MAC Nail Trend F/W 2010 Review, Photos, Swatches
Thursday, August 26th, 2010
Nail Lacquers: Concubine, Imperial Flower, Earthly Harmony, Ming Blue, Jade Dragon, Rain of Flowers
MAC Nail Trend F/W 2010 Review, Photos, Swatches
Wait, you thought it was JUST Fabulous Felines today? You must be new to MAC 
Indeed, MAC had a short and sweet launch of six nail lacquers (which might account for why there were none in Fabulous Felines!), all of which are Asian-inspired. nail expert Jin Soon was inspired by the “Forbidden City,” and she created shades inspired by the sculptures, architecture, fabrics, and decorative papers of Imperial China. Each shade has “pearl essences for subtle dimension.”
All of these need a top coat (but how many of us go sans top coat anyway?!), because they dry to a rather flat finish–a little shiny but not at all glossy; I used MAC’s Overlacquer top coat on all of these. The formula was on the thinner side overall, but the majority of shades were very rich in pigmentation. Having only purchased these this morning, I haven’t exactly been able to wear these long term, but I did notice that Jade Dragon and Rain of Flowers are shades that may stain (for sure Jade Dragon).
You can check out official information and promotional imagery as well.
Nail Lacquer ($13.00 U.S. / $15.50 CDN)
- Concubine is a darkened red with ruby and scarlet shimmer flecks. I used two coats in the swatching, but there’s still a bit of nail line showing, so a third coat would probably be best. It’s pretty, but if you already have a lot of shimmered reds, you could easily skip this shade.
- Imperial Flower is a brightened medium orange with flecks of gold and orange shimmer. This is one of my favorites out of the launch, because it practically glows on nails. It is similar to China Glaze’s Orange Pacific, though Orange Pacific has more obvious shimmer. Just two coats — it was nearly opaque in one coat.
- Earthly Harmony is this concrete greige taupe shade. It is a difficult shade to describe! It has faint flecks of yellowed gold shimmer. I needed two coats here, and this is the kind of shade that made me think of Chanel’s Particuliere–but it’s not a dupe–just in that same vein of ugly shades that are rather pretty. I found the formula of this one to be on the watery side, and it made it a little harder to apply.
- Ming Blue is a brightened medium-dark ocean blue with softer blue shimmer. I used just two coats in swatches, and there’s my nail line faintly visible, but a third coat would definitely eliminate that. I didn’t see any immediate staining, but I could see this staining after a few days of wear.
- Jade Dragon is a deep forest green with flecks of green-teal shimmer. It’s quite pigmented and applied the nicest out of the bunch (but I only found Earthly Harmony troublesome)–two coats was perfect. This one, however, stained my nails just during the time I swatched it.
- Rain of Flowers is a deep, darkened black-purple base with flecks of violet shimmer. Two coats and I had opaque results, and I suspect this one might stain a little bit as well. I originally thought it might be similar to Illamasqua’s Baptiste or NARS Purple Rain, but it’s a lot more violet and less fuchsia.
If you want to know more about how products are evaluated, read out Rating System FAQ! 
- Product: 27/30
- Value: 8/10
- Ease of Use: 4/5
- Packaging: 4/5
RECOMMENDATION: I like ‘em, and some shades do seem different than the norm. It’s a nice collection overall, and I haven’t had any issues with MAC polishes myself!
AVAILABILITY: MAC
See more photos & swatches!
