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MAC Love That Look Collection - Review & Thoughts


Ego

OVERALL, MAC’s Love That Look Collection introduces twelve shades of Starflash-finish eyeshadows with only a few repromotes (Dreammaker, Grand Entrance, Glamour Check!, and Smoke & Diamonds). The shadows have the same feel as last year’s Starflash shadows. They’re fairly smooth, well-pigmented, and have a frosty-sheen to them. None of them are glittery, and I didn’t experience any that were subpar in their color pay off, either. The four liners launched are all repromotes, but the formula hasn’t changed a bit — still smooth, rich, and dark.

Temptalia’s Recommendations

Must-Haves: Ego, One Off, Rated R, Smoke & Diamonds, Rave Pearlglide
Nice-to-Haves: Dreammaker, Fashion Groupie, Style Snob
Skip: Fashion Groupie, Un-Basic White

See in-depth shade-by-shade reviews


Dreammaker, Ego, Fashion, Fashion Groupie, Glamour Check

Eyeshadows ($14.50)

  • Dreammaker is a warm, golden shade with a little bit of peachiness to it. I’d say this one was the least smooth of the twelve shadows, but it can be packed on for a smoother finish. This is a repromote from last year’s Starflash collection.
  • Ego is a soft, baby pink with a lightly silvered frosty sheen. It had good color pay off, and it didn’t really remind me of any permanent eyeshadows. It’s a lighter than permanent shades like Pink Venus and Swish.
  • Fashion is a subdued teal with a little bit of a blue-silver cast. This color is pretty, but it doesn’t grab my attention as much. It seems almost a bit too subdued, actually.
  • Fashion Groupie is a beautiful shade of medium purple with a reddish tone. It reminded me quite a bit of Satellite Dreams, which is a permanent shade in MAC’s line-up. The pay off of this was really good, though.
  • Glamour Check! is a rich, warm-toned chocolate brown with gold shimmer. This is a repromote from last year’s Starflash collection.
  • Grand Entrance is a white, pink-tinged highlighter kind of shade. I was never thrilled about this shade, because it is extremely frosty on my skin tone. I find it looks nicer on lighter skin tones. This is a repromote from last year’s Starflash.
  • One Off is a medium green with a little bit of gold sheen/shimmer. It’s not a spring-y green, nor is it a forest green. It’s deeper than Swimming, much lighter than Humid. It reminded me a bit of a deeper Kelly Green. It’s almost as if Swimming and Humid had a baby…but a really pretty one. This was the most unique shade amongst all twelve.
  • Rated R is a bright pop of chartreuse green. It’s yellower/more chartreuse than Bitter, but it’s very similar to Eyepopping and Sour Lemon eyeshadows.
  • Smoke & Diamonds is a pewter-gray with golden-pewter shimmer. This was a fairly popular shade from last year’s Starflash collection, so I wouldn’t recommend waiting too long on this one! This is a repromote from last year’s Starflash.
  • Strike A Pose is a dark blue with just a little bit of teal mixed in. It reminds me of a lightly tealed-up Deep Truth eyeshadow. The teal cast it gives off is the only thing that saves it from being yet another Deep Truth lookalike.
  • Style Snob is a pinky-brown. It’s a lighter, taupe-y brown with golden-peach shimmer. This one had more shimmer than most of the other shades available.
  • Un-Basic White is a shimmery, frosty white. It’s a dead-ringer for White Frost eyeshadow, which is a permanent PRO shade.


Fashion, Fashion Groupie, Glamour Check!, Grand Entrance


One Off, Rated R, Smoke & Diamonds, Strike A Pose


Smoke & Diamonds, Strike A Pose, Style Snob, Un-Basic White

Pearlglide Liners ($14.50)

  • Black Russian is a silvery-gray black that goes on smoothly and has minimal drag.
  • Fly-By-Blu is a rich, dark blue with an almost duochrome nature.
  • Molasses is a dark brown with very low level sheen/pearl to it.
  • Rave is a pretty royal purple color with subtle sheen.


* Only Fly By Blu, Black Russian, Molasses, and Rave are being repromoted

115 Comments

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daphne Avatar

Depot, add to palettes, and get 2 freebies with the empties (from what I understand, all stores are *supposed* to take depot empties) – sort of saves you two dollars each or so with the freebies. I only buy pots when I have to (when they are LE), but I figure the freebies with the empties balance it out a bit.

binnie Avatar

as the mac pencils are LE when you are purchasing if you dont mind getting a another brand i would reccomend you look into getting the urban deacy ones which i think are excat match for RAVE: you can either get 1)Lust: deep purple w/ subtle silver sparkle or 2)Ransom: bright iridescent purple

link:http://www.urbandecay.com/categories/247EyePencil.cfm

the blue mac liner fly by blue is the unique colour in my opinion the urban deacy one in Deviant: bold blue is a bit darker but you may want to try another brand such as barry m or gosh which does have a similar colour x

tara Avatar

ok…so…I think I am going to get…Smoke & Diamonds.
I really want Strike a Pose, but I have bought so many blues lately, and need to cute back on money. Then I think I am going to get Black Russian Liner. and from Baby Blooms Moist Plum.

