MAC Sugar Sweet Collection Review & Thoughts
Thursday, March 19th, 2009
Overall, MAC Sugarsweet Collection brings back shadesticks and some old favorites, but I don’t feel it has created any new favorites. The shadesticks are creamier this go-round, and they do feel a little softer. While I have always appreciated the original shadesticks for their color pay off, I just never loved the feel of them on my eye lid, so I had to pass them along to friends. I am looking forward to trying out the newer, creamier versions!The packaging on the shadesticks is nicer, too — almost a slick, shiny plastic casing.
What did you think of MAC’s Sugarsweet collection? What are you loving/hating? Tell me in the comments!
Neither the lipsticks or the tricolour lipglasses really grabbed my beauty-strings–there are a few that caught my eye, but nothing that caused my heart to speed up, you know? I am personally not a fan of sheer glosses, which is why the tricolour lipglasses aren’t up my alley either. The eyeshadows are so-so; they all have decent color pay off and texture, but none of limited colors screamed “must have!” I do think the finish of the mineralize skinfinishes is improved over the last few that have come out; there doesn’t seem to be any large, chunky shimmer–much more refined and subtle so it gives you a gentle sheen over a wallop of shimmer.
Temptalia’s Recommendations
Must-Haves: Lollipop Loving, Stars ‘n Rockets, Butternutty, Red Velvet, Peppermint Patti
Nice-to-Haves: Saint Germain, Sweet Thing, Simply Delicious, Tasty, Aquavert, Cakeshop
Skip: Consume Me
Get in-depth reviews on each of the items from this collection!
Lipstick ($14.00)
- Bubbles is a frosty silvery-white almost. It’s semi-sheer, so despite being somewhat colorless, you could still wear it without fear. It isn’t as pink as the original Bubbles lipstick.
- Lollipop Loving has a sheer, coral-ish base color with green-gold shimmer. It didn’t seem as green as the original version launched with Heatherette.
- Saint Germain is a cool-toned bright pink. It’s quite opaque, and the texture is very creamy. It isn’t necessarily a color for everyone, but it can be worn with colored lipgloss to make it more wearable, too.
- Sweet Thing is a semi-sheer fuchsia-pink with fuchsia-purple shimmer. It reminded me of Fun ‘n Sexy from Fafi. It looks pretty, but I definitely know I’ve seen this color before!
- Touch is a creamy, semi-sheer brown color. It looks like it has some warmth to it, and I am curious to see how this will look on me. It’s permanent, but I figured I should give it a shot since I really don’t own any brown lipsticks!
Tricolour Lipglass ($17.50)
- Consume Me is a super sheer, lightly shimmered gloss. It really doesn’t have any color from swatching it.
- Just Dessert is a sheer, medium neutral pink. It has more color than Consume Me, but again, they’re all fairly sheer by nature.
- Simple Delicious is a peachy-pink with gold shimmer gloss. It’s a very pretty color, but with its sheerness, I’m not sure just how much color will appear on your lips. It’d look nice over coral lipsticks — like Lollipop Loving.
- Tasty is the most pigmented of the five, and it is a fuchsia kind of color. I imagine it’s easily paired with Sweet Thing lipstick.
- Triple-Yum is a bronzy-brown with lots of gold shimmer. It’s almost as pigmented as Tasty, so I am hopeful some color might transfer to the lips!
Eyeshadow ($14.50)
- Sugarshot is a pale white-gold kind of color. It’s pretty frosty, and it reminds of Nylon, Phloof!, etc.
- Dear Cupcake is a velvety pink-coral color. It has a satin finish, so it looks almost matte, but it does have a light sheen. The color itself reminds me a bit of Paradisco eyeshadow, but the textures are entirely different.
- Stars ‘n Rockets is a fuchsia-purple duochrome with good pigmentation. This is one of my favorite colors made by MAC, and it is definitely worth getting if you don’t have it already.
- Aquavert is a pale, minty-green shade. It’s not a teal; it is more of a green — like a pale spring green. It could be more pigmented, but it’s a nice color to own, because MAC does not have a permanent color all that similar to it. This is a repromote (it came out with Lure).
- Club is a brownish-red duochrome with shimmer that leans greenish-teal. This is part of the permanent line.
Shadestick ($16.50)
- Cakeshop is a greenish-casted gray with a frosty finish.
- Lemon Chiffon is a frosty, pale white with a hint of white gold in it. Reminded me of a yellow-toned Phloof!. Both this and Cakeshop would make good bases, because they are light and should grab color well.
