MAC Cosmetics Chill Collection Review

OVERALL, Chill is a collection I imagine most people will pass on. With the holidays being a time where most are often buying gifts for others and thus spending less on themselves, I just don’t think Chill has any wow-factor to get you excited. The Penultimate Liner is definitely worth taking a look at, and I think this is the only stand-out product (just because it’s completely new) of the launch. The eyeshadows are subdued and cool-toned without a lot of color; the lipglasses are also fairly cool-toned and swatch well, but they aren’t nearly as pigmented on lips (based on my trial). It’s not a bad collection, but with Dame Edna just around the corner, Brunette, Blonde, & Redhead in January, and then Hello Kitty looming in the horizon–I think people would rather wait for one, two, or all three of those known upcoming launches.

Get a breakdown of each of the products from this launch…

Eyeshadows

• Apres-Ski is a cool, light brown with a matte finish. It’s not a chalky matte, but it doesn’t have the same pigmentation as some of the more recent matte shadows to be released. All of the colors in this launch are best described as slightly subdued.
• Arctic Grey is a silvery shade with just a hint of goldish brown, but the tone of it is still very cool. The shimmer in it isn’t overwhelming–almost like a sheen.
• Mont Black is a semi-chalky dark black with subtle bits of bluish glitter in it. I’m least impressed by this color, because I can make-do with permanent shade Black Tied or even just go with Carbon and add glitter on top if need be.
• Vellum is a white eyeshadow with a blue-toned sheen that reflects well. It kind of reminds me of snow in a sense–the best color of the five.
• Wintersky is a pale, pale pink with cool tones to it. It has the same sheen-shimmer appearance as Arctic Grey does.  I’m jealous of those of you who have seen pink skies!

Penultimate Liner

Rapidblack is tricky to review just by swatch alone, since you really need to hold it and try lining with it. For some reason, it photographs a dark brown and not at all black–which worries me a little, because I tried two different cameras to get it to photograph. Oddly enough, the lipglasses photographed accurately but Rapidblack didn’t. It’s pigmented and wet enough to use as liquid liner in a pen-form. I can’t wait to hear what you all think about it, since it is a totally new product from the brand.

Lipglass

• Snowscene is a frosty white with pink and teal reflects in it that looks icy almost. It’s pretty, but on its own, it’s very cool and probably best worn over a lipstick or combined with another gloss.
• Icescape is a pinkish-peach base with subtle marigold shimmer. It looks pigmented, but when applied to lips, I didn’t feel like it did much for me, unfortunately.
• Frozen Dream reminded me a lot of CK’s Knockout, which I bought last week–and when swatched, it looks fab. On my lips, like Icescape, it hardly gave me any color at all. I’d take Knockout any day of the week over this one!
• Naked Frost surprised me, because it was the most noticeable when applied to lips. It’s very goldish-antique brown kind of. It has multicolored shimmer, which makes it more wearable. I didn’t love how it looked alone, but I think it would work well with some of my other lipsticks to make them browner or to tone them down.

Reflects Glitter

• Reflects Antique Gold is a lovely shade of rich brown with antique gold reflects. The glitter is extremely fine and goes on smooth. It looks like shimmering water!
• Reflects Transparent Teal is not as smooth as Antique Gold, but it does have the same fineness in particle size. I just find that both this one and Transparent Pink tend to go on chunkier than some of the other newer Reflects shades.