MAC Mischief Makers Collection:  Pigment/Glitter Sets

Alongside the lipglass/lustreglass sets are three pigment sets. Each set includes four vials of pigments and one vial of glitter. MAC has them priced at $32.50 a pop, but they denote the value of the set as $39. Again, each set is housed inside a holiday box, so they’re easy to give away as gifts.

I always like the holiday pigment sets, because I think they give people a chance to try out pigments without investing $19.50 per shade (not to mention, you’re very unlikely to ever finish a jar–I never have… not even have I come close!). The only part I don’t love is the vial of glitter, as none of MAC’s glitters are eye-safe, so I just never find myself using them often. However, people do ask what can you do if not use them on the eyes, and my answer is: try them in your hair (e.g. mix with hair spray), mix into a nail polish, dust on your body, or pat onto your lips. Each vial is smaller than a full-size jar, but I really think you get more than you’ll probably need–certainly enough to last you years.

My favorite set was 5 Cool Capers, because I think they brought together some very bold, but perfect for fall/winter, shades. Running a close second was 5 Haute High Jinks, because I am always a sucker for earth tones. I think they’re flattering on a variety of skin tones and they tend to be easy to use (particularly the shades they chose–they all have excellent texture). 5 Sexpot is so-so, but it consists of mostly permanent shades, and I think I’d have liked to see the addition of a gray or silver in it, just for a little more kick.

See swatches and shade breakdowns… Continue reading »

MAC Mischief Makers Collection:  Lipglass/Lustreglass Sets

Every year, MAC offers up holiday kits and sets for giving and receiving.  This year, there are three lipglass/lustreglass sets, each with three lipglasses and two lustreglasses, and all of them are in miniature sizes.  MAC has them priced at $29.50 a pop, and they denote the value of the set as $35.  (Yay, they did the math for me!)  Each set is housed in cute, giftable packaging (as pictured above), so they’re incredibly easy to give as holiday gifts.

The majority of the sets contain a mix of permanently available shades, repromoted shades, and the occasional brand-spankin’-new shade.   Long-time collectors may want to take a quick glance at their stash to see if they already own a lot of the shades (or need to replace some of their old favorites).  I did notice that they repromoted quite a few shades from 2005, which is about four years ago, and I imagine some of those lipglasses may be in need of an update.

Don’t forget — if you like one of the shades that’s permanent but aren’t sure about the rest, consider purchasing it by itself and in full-size! ;)

Overall, I really did like the way these came together. My favorite set was the 5 Models Misbehaving, but I’m also often attracted to bolder lip colors, even if I seldom wear them!  5 Sexy Shenanigans was the lightest/sheerest of the three sets, while 5 Frisky Business was a good mix of soft, medium, and bold.

See swatches and shade breakdowns… Continue reading »

The Scarlet Season: MAC Viva Glam I Lipstick

MAC Viva Glam I Lipstick ($14.00 for 0.10 oz.) is a retro red if I ever saw one. There’s something about it that’s elegant, timeless, and always gets images of blonde bombshells dancing in my head whenever I pull it out. Can you believe Viva Glam I has been available for fifteen years? It was the first shade launched for MAC’s Viva Glam campaign. So, not only are you getting one stunning, classic shade of deep red, you’re doing good while you’re at it, because “[e]very cent of the selling price of VIVA GLAM Lipstick and Lipglass is donated to the M·A·C AIDS Fund to support men, women, and children living with HIV and AIDS.” Viva Glam I is a creamy red that’s incredibly matte without being flat.

The Scarlet Season is a series of posts showcasing and featuring my favorite shades of red lips–from glosses to lipsticks that runs through December 2009. You can sure expect to see a lot of red this holiday season!

See more swatches and comparison photos… Continue reading »

The Scarlet Season: MAC Warning Lip Varnish

I can thank my girl Heather for turning me on to one of MAC’s all-time greatest shades of reds.  I remember seeing her rock it, and it was stunning!  I was like, “What’s that?“  I’m sure I’m not the only one who misses the days of MAC Lip Varnish — slick, glossy opaque colors in bright, bold shades. Warning is a high-glossy bright red that goes on opaque in a single layer and clings well to lips. It wears well and lasts a good six to eight hours if I don’t eat (it survives some drinking mostly intact). It was such a shame when MAC decided to discontinue this formula, but maybe one day they’ll bring it back and perhaps even improve upon it…

The Scarlet Season is a series of posts showcasing and featuring my favorite shades of red lips–from glosses to lipsticks that runs through December 2009. You can sure expect to see a lot of red this holiday season!

See more swatches and comparison photos… Continue reading »

Build a Quad: “Soft Fire”

Dubbed Soft Fire, this eyeshadow quad features four permanent shades of MAC eyeshadow: Amber Lights (a coppery frost), Antiqued (a reddened brown frost), Bronze (a rich bronze frost), and Grain (a lightly shimmered beige highlighter). All of these shades have warmer tones, so I would consider this to be a warm quad. (I say this to caution you if you dislike warm shades, this is probably not the one for you!) All four shades are colors I’ve been using for years without fail, because they’re pigmented, smooth, and easy to work with. Grain is more of a neutral highlighter, and I like the way it accents the rest of the quad’s stronger warm tones–it helps to balance everything out.

