted to Chili).

Actually, the powdery texture of the Powder Kiss lipsticks is very much reminiscent of that which Chinese, Japanese and Korean women loved to buy at MAC when I was working there.

Those lipsticks aren’t just easy to wear and comfortable all day long, but easy to blend out for a blurry lip effect, which make them perfect for everyday wear, especially when you only want a hint of color on your lips.

Read: MAC Del Rio vs Retro vs Paramount Lipsticks

Are MAC Mull It Over, Stay Curious and Brickthrough popular MAC lipsticks?

The MAC Mull It Over lipstick, along with Stay Curious, quickly became two of the bestselling MAC lipsticks due to their texture and beautiful colors.

With peachy nude Mull It Over, we have an easy-to-wear nude lipstick for skin with warm undertones, while Stay Curious offers more of a pinky red shade.

Brickthrough, released in the new batch of colors, seems like the perfect reddish brown lipstick shade, good for skin with warm undertones, but also specifically medium skin looking for a good nude.

Read: The Best MAC Lip Liners for Asian Skin

Who are the MAC Mull It Over, Stay Curious and Brickthrough lipstick most suited for?

MAC Mull It Over lipstick:

With its dirty peach color, the Mull It Over lipstick is definitely aimed at skin with warm undertones.

With my fair olive skin (NW15 in MAC foundation), I find Mull It Over hard to wear without bronzer.

That’s why for skin with cool undertones, neutral and olive skin, I’d rather go for Stay Curious or other slightly nude pink lipsticks such as, why not, Teddy 2.0 or Sultriness.

MAC Stay Curious lipstick:

The Stay Curious lipstick is one of the most unusual MAC lipstick shades, released in a muted mix of red, pink and nude.

As soon as it was released, it became a popular shade that ended up being always out of stock, and with good reason.

The fair balance between red and pink means that out of the three Powder Kiss lipsticks I’ll show you today, Stay Curious is the one most suited to skin with cool undertones and olive skin.

MAC Brickthrough lipstick:

One of the newest colors in the Powder Kiss range, Brickthrough is a medium-toned brownish pink lipstick described as a warm dusty rose.

It reminds me strongly of some of the Gossamer lipsticks you can find at Kiko Milano, or some of the Huda Beauty lipsticks as well, which do happen to focus on muted shades.

Again, this one is more suited to warm skin, medium skin and dark skin looking for a nude lipstick or an easy-to-wear shade for ombre lips.

However, with my olive skin, I can wear Brickthrough without too much bronzer, while I do need to pack it on with Mull It Over.

Read: MAC Velvet Teddy Lipstick Swatch + Review

MAC Mull It Over vs Stay Curious vs Brickthrough Lipstick Comparison: Details

Here’s how MAC Cosmetics describes these three Powder Kiss lipsticks:

Mull It Over: Dirty peach
Stay Curious: Muted pinky red
Brickthrough: Warm dusty rose

MAC Mull It Over vs Stay Curious vs Brickthrough Lipstick Comparison: Swatches

If you compare the texture of the Powder Kiss lipsticks with that of other nude matte lipsticks I reviewed some time ago, like Yash, Velvet Teddy and Sweet Deal, you can definitely see more transparency in the Powder Kiss lipsticks.

On the swatches, you can almost feel the powder catching on the little hairs of my arm, right?

However, when it comes to the application on the lips, the creamy, powdery texture does drag much less than your usual lipstick – and doesn’t mark the skin as much.

Read: MAC On Hold vs See Sheer vs Business Casual

I’ve decided to post several swatch pictures of Mull It Over vs Stay Curious and Brickthrough so you could see different lightings, for starters.

I used to take pictures with daylight only when I lived in Barcelona and when I moved to Rome and actually had daylight pouring in through the windows, but autumn and winter are asking me to use the ring light.

Read: MAC You Wouldn’t Get It vs Mehr Lipsticks

Shop MAC Mull It Over • Stay Curious • Brickthrough

However, the pictures I’ve taken are as close to reality as possible, so the undertones you see in the pictures are pretty much what you’ll have on your lips.

Mull It Over vs Stay Curious: we have a strong difference between both in terms of both warmth and color. Mull It Over is peachy brown and lighter, Stay Curious is a softened red with lots of pink inside.

