MAC Wonder Woman: Pigments & Reflects Glitters

MAC PIGMENTS ($21.00 for 0.15 oz.) and MAC REFLECTS GLITTER ($21.00 for 0.15 oz.) are also included in the collection. The shades are: Bright Fuchsia (bright magenta), Marine Ultra (vivid marine blue), Reflects Bronze (sparkling rich gold), and Reflects Pearl (white glitter with pearl sheen).

All four shades are permanent shades available at MAC PRO stores. Supposedly, for licensing costs, these are priced ta $21.00 compared to the normal price of $19.50. Unless the packaging wins you over or you don’t have a PRO store nearby (and don’t want to order over the phone), I wouldn’t get these.

• Bright Fuchsia is a brightened medium-dark fuchsia with fuchsia-pink shimmer. It has rich pigmentation and goes on smoothly. This shade is not eye safe.
• Marine Ultra is a medium-dark ocean blue with a matte finish. It comes together very nicely and smoothly when applied. This shade is not lip safe.
• Reflects Bronze is a coppery bronze glitter. This shade is not eye safe.
• Reflects Pearl is a silvery-white glitter. This shade is not eye safe.

my thoughts on the formula: Both pigments and glitters are multi-use products, though their boxes come with safety warnings if they aren’t safe for a particular area of the face (usually eyes or lips). I noted the safety for each shade above. Both products are best used wet or over a tacky base (especially glitters). Glitters can be used in hair products (for glittered hair), nail polish, and lip gloss–just to name a few non-eye usages.

If you want to know more about how products are evaluated, read out Rating System FAQ!

• Product: 27/30
• Value: 7/10
• Ease of Use: 4/5
• Packaging: 4/5

final thoughts: Normally, I find pigments in the B+/A- range, but the bump in price and product quantity staying the same pushes it down to a B. I’m personally a little disappointed to see four shades from the permanent line being pushed in this collection. I’m also not sure why MAC always includes Reflects Glitters in collections clearly for regular consumers (not professional artists) if they’re not eye safe.

where to buy: MAC Cosmetics

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Bright Fuchsia and Marine Ultra Pigments; Bronze and Pearl Reflects Glitters

Bright Fuchsia and Marine Ultra Pigments; Bronze and Pearl Reflects Glitters

Bright Fuchsia and Marine Ultra Pigments; Bronze and Pearl Reflects Glitters

Bright Fuchsia and Marine Ultra Pigments; Bronze and Pearl Reflects Glitters

Bright Fuchsia and Marine Ultra Pigments

Marine Ultra Pigment

Reflects Bronze Glitter

Reflects Pearl Glitter

Bright Fuchsia and Marine Ultra Pigments

Bronze and Pearl Reflects Glitters

MAC Bright Fuchsia Pigment

MAC Marine Ultra Pigment

MAC Bronze Reflects Glitter

MAC Pearl Reflects Glitter

MAC Warm Thrillseekers Pigments/Glitter Set

Each pigment/glitter set includes four pigments and one glitter, each contains 0.09 oz. of product, according to the tin. The five glass vials are housed inside a tartan-decorated metal tin, and there is a plastic insert that keeps them standing together, but it’s removable, should you desire. I did find it curious that there were no inserts regarding uses (e.g. what’s eye/lip safe) in any of the sets, though.

This set includes: Gift O’ Glamour (pale metallic pink), Gilded Green (frosty mid-tone green with gold pearl), Gold Mode (tan gold), Most Darling (medium brown shimmer), and Reflects Bronze (sparkling rich gold).

• Gift O’ Glamour is a pinky beige with a champagne frosted shimmer. The pink is very subtle in this–I would not have thought of this shade based on the description of “metallic pink.” It’s a little like Expensive Pink eyeshadow. This is a new and limited edition shade to this set.
• Gilded Green is a pale aqua-green with a shimmer-sheen finish. It’s kind of a combination of Aquadisiac and Juxt–more closely resembling Aquavert and Metamorph eyeshadows (both limited edition) merging together. This is a repromote.
• Gold Mode is a gilded champagne with a high sheen. It’s a lighter, less red-toned version of Woodwinked eyeshadow. This is a repromote.
• Most Darling is a medium-dark warm brown with soft bronze shimmer. It reminded me of Soft Brown eyeshadow but with shimmer. This is a new and limited edition shade to this set.
• Reflects Bronze is a bright coppery glittery concoction. Think a glittery version of Amber Lights eyeshadow. This is a permanent shade.

I think the pigment sets are a good value, and they’re always worth a peek if you’re into loose color or pigments. You’re getting 0.45 oz. of product for $32.50, while a single, full-sized pigment contains 0.15 oz. of product and retails for $19.50–essentially, this is $60 worth of pigments/glitters.

If you want to know more about how products are evaluated, read out Rating System FAQ!

• Product: 29/30
• Value: 10/10
• Ease of Use: 4/5
• Packaging: 4/5

RECOMMENDATION: I like that two of the pigments are new shades, but this set almost ends up being a neutral set, because of how many browns are in it.