- Butternutty is a pale pink-nude color with the same frosty finish as the other shadesticks.
- Penny is a deep coppery color. While it is pretty, I find it isn’t as versatile as lighter shadesticks, because it tends to eat color. This is a repromote.
- Red Velvet is a deep medium pink with low level frost/sheen (relative to the other four). It reminded me of a less shimmery/frosty Fuchsia pigment.
Mineralize Skinfinish ($27.00)
- Refined is a soft sheen-finish nude-bronze color. On me (NC25/30), it basically acts as a highlighter, and it only gives me a little bit of sheen and shimmer rather than color (virtually no color for me).
- Perfect Topping is a pale, pinkish-peach color. This one showed up better on my NC25/30 skin, but it still will probably end up working best as a highlighter rather than a blusher.
Nail Lacquer ($11.00) (Swatches coming soon!)
- Peppermint Patti is a creamy minty green. It’s fairly opaque–you only really need two coats for it to look smooth!
- Seasonal Peach is a pretty baby peach-pink with a creamy finish. I had this previously, and it is an excellent color for spring/summer.
Great review! I personally like this collection as most of the colours suit me. I have a nail polish from Sephora by OPI called "A True Romantic" that is incredibly similar to A Seasonal Peach so if you want to get it and want to spend less money (I spent $12 at Sephora), you should consider that one. :)
Glad to hear that you're liking this launch, Julie! And good to know about the polish!
I am afraid Aquavert and Cakeshop are not doing much for me! Sweet thing looks like it is a repromote of something. I love Red Velvet though!
Red Velvet is great :)
I finally got my hands on my sugarsweet collection yesterday (launched on 9 Apr)! i got Aquavert and Sugarshot e/s; Perfect Topping and Refined MSF; shadestick in Cakeshop and I love everything. i didnt find sugarshot chalky at all, it packed on nicely (i used it as a highlight) and it got a little more oomph from just a touch of Prize e/s from Stila (a light shimmery gold). And I used Perfect Topping/Gold Deposit as an all-over highlighter which made my skin glowwwww! (I know, a lot of things to put on but am soooo happy with the results!) Thanks Christine; the swatches and your descriptions realllly helped!
Great review! do you know if lollipop loving is permanent?
Nope, it's LE!
Thanks for the great review.
You're welcome :)
ukkk, definitely looking forward to the shade sticks and that's about it. Not to much for the pastels. I'm stiill going to wait for style warriors and naked honey =)
I hope you like Style Warriors more, Nat :D
what 'kat' said up top 'cept for the tattoo part, im not getting one :P
Your recommendations are right on the spot!
Aww :) I'm glad you think so, Mikki!
Oh man, I wanted to skip on this one but I just can't. Monday I'm getting aquavert, butternutty, and dear cupcake. I wanted Peppermint Patti, but seriously, who knows if that will be in stock. -__- It's selling out like mad! I'm sure I'll pick up a few more things when I'm at MAC.
Nice haul, Aubree!! :) I hope you can get everything you want.
I haven't purchased anything from this collection yet but thanks for your reviews. It'll help me narrow down my selsction for sure.
I'm happy to help you out, Amanda :D
Aw man, I didnt get much but I really really wanted that Peppermint Patti Lacquer but it was all sold out everywhere near me =(
Oh no! :( That sucks!
Thank you so much for the thoughts and review! After seeing this, I need to get a few of those shadesticks, they're so prettyy;D. Can't decide between Cakeshop and Butternutty...
Happy to share it, Elise! It's hard to choose between those two, they're so different!
christine...i've been "stalking" your site for awhile, but this is my first comment. i ditched class wed. night to grab a few things early. ended up with cakeshop, aquavert and lollipop loving. the last night my nordies had a mac seminar. 50 bucks for a two and a half hour class. granted, everything i've learned has been from your site and yt. LOL it was fun though. however the 50 bucks could be used toward product, which coincided nicely with the sugarsweet release. so at nordies i ended up with refined, dear cupcake, and butternutty. todays look: cakeshop all over the lid, aquavert in the inner corner, satin taupe in the crease, and humid in the outer v. i'm no makeup guru, but i did get a lot of compliments. speaking of compliments, let me just compliment you and how wonderful your site it!