Thoughts?

Liz Avatar

Omg. I think that smoke and diamonds is the warm grey I’m looking for…I’m going to b2m for one and buy a backup!

And now that you’ve swatched grand entrance, how does it compare to belightful? Thanks Christine!

Dea Avatar

thank you so much christine….

i already knew i’ll get smoke and diamonds..
but was debating whether to get “one-off” or “rated-R” or “strike-a-pose”
strike a pose seems like a NO to me…. so i guess Rated R… cause i haven’t had any yellowish chartreuse.. and yet i already have swimming and humid..

thanks again

Megan Avatar

OMG! I was just at my Macys and I picked up Style Snob.. I loveeee it. Came home and researched reviews and thought it was weird I couldnt find any. I had NO idea this was a brand new collection!!! lucky me!

aramis Avatar

i got black russian and style snob and rated r at my local mac i think my local mac didnt have smoke and diamond so i bought it at nordstorm..im going to b2m for 2 more and buy 1 more and hopefully they will still be here when i come back from mexico i waited the whole day for ur review =))))

aramis Avatar

oops i meant i got rave eyeliner and smoke and diamonds fashion groupie and rated r today i got 3 more but b2m for 2. i got ego glamour check and style snob. for me all of them are must haves because of the texture. =] well i dont really have similar colors except for the silver 1 it looks like the one that came out in a rose romance collection.silverthorn?

Liz W Avatar

Natalie, smoke & diamonds is similar to sweet sienna, except S&D is more silver-taupe, and sweet sienna is more taupe-silver. Diamond Lil by Stila is identical to S&D.

Natalie Avatar

Thanks Liz W. If there is only little difference between S&D and SS, then I might skip. I have a full jar of Sweet Sienna at home. I feel like I am buying S&D because of all the hype 😀

Kaylabella Avatar

These swatches are definitely gorgeous! I just hit the order button on smoke and diamonds! I’m super excited because I’ve been looking for a really pretty grey for a while!!

Jacquelyn Avatar

The swatches are gorgeous! I’m glad that I right away ordered Smoke & Diamonds before it would be really hard to find again. That color is the one that I’ve been searching for so long and I’m happy that I can’t wait to get it! I also ordered Black Russian!

Saki Avatar

Haha I thought so too…funny not many people pointed that out. And what annoys me is the fact that the actual SHADES are the same too (or at least, similar). It’s so OBVIOUS, they could’ve at least named it differently…lol. Just my opinion though 🙂
Maybe they were just trying to have fun, I dunno. But I think the original NARS Rated R is better 😛

liz Avatar

okay just ordered smoke and diamonds from this collex

star violet e/s and viva glam vi l/s too

LASH79 at checkout for free zoomlash sample
and free standard shipping until 7/27!

🙂

Kharina Avatar

OK…since I’m on a R-E-A-L-L-Y tight budget I’m gonna have to spend wisely. Thanks to a lot of swatches from specktra and of course Christine’s swatches, I can hold off on some shadows that can be dupeable…NOT DEAD-ON but pretty close. Unfortunatelly though, the finish/texture of these lovely Starflash shadows will have to be sacrificed. Waaaaaa!

Ego= Sweet Lust (perm)
Rated-R= Bitter (perm)
Fashion= Tilt (perm)
Fashion Groupie= Satellite Dreams (perm)
Style Snob= Sable (perm)
Unbasic White= White Frost (perm) **Christine is right about this one being DEAD-ON!

As for the liners, I still have Black Russian from the first time it launched. Though it would be nice to own all liner shades, a secret my MUA told me is to own Black Russian as it can be versatile when you pat shadow with a small lip brush over it in order to have more variety of “eyeliner colors” so I pat purple shadow to make it look like “Rave” etc…. The glitters of Russian Black liner allow the shadow color to show and POP versus any black old liner.

And soooo… I plan on getting a back up of Black Russian, One-Off, Smoke & Diamonds (backup b/c I’m almost hitting pan), and Glamour Check!

MC Avatar

Once Off and Smoke & Diamonds.

I was thinking Rated R… But Crest the Wave from Make Up Art looks like a much prettier yellow, so I can wait.

