Almost ironically, my husband purchased Mac Chilli on his way to India. It did the round trip with him from London to Delhi, and then on to the beautiful, green fields of Punjab. It survived intact (I was concerned about melting) and was proudly presented to me in the depths of winter.
Chili warms the heart. It’s less well known than most of Mac’s ubiquitous red offerings such as Ruby Woo and Russian Red. It’s a warm leaning, brick-red, almost the shade the exact same shade as the rust on my grandfather’s old car. Yeah, the one with moss growing on the sun-roof like some kinda strange, movable rock garden.
Chili is opaque in one swipe. It has quite a creamy constancy. It’s one of those lipsticks you need to blot (And feel like a glamorous fifties starlet while doing so). Once blotted it settles down into a matte consistency, with no bleeding or feathering. People look at me oddly when I mention feathering but it was definitely a thing in the early noughties, and one of the reasons that put me off wearing strong-toned lipstick for years.
Chili clashes slightly with my pale, neutral-leaning skin. I think it’s a colour that would look better on an olive or a deeper skin tone, but it’s still more than workable on me (or even a cool skin tone) with liberal applications of orange-y blusher. As it’s warm-toned, unfortunately Chili doesn’t make your teeth look whiter, like most reds, but the effect isn’t too hideous.
Owning to that almost terracotta undertone, Chili comes across as quite a 90s shade. It’s the grunge girl’s red, the cool girl in leopard print, the very antithesis of that blue-based Parisian red, with its shiny hair and navy coat. If Chili was a person, she’d be in a vinyl miniskirt, which is right up my ally, although, sadly I don’t have the legs for it.
I don’t currently own any other shades like Chili, it’s muted but it’s there. I don’t know of any UK dupes that aren’t violently orange, or unbearably brown. It’s a rather unique shade, and one I would recommend.
You can purchase Chili at any Mac cosmetics counter or online.
With flash.
With natural lighting.