Lipglass: Spree, Fancy Cat
MAC Fabulous Felines: Burmese Beauty Review, Photos, Swatches (Lips & Cheek)
Be sure to check out part one if you’re looking for the eyeshadow quad, eyeliners, and pigments that go along with this part of the collection.
Lipglass ($14.50 U.S. / $17.50 CDN)
- Fancy Cat is a darkened brown with a slight plum edge and multi-colored shimmer, though predominantly yellowed gold. It has a semi-opaque look on lips; may look splotchy when worn alone. It’s a little similar to Chai lipglass, but I’d say the shimmer is what differentiates the two.
- Spree is a darkened champagne-coral with lots of frosty shimmer. It’s nearly opaque on lips.
- Jealous is a sheer green-tinged base with white, green-gold, and pale gold shimmer. Better for layering than worn alone, since it tends to just look like clear gloss with shimmer by itself. It’s much cooler and paler than Springbean lustreglass.
Lipstick ($14.50 U.S. / $17.50 CDN)
- Kittenish is a darkened red with subtle ruby shimmer with a cremesheen finish. It’s opaque, and it’s rather slippery and glaze-like for a cremesheen. If you typically find cremesheens drying and often skip the formula, you may want to give Kittenish the once-over. It feels like a lighter version of Media (permanent).
- Liquid Lurex is a multi-colored, slightly yellowed gray glittered dazzle finish lipstick–was also recently released with Digi-Pops. This is a shade better layered than worn alone.
- Pet Me Please is a pale mauve with a high frost finish. If you are not a fan of shimmery or frosty lips, definitely skip this one. It is one of the frostier lipsticks I’ve seen released lately. It is opaque, though. It’s a bit similar to Pervette, but it’s a lot frostier, more opaque, and pinker.
- To Pamper is a semi-opaque taupe nude with a lustre finish. For a lustre, it’s surprisingly pigmented, but it has that glossy, slightly sheered out look, too. This is very nude, and on me, not so flattering as it blends in with my skin tone. It reminded me of Call My Bluff (In the Groove) as well as Shitaki (permanent).
Mineralize Blush ($21.00 U.S. / $25.00 CDN)
- The Soft Meow is a muted medium tan brown. It’s not warm, it’s not cool–it’s very neutral. It’s more of a bronzing shade than a contouring color. Personally, it seemed a little dirty on my skin tone, though–perhaps because it lacks warmth, so on my warmer skin tone, it doesn’t look so hot.
MAC Disney Venomous Villains Collection: Dr. Facilier Review, Photos, Swatches
The last part of the collection is Dr. Facilier’s part. It includes one lipgelee, three pigments, two greasepaint sticks, and two magically cool liquid powders. It also has a silver mirror compact with Dr. Facilier on the outside (not shown or reviewed here).
All of the character images are stamped on the products; they are not stickers. You can find official promotional imagery and color descriptions here. The collection launches on September 30th, 2010 at all MAC locations, October 2010 internationally, and approximately September 28th for online. You may also want to check your local store to see if they are holding an unveiling/preview party for the collection.
Pigment ($19.50 U.S. / $23.50 CDN)
- Melon is a peachy-gold with subtle pink undertones. I love Melon as a base for corals, golds, reds, and bronzes. It also works nicely to highlight cheeks or lips. This is part of the permanent range.
- Brash & Bold is a bright pop of dark pink with subtle satin sheen. It’s smooth, pigmented, and not frosty at all. It was released last year with Makeup Art Cosmetics.
- Push the Edge is a lightly shimmered violet purple. It has a nice richness in color, and it has a slightly metallic sheen. It was released last year with Makeup Art Cosmetics.
Magically Cool Liquid Powder ($29.50 U.S. / $35.50 CDN)
- Truth & Light is a soft peach nude sheen. Yes, it feels like liquid when you apply it to skin, and yes, it is a little wet, and then it dries to a powder finish. It is VERY cool to play with, I can assure you! This is something one might use all over or to highlight certain areas; it’s very subtle and not at all frosty. (It doesn’t photograph/show well on my cheeks by itself.) It can be used under or over makeup.
- Cajun is a medium tan with soft peach sheen. It gives my cheeks just a little bit of a tanned/bronzed look–again, very subtle, but more noticeable on its own than Truth & Light.
Lipgelee ($15.50 U.S. / $18.50 CDN)
- Resort Life is an over-the-top white champagne shimmered, silver glittered sheer gloss with subtle pink glitter. It was originally released in MAC in Lillyland.
Greasepaint Stick ($17.50 U.S. / $21.00 CDN)
- Slick Black is a deep dark black, very solid and opaque. It’s been released a few times now.