Saira Avatar

Oh wow, these look so cool! I’ve really been looking forward to this range, so can’t wait to check it out. I especially like the look of Fly-By-Blu pearlglide liner. Are these out in the states now? Not quite sure when they come out in the UK, as I think collections normally come out a momnth after here.

Crystal Avatar

Which do you think I need more? Fashion Groupie or Smoke and Diamonds? I’m definitely getting Rave!! Purple eyeliner is so my style!

cooliegal Avatar

oh no…makeup fix after a bad week…I want Smoke and Diamonds, Rate R, Glamour Check!, One off and maybe Strike a Pose…yay!!!!

Lindsay Avatar

Yesssss! I am sooo excited about this collection! I went today and got:

Smoke & Diamonds x 2
Unbasic White
Ego
Style Snob
Grand Entrance
Fly-by Blu
Black Russian

I love it all!

Lindsay Avatar

Thanks! I actually went back and ended up with Rated R, Strike a Pose, Glamour Check, Dreammaker, Fashion, Fashion Groupie, Rave and Molases! Yikes, my poor wallet. Theses shadows have such an amazing texture, I couldn’t pass them up.

Kate Avatar

OH MY GOSH. This is seriously a godsend! I JUST hit the pan on my Grand Entrance I bought from starflash last year and I was sad because it was LE! I will definately be stocking up on THAT this time! It is seriously the perfect eyeshadow for when you want to rock the classic red lip!

mlou Avatar

Christine,
Is Ego similar to Sweet Lust? I love that pink, although it can be quite shimmery. Ego is described as yellow pink, which I’m not sure it could work on my cool skin, if it leans warmer.

Nadia Avatar

Thanks Christine!

i’m still debating weather to get that colour, is there already a liner thats close to the colour in the permenant line? i do have teddy but i think teddy is lighter.

Nadia Avatar

Thanks a bunch! i really like this website, i live about 2.5 hours away from a MAC so it’s hard for me to go to the store to get something from a new collection so i do all my MAC shopping online and sometimes what you see on the website isn’t what you get so i love how you show everything in detail and do your reviews, it definitely helps me out. I wish i could have read your reviews before buying Odd-bits from the colour craft collection. And i lost my receipt so i’m stuck with it.

Addy Avatar

Did many swatches in a non-pro store and this is my opinion:
-Ego is most similar to Swish, but Swish is a slightly brighter and more true pink, while Ego is more of a pale pink with yellowy gold undertones.
-Style Snob is very similar to Satin Taupe
-Glamour Check reminds me of Antiqued
-Although Strike a Pose is most comparable to Deep Truth, they are nothing alike! Deep Truth is a truer, richer, and brighter blue, while Strike a Pose is more teal with silvery gray undertones.
-Dreammaker reminds me of a softer, whiter version of Gorgeous Gold.
-There is nothing like Smoke and Diamonds!!! And it goes with everything!!! I’ve been using it in the crease and outer edge with so many diff. lid colours and a little goes a long way since it is soo pigmented! Very easy to blend too! Think I’m gonna need a back-up…

Whichever one you get, the texture is AMAZING! So pigmented and blendable (no harsh lines ladies)! My two must haves are Smoke and Diamonds and Strike a Pose! I think they are the most unique and they also have the best texture and colour pay-off!

Portia Avatar

Smokes and Diamonds is a must have! I love it so much I bought a backup from the last collection and is still in its box. if I had known they were going to release it!

BINNIE Avatar

hi I just got a empty15palette which is my 2nd.Smoke & Diamonds, Strike A Pose and black russian pearl liner thinking of gettin a backup.i want2 get the dark brown liner as i don’t think there is a dupe4 it ??n toying between2 more e/s One Off, Rated R, fashion which i think can be duped by Urban decay kiddeypool and glamour check..!any suggestions guys??i think afew of the other colours can be duped by ruby n mille e/s I hve such as the white1,style snob dreammaker,

binnie Avatar

hi christine, hope ur well 🙂 .

what can i say ive been a really bad girl i couldnt resist i ended up ordering :- rave eye pencil, Molases ey pencil[now i hav all of them](i went 2 urban deacy to chck if this could be dupable as i have borbon but that is a bit lighter, collection 2000 eye pencil is an excat match but doesnt have the sparkle! :(, i also endd up ordering style snob, r rated,Graphology and the 2 graphic gardens maeup brushes set as thes were only available online and not in store in the uk! i have to say that the quality of the brushes are really good they are so soft just like the regualr ones i was vary as i had read alot of bad reviews but im glad i got them 🙂

but thats it no more spedning now!! i would love backup of black russain eyepencil but unlss i hve spare cash which i dont i wont get it i think to dupe this i will use a normal dark black pencil or my urban decay and use there heavy metal e/l in Spandex: black, accented w/ rainbow over it xx

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