Nail Lacquers: Concubine, Imperial Flower, Earthly Harmony
Nail Lacquers: Concubine, Imperial Flower, Earthly Harmony
Nail Lacquers: Concubine, Imperial Flower, Earthly Harmony
Nail Lacquers: Ming Blue, Jade Dragon, Rain of Flowers
Nail Lacquers: Ming Blue, Jade Dragon, Rain of Flowers
Nail Lacquers: Ming Blue, Jade Dragon, Rain of Flowers
MAC Concubine Nail Lacquer (Natural Light)
MAC Concubine Nail Lacquer (Natural Light)
MAC Concubine Nail Lacquer (Natural Light)
MAC Concubine Nail Lacquer (Natural Light)
MAC Concubine Nail Lacquer (Flash)
MAC Concubine Nail Lacquer (Natural Light)
MAC Imperial Flower Nail Lacquer (Natural Light)
MAC Imperial Flower Nail Lacquer (Natural Light)
MAC Imperial Flower Nail Lacquer (Natural Light)
MAC Imperial Flower Nail Lacquer (Natural Light)
MAC Imperial Flower Nail Lacquer (Flash)
MAC Earthly Harmony Nail Lacquer (Natural Light)
MAC Earthly Harmony Nail Lacquer (Natural Light)
MAC Earthly Harmony Nail Lacquer (Natural Light)
MAC Earthly Harmony Nail Lacquer (Natural Light)
MAC Earthly Harmony Nail Lacquer (Flash)
MAC Ming Blue Nail Lacquer (Natural Light)
MAC Ming Blue Nail Lacquer (Natural Light)
MAC Ming Blue Nail Lacquer (Natural Light)
MAC Ming Blue Nail Lacquer (Natural Light)
MAC Ming Blue Nail Lacquer (Flash)
MAC Jade Dragon Nail Lacquer (Natural Light)
MAC Jade Dragon Nail Lacquer (Natural Light)
MAC Jade Dragon Nail Lacquer (Natural Light)
MAC Jade Dragon Nail Lacquer (Natural Light)
MAC Jade Dragon Nail Lacquer (Flash)
MAC Rain of Flowers Nail Lacquer (Natural Light)
MAC Rain of Flowers Nail Lacquer (Natural Light)
MAC Rain of Flowers Nail Lacquer (Natural Light)
MAC Rain of Flowers Nail Lacquer (Natural Light)
MAC Rain of Flowers Nail Lacquer (Flash)
All products in this post were purchased by Temptalia.
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I purchased Rain of Flowers yesterday and was severly dissapointed. The color is not showing the specks of shimmer adn it looks like a plum color. It seems like all the glitter is sticking to the bottle and not mixing w/ the rest of the polish even though I shook it for a really long time.
For some reason,Jade Dragon and Rain of Flowers appeal to me...Not big on blues and greens but for some reason...And I like Earthly Harmony,but I wouldn't wear it.
I've got very serious guestion to you ladies. does Rain of Flowers looks familliar to china glaze first class ticket? I'll be very grateful for info
I really like Imperial Flower and Earthly Harmony, I don't have anything in beige or orange and these both look lovely - much better on nails than in the bottle. You are great at applying polish by the way, do you have any tips to make it so neat?
My tutorial: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=feEr8hA-3hg
This collection has launched online in the UK today. I've ordered Concubine, Imperial Flower and Rain Of Flowers :)
I bought Rain of Flowers, Ming Blue, and Jade Dragon and they are all awesome! Now I'm waiting for the Disney Villains polishes!
Is Jade Dragon anything like China Glazes Emerald Fitzgerald? I want to try a deep green but I don't know which one to choose.
Much brighter, I'd say...
Earthly Harmony is more interesting than any grey/beige has a right to be! Love the subtle sparkles
Skipping~!!
I picked up a few of these yesterday and today. I bought: Jade Dragon; Earthly Harmony; Imperial Flower; and Ming Blue. I am wearing Jade Dragon now and love lvoe love it. Earthly Harmony is lovely because it reminds me of a taupe version of Vex eyeshadow on my nails with the pink iridescence.
Wow, they're gorgeous, I even like Earthly Harmony even if I'm not a fan of earth-y khaki shades. It's too bad that MAC is so expensive here ( they will probably be like 26 usd here =[ )
I am in love with Imperial Flower, but I feel like I would never wear it for some reason. Jade Dragon looks unexpectedly gorg!
I tried these at my MAC counter (at Macy's) last night and 'Imperial Flower' is absolutely stunning! I love it. I swatched all the colors, one per nail (yes, it looked lovely on the drive home, ha ha!) and 'Concubine' stained my nail badly. (And Corinne, I have OPI's 'I'm Not Really a Waitress' and I like it better than 'Concubine.' Not sure if that helps at all, but 'Waitress' looks . . classier?) Christine, thanks so much for doing this. Oh, and when I was at the MAC counter, one of the girls that worked there and I were talking about seeing the 'feline' collection's swatches online and she said she saw this great site where the person showed ALL the colors and I told her I saw them on 'Temptalia,' and she said, 'Yes, that's it!' So, here in a town where we don't have a MAC store, only a counter, there are MAC junkies who love your site, ha ha! Thanks so much!
Aww!! That's such a sweet story, thank you :)
Your photos are amazing! I love the polishes in this collection -- using Rain of Flowers today!
Thank you, Jamie!
Earthly Harmony looks exactly like Catrice Clay-ton, My Hero. The only difference is the price, the Catrice one is €2,50 in The Netherlands.
I saw these when I was picking up my order and almost walked away with a few of them. I love how Jade Dragon and Rain of Flowers look, might go back for them. Is it just me or does Concubine look almost like OPI's I'm Not Really a Waitress?