- French Quarter is a smoldering golden taupe brown with a black-brown base and flecks of bronze glitter-shimmer. It’s stunning, and it would make a great base for darker, smokier looks. Much, much warmer than Dirty Greasepaint Stick.
MAC Disney Venomous Villains Collection: Evil Queen Review, Photos, Swatches
Next up, we have the Evil Queen from Snow White. The Evil Queen’s “collection” includes two lipsticks, two lipglasses, three eyeshadows, one beauty powder, and one blush.
All of the character images are stamped on the products; they are not stickers. You can find official promotional imagery and color descriptions here. The collection launches on September 30th, 2010 at all MAC locations, October 2010 internationally, and approximately September 28th for online. You may also want to check your local store to see if they are holding an unveiling/preview party for the collection.
Lipglass ($15.50 U.S. / $18.50 CDN)
- Strange Potion is a lightly pink shimmered, soft pinky-coral that’s semi-opaque in coverage. This is a really beautiful shade of gloss–I can’t think of anything quite like it that MAC has put out. Very flattering on both cool and warm-toned skin.
- Hot House is a deep fuchsia-berry with iridescent fuchsia-purple shimmer. It applies and looks semi-opaque on lips. It originally was released in Strange Hybrid.
Lipstick ($15.50 U.S. / $18.50 CDN)
- Sinister is a semi-sheer brown with pinky-plum shimmer. It looks better on the lips than as a swatch. This has a lustre finish.
- Toxic Tale is a bright, opaque shade of nearly neon coral with an orange lean. Reminds me of Illamasqua Mistress, but in a lipstick form. Very, very pigmented–creamy but not slippery. This has a satin finish.
Eyeshadow ($15.50 U.S. / $18.50 CDN)
- Her Alter Image is a cool-toned icy, pale lilac with a veluxe pearl finish. It’s pigmented and purpler than Beautiful Iris, but it’s similar.
- Vile Violet is a darkened cool-toned violet with muted blue tones. This has a matte finish.
- Vainglorious is a bronzed burgundy with a frost finish. It’s similar to Cranberry, except a little browner, and it’s a bit darker and more burgundy than Star Violet–but it’s closest to Star Violet.
Blush ($19.50 U.S. / $23.50 CDN)
- Bite of an Apple is a brightened coral-pink blush that can really pack a punch! Very opaque, though it is blendable. This has a matte finish.
Beauty Powder ($25.00 U.S. / $30.00 CDN)
- Oh So Fair is a soft, petal pink with subtle shimmer-sheen. It’s sheer and looks very, very subtle on my medium skin tone. I wouldn’t recommend this shade for darker skin tones, because I think it would have a tendency to turn ashy.
MAC Venomous Villains — Cruella de Vil
MAC Disney Venomous Villains Collection: Cruella de Vil Review, Photos, Swatches
There are four “parts” to the collection, with each part being represented by each of the characters. After much indecision, I finally committed to reviewing everything by character, rather than product type! First up is Cruella de Vil, the villainness from 101 Dalmatians. Cruella’s “collection” includes two lipsticks, two lipglasses, three eyeshadows, one Penultimate eyeliner, one beauty powder, and one blush.
All of the character images are stamped on the products; they are not stickers. You can find official promotional imagery and color descriptions here. The collection launches on September 30th, 2010 at all MAC locations, October 2010 internationally, and approximately September 28th for online. You may also want to check your local store to see if they are holding an unveiling/preview party for the collection.
Lipglass ($15.50 U.S. / $18.50 CDN)
- Wicked Ways is a brightened cherry red that’s semi-opaque with subtle golden shimmer. I think this is going to be a very nice red on both warm and cool skin tones. It leans just a tiny bit blue, I’d say… but very close to neutral.
- Devilishly Stylish is a semi-sheer white-shimmered, slightly champagne nude. Not exactly the most original shade, but with some darker eye/lip products, will be a nice relief for those who need something softer.
Lipstick ($15.50 U.S. / $18.50 CDN)
- Innocence, Beware! is a semi-opaque pinky nude with a cremesheen finish. It’s a little glossy, not overly creamy, and I found it accentuated every imperfection on my lips. Make sure to exfoliate shortly before applying this shade. It seems like a pinker Blankety or paler Plink!, as well as in the family of nudes like Creme d’Nude and Hue. This shade is more opaque than the latter three, but the texture is best in Hue (smoother, less accentuating of flaws).
- Heartless is an almost neutral red that applies nearly opaque; if it leans in any direction, I would say slightly orange, but it really seems closer to neutral. It has an amplified finish. The closest dupe in the permanent MAC range seems like it would be Brave Red or perhaps Ladybug (which is probably a bit sheerer).
