MAC Cosmetics lipstick in Cherish holds a very special place in my heart. It was my first ever high-end makeup purchase and the product that kickstarted my obsession and love of all things makeup. I distinctly remember walking into the newly opened MAC Cosmetics store at the Cerritos Mall and asking for a Kim Kardashian-esque lipstick shade suitable for my skin tone. While Cherish was a spot on recommendation, my sixteen year old self just didn’t realize that it did nothing for me.
Fast forward seven years and I’ve finally figured out how to make this lipstick work for me. While it’s not my favorite, it’s definitely a flattering enough shade to try and make work. I’d recommend it mostly for anyone NC45 and lighter. I’ve used it multiple times on some of my paler Korean friends and it wore as a perfect neutral — a your lips but better kinda neutral.

As the swatches show, this lipstick is very, very similar in hue to my skin tone. It’s perfect for underemphasizing the lips without looking totally lipless but definitely needs to be paired with a lip liner if you’re on the tanner side. As an NC45, I sometimes feel like I’m pushing this color during my tanner months of the year and generally recommend all my WOC women NC45 below to go with something else. With the amount of nudes MAC has in its collection, it’s not difficult to find something more flattering.
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Interestingly enough, Cherish is one of the most commonly recommended nude lipsticks by MAC MUA’s for women of color. It’s kind of like the NC45 shade matching epidemic that continues to be perpetuated by the less experienced MAC MUA’s I’ve run into. If you’re on the lighter side, this lipstick is a safe bet for a neutral lipstick and comes highly recommended by me and many others! If you’re a bit on the tanned side, then I’d definitely recommend perusing through the other nude lipstick options before picking this up.

Pros

  • Perfect neutral/nude shade for light to medium skin tones
  • Pairs and blends well with any flesh toned liner
  • Relatively inexpensive
  • Non-drying
  • Applies totally opaque
  • Flattering on warm and cool undertones
  • Fades well

Cons

  • Not very wearable for NC45+
  • Accentuates imperfections on the lips
  • Needs to be paired with lip liner for tanner skin tones
  • Not very long wearing