I don't have that one to compare, sorry!
I quite like the color of Rain Of Flowers, but what do you mean by staining? Like leaving a tint on your nails?
Yep!
Are Jade Dragon and Earthly Harmony permanent? Thanks for the awesome reviews, you're always the best! ♥
No, all shades are limited edition!
YOu're killing me...and my wallet...
Im not impressed sadly. I feel like I can have get a dupe at the grug store. Im waiting on the the nail polish from the vv collection!
Reminds me so much of the Vintage Vixen collection of China Glaze! Some of them are like the same!
rain of flowers = OPI INK
Rain of Flowers looks so gorgeous !
Earthly Harmony kinda reminds me a lighter China Glaze Ingrid!
i thought these would be a lot more glittery when i saw them this morning at the counter, but i kinda like that they aren't! they're all really pretty colors and even my mom (who wears NO makeup and NO nail polish) bought some. i know she won't share with me, so i'm thinking of buying jade dragon, earthly harmony, and ming blue... thanks for the swatches!! temptalia is filling hours of my days this week. everyone else around here is in school and i have nothing to do:) haha
No problem, Maisie :D
I picked up Earthly Harmony today and applied it this afternoon. Love it!!! It's slightly more gray than it appears in the bottle. Reminds me of Essie Chinchilly, same family of colors. Very military and edgy. I didn't experience any problems at all applying it, it's a little thinner than many of my other polishes but I actually prefer my polish on the thinner side. I can't stand buying a brand new polish and the formula is super thick and goopy (ahem...China Glaze Classic Camel) Love Earthly Harmony polish!
Surprisingly, I really like some of the colors in this collection! :)
I think I'm in love with Earthly Harmony. Just can't enough of neutrals - even on the nails! x
I swatched them all in the store. I fell in love with Jade Dragon, Earthly Harmony, and Imperial Flower. I found Rain of Flowers and Ming Blue to be streaky. The other color didn't appeal to me. I got the green and nude. I hope to get the orange later.
I just got Jade Dragon in the mail and I could smell the nail polish through the box. Seriously. I'm kinda scared now; I had no idea it would stain so badly.
Thanks for the swatches! The Concubine and Ming Blue are a lot brighter then I expected. And the Jade Dragon looks more emerald then teal which I did not expect either. The swatches on the MAC site really are a poor representation of the actual color. Imperial flower is really pretty but I don't think I can pull it off LOL I'll probably just get the Rain of Flowers and the Earthly Harmony. Thanks again :)
No prob, Dana!
Haha I love that your fingers are turning green (from Jade Dragon?) by the time the last photo scrolls around :) I love the way all your nail photos look in natural light - So pretty! I'm excited for these - I bought them all but honestly... Mostly for Jay. Even so, I still don't get to open them up until Monday. ERGH! LOL :)
I know, right? Jade Dragon stained a TON and wasn't even on very long. They're pretty, but there's something about 'em that screams a little basic to me. Maybe I am just jaded (har har) by the Venomous Villains duochrome-y polishes...
Rain of Flowers really reminds me of NYC quick dry polish in "Chinatown". Not an exact dupe, but close.
I really like Earthly Harmony and Rain of Flowers!
Wow...I haven't cared about nail polish in years, but these swatches make me want them all. O_O
I can't believe how disappointed I am with the entire FF collection. I thought for sure I was going to break the bank, but after your review/swatches I've decided to pass on everything. That's a major bummer because I adore the anticipation of the collection releases. BTW, I love my Nubar shades, Christine. Torrid Red rocks, I love Vino and several others I got. A couple disappointed but no biggie.
Yay! I'm glad you're mostly happy with 'em!!
I love Nubar. I have to get it from them, but the lacquers are so worth it. I have Jade Dragon on my nails now and this stuff is going back. Not long wearing at all and came out matte with little sparkle factor. No more MAC nail stuff for me. Nubar all the way!
Hmmmm, they're pretty for sure, but I think I have reasonable dupes for most of them. Unlike eyeshadows, I don't need every single shade of blue nail polish hahaha. Rain of Flowers and Ming Blue remind me of the Orly Cosmic FX ones that I just picked up (Lunar eclipse, and um, the purple one). Jade Dragon totally reminds me of China Glaze's Emerald Sparkle.. I'm not saying they're exact dupes by any means, but they're definitely in the same families. The only one that sticks out to me is Earthly Harmony. I don't own a greige colour, and I've never seen one with shimmer in it, only creams. This one is so different than the rest that it might be a must have for me! Thanks for the swatches, and all your hard work!
Rain of Flowers O M G <3
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