Blush ($19.50 U.S. / $23.50 CDN)
- Darkly My Dear dirtied brown with just a mere hint of plum. It looks plummer in the pan than it is in actuality–it’s rather brown when worn. It can be built up or used sheerly depending on the look you’re going for. It’s kind of like a browner, much darker version of Blushbaby. It’s supposed to have a matte finish, but it seems like it has a hint of pearl/satin sheen to it, though very near matte on cheeks.
Eyeshadow ($15.50 U.S. / $18.50 CDN)
- Sweet Joy is a pale gold with soft yellow undertones and a frost finish. This was originally included in the Passions of Red holiday palette (quite awhile ago). It’s similar to Dreammaker (Starflash) but less frosty; also similar to Creme Royale (Hello Kitty) and Creme de Miel (Style Warriors). It’s yellower than Nylon, much less gold/yellow than Goldmine.
- De-vil is darkened, orange-y copper with a veluxe pearl finish. It’s just the tiniest bit less red and a hair darker than Coppering, darker and deeper than Amber Lights (not even really comparable, IMO). It seems a little darker than Brash (Cult of Cherry), possibly similar to Courage (Untamed). But it’s really close to Coppering.
- Carbon is a matte black–can be packed on for an intense black, but like some mattes, better applied than swatched. This is a permanent shade.
Beauty Powder ($25.00 U.S. / $30.00 CDN)
- Her Own Devices is a sheered out champagne-shimmered medium nude. It gives just a hint of color on my NC25 skin (“medium”), but I think it maybe a nice shade for highlighting medium to dark skin tones, because it’s natural but it has shimmer–since it’s not pale, it won’t turn darker complexions ashy. I’ve had a few readers ask about how it compares to Shell Beauty Powder, but the two look completely different on me.
Burberry Russet Blush (Look breakdown here)
Burberry Russet (01) Blush ($42.00 for 0.24 oz.) is a softened rust-brown. When blended out, it’s just a hint of red-toned brown, but it can be layered on for a deeper shade that looks most rust-like. On my cheeks, it looks like a bronzer with a lil’ kick to it–not quite a flat or shimmering brown or bronze, but it gives my cheeks more warmth and dimension. I like the soft, finely-milled feel of the powder, and it applies smoothly without looking powdery. Burberry’s blushes look incredibly natural on skin, and they’re easy to sheer out or build up for a stronger cheek (but never an ultra intense cheek).
It’s packaged in a hefty gunmetal compact with a soft, bristled brush that actually works (though I’ll still stick with my regular brushes) and doesn’t feel scratchy against the skin. Burberry’s signature check pattern covers the front of the compact, and the logo is on the side. This blush comes with a good amount of product–around 30% more than your average high-end blush compact, actually!
If you want to know more about how products are evaluated, read out Rating System FAQ! 
- Product: 28/30
- Value: 9/10
- Ease of Use: 4/5
- Packaging: 4/5
RECOMMENDATION: For a darker, but still natural, cheek, Russet makes a good color choice for both warm and cool skin tones.
AVAILABILITY: Nordstrom
NARS Douceur Blush
Douceur… aka Softness!
NARS Douceur Blush ($26.00 for 0.16 oz.) is a new and limited edition shade of dirty neutral pink-brown. This is a hard color to describe, because I think it’s going to take on a lot of the natural tones from each person. It’s not pink on me, at all, and it doesn’t even swatch very pink, but it almost looks pink in the pan. On my skin (warm, yellow undertones, medium in color), it adds just a touch of flush but almost just darkens my cheeks. I love a product that challenges me to describe it, but simultaneously, I get very frustrated since I’m almost at a loss for words. (Almost!)
According to my good friend Google Translate, Douceur means softness in French. (Thanks for the lessons!) Foreign language, by the way, was never my strong suit (I took five years of French and yet I can’t even translate “douceur” on my own)!
Beyond the dirty neutral pink-brown shade (which is about as close as I think I’m going to get here), this is one of NARS’ least pigmented blushes. It is surprisingly subtle and light; it does not build to something more intense. I think those with medium to dark skin tones may want to try it out in person first. It’s very barely-there on me, so while I think paler beauties will love the near matte finish and subtler coloring of the blusher, darker beauties will find it less useful and maybe even invisible on their skin tone.
By the by, while the NARS imprint is gorgeous, it will disappear within one or two uses!
Don’t forget — use code TEMPTALIA for a free mini lipgloss trio featuring Turkish Delight, Gothika, and Greek Holiday at NARS.
If you want to know more about how products are evaluated, read out Rating System FAQ!
- Product: 26/30
- Value: 8/10
- Ease of Use: 4/5
- Packaging: 4/5
RECOMMENDATION: For those with light to light-medium skin, I think this would be a lovely shade to add depth without strong color.
AVAILABILITY: NARS
