MAC Style Black Collection: Overall Review & Round-Up

Reviews

MAC Style Black Collection: Overall

OVERALL, Style Black puts out an interesting mix of products all that take inspiration from shades of black. There’s such a wide mix of different types of products — from mattenes to mineralize eyeshadows to the new greasepaint stick. I think some will love it, others will be leery of it, and still others will be unimpressed. I’m kind of in the middle; I appreciate the collection for its uniqueness amongst prior MAC launches, and I do like seeing a variety of products. I also like how a lot of the colors coordinate across product types (e.g. Glimmerglasses and Nail Lacquers). If you like mineralize eyeshadows, you’ll likely fall for these (I recommend using them wet!), and if you like jelly-esque glosses, Glimmerglass might catch your eye. My favorite part of the launch was easily the two new nail lacquers (Seriously Hip and Baby Goth Girl)!

Edited: If you want something from this collection, I think you can make it work for you.  Not every product is perfect right out of the box/tube, so if something about it calls to you, don’t be afraid to see how it works for you.  Use a concealer base (or MAC Lip Erase) to help combat some of lipstick unevenness/application issues; lip liner to prevent intense lip colors from bleeding; sheer glosses over more intense lip color to add dimension; and so on.  It’s just a matter of what you’re looking for, whether you want to experiment to see what works best, etc.  Personally, I like things to work well with little effort, but that’s just me. 🙂

Temptalia’s Recommendations

Must-Haves: Seriously Hip Nail Lacquer, Bling Black Glimmerglass, Volcanic Ash Exfoliator, Black Greasepaint Stick
Nice-to-Haves: Baby Goth Girl Nail Lacquer, Night Violet Mattene, Midnight Media Mattene, Blackfire Glimmerglass, Volcanic Ash Thermal Mask
Skip: Black Knight Lipstick, Nocturnelle Nail Lacquer

Reviews, Photos, Swatches

P.S. – I will do a review of the Volcanic Ash Exfoliator and Thermal Mask after using both for a week or two 🙂 I LOVED VAE when it first came out, so if it’s the same stuff… I will love it equally as much. I would recommend snatching both up if you’re leaning towards yes, because I know a ton of people are stocking up on both so sell-out risk seems high!