AVAILABILITY: MAC Cosmetics (November 4th/11th — check your local store for availability)

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Pigments: Gift O’ Glamour, Gilded Green, Gold Mode, Most Darling; Reflects Bronze Glitter

Pigments: Gift O’ Glamour, Gilded Green, Gold Mode, Most Darling; Reflects Bronze Glitter

Pigments: Gift O’ Glamour, Gilded Green, Gold Mode, Most Darling; Reflects Bronze Glitter

Pigments: Gift O’ Glamour, Gilded Green, Gold Mode, Most Darling; Reflects Bronze Glitter

Pucker Up: Warmed-Up Fall Lips

One of my favorite things to do, beauty-wise, is to create lip combinations. I love playing with lip colors, and I love mixing and matching to find different ways to achieve traditional shades, but also discovering fun shades I haven’t tried before! You’d be amazed at just how much you can create with only a few products. You really don’t need a lip army arsenal a la Temptalia! But since I am a fervent lip product fanatic, every Tuesday, I’m going to show you different ways of layering and mixing lip products to create custom shades for every occasion.

Today, I wanted to do a twist on the dark, vampy lip that we’re seeing pop up for the fall and winter seasons. I, myself, don’t always feel comfortable in something as dark as the more traditional vampy lip (often very deep burgundy/wine). I’ve often found vampy lips to run a bit cool, which complicates things for me as a warm-toned gal. I also wanted to play with MAC Reflects Glitter to show how to incorporate it into a lip look as well.

Products Used

• Benefit No Competition Lipstick
• Givenchy Velvet Plum Gloss Interdit
• MAC Reflects Bronze Glitter

Methodology

First, apply Benefit No Competition Lipstick with a flat lip brush to create a defined pout. Whenever I use darker lipsticks, I use a lip brush (and sometimes a lip liner — definitely use one if lip products bleed on you!) to make sure I stay “inside the lines.” Brush on Givenchy Velvet Plum Gloss Interdit over the lipstick layer. With your finger (best method, to be honest!), dab on MAC Reflects Bronze Glitter onto the center of the top and bottom lips. Use your lip brush to blend the glitter into your lip color. Voila!

Change It Up

You can see how much each product can really change up the look, yeah? Using a dark, plummy gloss intensified our lipstick base color and made it much in-your-face. The addition of the Reflects Bronze Glitter added a lot of warmth and made it more of a reddish-toned color. You can always stop at just a gloss (which turned out to be a very gorgeous color–no Reflects needed!), or you could use a different shade of glitter, which would still give you the shimmering-water effect with a different tone/shade.

Oh, and p.s.? It only takes a few minutes from start to finish–really!

See the progression…

Who remembers the Alexander McQueen collection by MAC?  It was a small launch, but it had pops of bright color.  These days, I regret not picking up the paint pots, but such is life.  At the time, I passed on pretty much the entire collection, but this is a look I did to convince myself I didn’t need to buy anything.  This look is from October 2007, for your reference.  It’s hard not to love the combination of greens and blues and see why I used to do so many!

About the Look

I used Blue pigment on lid, Overgrown eyeshadow on inner lid, Shimmermoss eyeshadow on middle of lid, A Bluer Blue eyeshadow on outer lid and crease, Juxt eyeshadow above crease, Gorgeous Gold eyeshadow on brow, Blue Herizon liquidlast liner on lower lash line, Freshwater eyeshadow on outer lower lash line, Gorgeous Gold eyeshadow on inner lower lash line, and Feline kohl power on lower waterline. I wore Cantaloupe blush with Peach Haze beauty powder on cheeks with Emote blush to contour. I had Style It Up lipstick with Guava pro gloss and Reflects Bronze glitter on my lips.

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Thanks for all the encouragement, I always appreciate it It really does inspire me!

I used Emerald Green pigment all over lid, Goldmine eyeshadow on inner crease, Wondergrass eyeshadow on lid, Humid eyeshadow on middle of lid, Carbon eyeshadow on outer lid and crease, Goldmine eyeshadow above crease, Golden Lemon pigment dusted all over lid (then gently swished over the lid, going back and intensifying the original colors of Wondergrass & Humid), Nylon eyeshadow on brow bone to highlight, Femme Noir eyeshadow along upper lash line, Blitzed glitter liner along upper lash line, Carbon eyeshadow along upper lash line, Feline kohl power on lower waterline/lash line, Goldmine eyeshadow on inner tearduct and inner lower lash line, Humid eyeshadow on outer lower lash line, and Plushblack plushlash mascara on lashes (top and bottom). I wore Other Worldly blush with Daisydust beauty powder on cheeks. I had Brew lipstick with Pink Grapefruit lipglass dusted with Reflects Bronze glitter on lips.

I used Chartreuse pigment on all over lid, Overgrown eyeshadow on lid, Electric Eel eyeshadow on crease, Freshwater eyeshadow above crease, Gorgeous Gold eyeshadow on brow, Aqualine liquid last liner on lower lash line, Overgrown eyeshadow below lower lash line, Reflects Turquatic glitter on outer lower lash line, Blacktrack fluidline on upper lash line, Reflects Turquatic glitter on upper lash line. I wore Sunbasque blush with Sculpt sculpting powder to contour and Dancing Light beauty powder to highlight. I had Fun Fun lipstick with Poetique lipglass and Reflects Bronze glitter on my lips.