Hey Melika! Thanks for commenting! :) I'm glad you were able to attend the seminar! What was on it on? It's so nice to be complimented on your makeup, isn't it? I'm so glad your look was a hit!
thanks for the review! can't wait to get my hands on aquavert! =)
No problem, Charlie :D
I picked up a few things from this collection and some others. I got Tasty-tricolour lipglass Refined-Mineralize skinfinish Red velvet Cakeshop Peppermint Patti I didnt care for the lipsticks, best one i think was lollipop lovin, I have club and star n rockets, I might still get Aquavert. I also got another Hue lipstick and the new Studio sculpt concealer. Since I'm going to the MAC warehouse sale near Toronto next week I have to save money looool
You are SO lucky to have scored tickets to the MAC warehouse sale!
just came back from the mac counter. I was only impressed with butternut, every shade looked good on it. Sugarshop e/s was chalky and MA had a hard time putting it on. Aquavert e/s was awesome. Dear cupcake didnt have a nice pay off. MSF were very nice. I got refined for myself, i am NC40. Lipglosses were very sheer... seemed like a waste of money.
That really sucks about Sugarshot! I wonder if the oils hardened it, because it does have decent pay off for me.
Thank you for posting! This really helped me! Twitter: makeupgirl513
No problem, Heather!
OKAY OKAY sooooo I think I'm getting (this is based off of Christine's review of course)...Saint Germain (I'm super-duper pressed over this one lol)....Lollipop Loving ( I'm missed the Heatherette collection so this is a must)...Triple Yum (sooo bronze and pretty...I think it will look great with my yellow undertones)...Stars and Rockets....Cakeshop...Butternutty...Perfect Topping...and Peppermint Patti. WHEW!!! Glad I get paid this weekend lol...
LOL, yay for getting paid :D Sounds like you have a good haul coming up!
I know right...I actually have done some looks and videos BUT I'm so busy I haven't been able to post them on YouTube!!! Well a combo of being busy and being lazy when I have time off!!!
lol! I can just imagine!
For sures are: Aquavert, Dear Cupcake, Cakeshop & the MSF's (at least one, but probably both). Maybes: Sugarshot & Sweet Thing I still have to buy Grand Duos too!
If you have Vivacious, Fun 'n Sexy, etc., Sweet Thing is easily passed on, I think! Which Grand Duos?
I don't have either of those pinks, so I'll pick it up. Grand Duo, Love Rock, Moon River, Earth 2 Earth & Light Over Dark are the ones I want...I might just get the first I listed now & then get the rest in a few weeks.
Ohh, fun :) You are sure to have some fun looks coming up!
I went to Mac yesterday and I think this collection is one of my least favorites ever. It reminds me of an Avon Mark collection they did a few years back called Patisserie. I think this Sugar sweet launch is just not up to Mac's starpower and it seems like they are putting out color collections just for the sake of putting them out. Lots of repromotes! The tri color glosses are gimmicky. I found the shade sticks grainy so I'll need to return the two I got. I thought the MSF's were pretty but Mac does do a good job with those. Dear Cupcake was just not my shade and the other LE Sugar e/s was chunky and a Lustre. Yucky Lustres! I grabbed Lollipop Lovin since I foolishy swapped my Heatherette one away. I say "Meh" to this collection and "can't wait" to stylewarriors.
I totally agree on the tricolour lipglasses being gimmicky! I've heard a lot of people think they're cheap looking, and I don't necessarily agree they look cheap, but I see it being a money-grabber than an innovative product! I'm sorry to hear your shadesticks were grainy -- that's so weird! I hope mine aren't like that!
looking forward to this collection hitting the uk next month x
me 2! it sucks that we have to wait, but we get to see everyones opinions first so we hopefully dont rush into anything.... st germain is permenant here right?
Saint Germain is perm in Europe as far as I know!
Glad to hear it, Binnie! Anything you think you'll have to get?
I am loving Saint Germaine, although for me it won't be an everyday color, it will be a weekend evening color. And now that I am not at the counter, I wish I had purchased the Perfect Topping MSF.
Nice to hear you picked up Saint Germain :) Will you go back for Perfect Topping?
All these pictures of the Sugarsweet collection, cupcakes and sweets has left me craving sugar and cupcakes rather than make-up! It's a shame that those tri-colour glosses are so sheer. They would have been a great fun seasonal novelty item for me, but not if there's low colour. Thanks for the great swatches and pictures. I was going to skip the whole collection but I think I might cave and get all 5 shadesticks as I liked the original ones and creamier ones would be even better.
LOL! I know, right? I just want some freakin' cupcakes ;) If you like shadesticks, I'd definitely vote grabbing at least a few! MAC hasn't put out a new shadestick in QUITE awhile, and while it's hopeful they will in the future (since they've now done it with Sugarsweet), who knows with MAC!
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