I wanted a red that was dark and crimson, but also not so dark that it just looked like another black polish. I have very fair skin tone and sometimes when I wrote dark reds, I would get compliments such as "Nice black polish! A little too dark for the occasion, no?"This is when Macks comes in!It isn't bright like Essie A List, Apertif, Forever Yummy, Happy Wife Happy Life (and the list goes on) and provides a lovely deep red color. It also isn't Essie Bordeaux nor Shearling Darling which are very deep, dark black reds. Macks is the perfect shade of dark ruby red, in between all those colors; application is also easy!