Mull It Over vs Brickthrough: Brickthrough is more muted, darker, and pinker where Mull It Over will really be that perfect nude for fair skin with warm undertones, like fair Asian skin.

Stay Curious vs Brickthrough: both are perfect lipsticks for Indian skin, medium skin, and all types of skin with cool undertones, neutral and olive undertones as they both boast much more red, and less yellow.

Read: MAC Russian Red vs Viva Glam 1 Lipsticks

All in all, with both their texture and easily wearable colors, these are three MAC lipsticks you can count on.

Even if you came to get one of these gifted that doesn’t really suit your lips (it sometimes happen), mixing two matte lipsticks to create a beautiful blush is definitely possible.

Or, you can use one of these as a blush, and then powder with a slightly different colored blush to balance the shades and still be able to use the products.

Read: 29 MAC Lip Liner Swatches + Review

In any case, I do think that out of the three, my favorite is Stay Curious – always has been, always will be.

Another perfect MAC lipstick for olive skin, neutral and cool skin of the same range that you need to check out is A Little Tamed, much pinker, and gorgeous.

MAC Cosmetics has also released other brown lipsticks perfect for medium and dark skin, one of them being Impulsive, which has strong yellow undertones and makes for a great nude.

And if you love bright purple lipsticks like Flat Out Fabulous but dislike the very dry texture of the Retro Matte lipsticks, check out Velvet Punch as well.

Read: The Best MAC Lip Liners for Overlining

Shop MAC Mull It Over • Stay Curious • Brickthrough

MAC Mull It Over vs Stay Curious vs Brickthrough Lipstick Comparison: Thoughts

What people most love about the MAC Powder Kiss lipsticks is how comfortable they are.

Now that they come in a huge collection of colors that ranges from incredible red lipsticks such as Werk, Werk, Werk and Ruby New (comfortable dupe for Ruby Woo!), nudes, pinks and purple lipsticks, everyone can find a slice of happiness in this range.

Since Mull It Over, Stay Curious and Brickthrough are both matte and nude, they are quite long lasting on the lips and don’t necessarily need many touch-ups during the day.

However, as an ex-makeup artist (do you ever stop being a makeup artist?), I really can’t do life with lipsticks without a proper, darker lip liner.

So…

What Lip Liners for MAC Mull It Over vs Stay Curious vs Brickthrough?

The powdery feel of the Powder Kiss lipsticks makes them easy to blend out to get a blurry lip, as I explained at the beginning of this comparison.

However, if you’re looking to wear a clean, crisp lip, there’s nothing better than a lip liner to overline your lips and, why not, create your own little ombre lip look.

Possible matching lip liners with these would be:

• MAC Mull It Over: for a really nude look, use the MAC Spice lip liner or Boldly Bare.
  For something a bit more medium-toned, go for Chicory.
  You can also go for a much darker shade for that kind of 90s look – in that case, try the Cork lip liner or even a purple shade such as Nightmoth to break the warmth of Mull It Over.
• MAC Stay Curious: for a cute, warm ombre look, use the Mahogany lip liner.
  You can also go pinker with the Beet lip liner, provided you blend well between the two shades.
  If you want the red undertone of Stay Curious to pop more, use a lip liner like Redd, Brick or Cherry underneath.
• MAC Brickthrough: For something very nude, use the Chicory lip liner or Boldly Bare underneath.
  If you use something cooler-toned underneath, like the Whirl lip liner, the overall result will be more brown, cooler, and even more suited to olive skin and cool skin.
  If you want to create a bolder ombre lip, try the Burgundy lip liner, or even Plum.

Shop MAC Mull It Over • Stay Curious • Brickthrough

MAC Mull It Over vs Stay Curious vs Brickthrough Lipstick Swatches

There you have it, the complete comparison of MAC Mull It Over vs Stay Curious vs Brickthrough lipsticks!

Hopefully, you’ll have found here the exact shades that will look amazing on you – these three are very easy to wear, and one of my favorite ways of applying them are actually as blushes.

Indeed, since a matte lipstick is a versatile product to use as a blush on any type of skin, the soft and long lasting formula of the Powder Kiss lipsticks makes them perfect two-in-one products.

Something that would look amazing with any of these is some metallic green eyeshadow – the contrast with their warm undertone is sure to make you glow!

Shop MAC Mull It Over • Stay Curious • Brickthrough

Until next time!

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