A few combinations to try with this…

• Amber Lights all over the lid, Bronze in the crease, Grain to highlight
• Amber Lights all over the lid, Antiqued on the outer lid, Bronze in the crease, Grain to highlight
• Grain all over the lid, Bronze in the crease
• Grain on the inner lid, Amber Lights on the outer lid, Antiqued in the crease

Build a Quad is a feature focusing on creating different eyeshadow palettes that are both beautiful and functional using permanent shades of eyeshadow.  We invite readers to suggest their own build-a-quads — just leave your ideas in the comments!

P.S. – As this is a new feature… tell me if you love it or hate it so I know whether to continue it! :)

MAC’s Smoke & Mirrors Eyeshadow Palette is a very mixable set of shades. I think this is probably the best palette for no-brainer, no-thinking-required kind of makeup and, of course, this all makes it a great travel palette. Even though I think of lots of silver and gray for a smoky eye, this palette makes for a great neutral and brown-based smoky eye.

Here are five different eyeshadow combinations you could try using just this palette…

• Inner Lid: Fire In Her Eyes Eyeshadow
• Outer Lid: Wide-Eyed Wonder Eyeshadow
• Crease: Black Magique Eyeshadow
• Brow: Fire In Her Eyes Eyeshadow
• Cheeks: Conjure Up! Mineralize Blush
• Lips: Sweetie Lipstick, She-Zam Dazzleglass

See four more combinations… Continue reading »

The Scarlet Season: MAC So Scarlet Lipstick

MAC So Scarlet Lipstick ($14.00 for 0.10 oz.) was a limited edition shade of a mostly opaque deep ruby red released with the Cult of Cherry Collection. I love the creamy texture of this shade, because it really helps make application a breeze. It can be applied as more of a semi-opaque color with just one layer, but two layers yields you a bold ruby red with a glossy finish–it’s almost so pretty it doesn’t need gloss (though it does need lip liner to prevent it from bleeding). I love it with Jampacked Lipglass for a deeper red.

The Scarlet Season is a series of posts showcasing and featuring my favorite shades of red lips–from glosses to lipsticks that runs through December 2009. You can sure expect to see a lot of red this holiday season!

See more swatches and comparison photos… Continue reading »

MAC’s Mystic Cool Eyeshadow Palette was not the easiest to mix and match. Both rows make great combinations, but when it comes to mixing them all… there just wasn’t as much variety as I’d like. I felt like I was really just swapping out one colour out of a trio and such.

What combinations have you tried?

Here are five different eyeshadow combinations you could try using just this palette…

• Inner Lid: Shhh Don’t Tell Eyeshadow
• Outer Lid: Rose Potion Eyeshadow
• Crease: Violet Vow Eyeshadow
• Brow: Cool Incantation Eyeshadow
• Cheeks: Conjure Up! Mineralize Blush
• Lips: Total Wow! Lipstick, Jingle Jangle Dazzleglass

See four more combinations… Continue reading »

MAC’s Devil May Care Eyeshadow Palette is mostly warm-toned, and it has a good selection of shades to mix and match. I found this (along with the Smoke & Mirrors Palette) to be really easy to come with combinations for. I struggled a lot more with Sorceress and Mystic Cool! I feel like there are definitely a ton of combinations to be thought of with this palette, too!

What combinations have you tried?

Here are five different eyeshadow combinations you could try using just this palette...

• Inner Lid: Gold Tease Eyeshadow
• Outer Lid: Prankster Eyeshadow
• Crease: Devilishly Dark Eyeshadow
• Brow: Oh My Darling Eyeshadow
• Cheeks: Superdupernatural Mineralize Blush
• Lips: Surprise Me Lipstick, Boy Bait Cremesheen Glass

See four more combinations… Continue reading »

MAC’s Sorceress Eyeshadow Palette is filled with fairly cool-toned eyeshadows. I find that with as many purples and cool shades included in this palette, the best way to complement any eye look is going with cool pink, pale pink, or plummy shades on cheeks and cool-toned pinks or iridescent opals and purples for the lips.

Some notes: I didn’t find that the lip shades launched with MAC’s holiday collection worked particularly well with this palette, so I’d recommend looking in your stash for better shades! I also found that as pretty and unique as Hold My Gaze Eyeshadow is… it doesn’t work easily with this palette, because it’s has a definite green tone to it. I’d also recommend thinking about using it with some greens and golds for a better look.

What combinations have you tried?

Here are five different eyeshadow combinations you could try using just this palette…

• Inner Lid: Edge of Dark Eyeshadow
• Outer Lid: Magnetized Eyeshadow
• Crease: Altered State Eyeshadow
• Brow: White Rabbit Eyeshadow
• Cheeks: Conjure Up! Mineralize Blush
• Lips: Sweetie Lipstick, Ever So Rich Cremesheen Glass

See four more combinations… Continue reading »