OVERALL, MAC Style Warrior is a good mix of color, neutrals, and perfect-for-summer products. It’s no Neo Sci Fi for me, but I found plenty of new favorites and items I didn’t think I’d love. I think what I liked most about this collection is the majority of products were well-pigmented and color pay off was a dream on many items. I know some were concerned about the collection being too warm and not working on cooler skin tones, but I definitely didn’t get that impression. There are certain items that are more about bronzy, sun-glowing skin, but a lot of them are designed to help you fake-it. The lipsticks were surprisingly pigmented, and the lipglasses coordinated well in a way that wasn’t completely redundant. In the end, I do think Style Warrior is worth a peek or two next time you’re at your local MAC! (As far as the official launch date goes, I have heard May 20th, 21st, and 28th — I’d recommend calling your local store to find out.)

Temptalia’s Recommendations

Must-Haves: Brave New Bronze, Gold Rebel, Bright Future, Vibrant Grape, On A Mission, Mercenary

Nice-to-Haves: Purple Rite, Sunsational, Liberated, Tempting, Night Maneuvers, Eversun, Impassioned, Sun Rush

Skip: Scatterrays, Soft Force, Peaceable

See detailed, product-by-product reviews…

Lipsticks: Brave New Bronze, Purple Rite, Sunsational, Tribalist

Lipsticks

• Brave New Bronze is a beautiful shade of fleshy-peachy nude without really being nude. It’s opaque, creamy, and has a subtle glossy sheen. It’s not an “exciting” shade, but it is really wearable. I, at least, implore you to give it a swatch when you see it and not just pass it up!
• Purple Rite is a soft purplish frost-finish lipstick with a touch of pink in it to keep it from being too purple. It’s more raspberry-pink than previous purple shades like Lavender Whip and Fashion Mews. It is also a bit warmer in tone.
• Sunsational is a sheer, gold shimmered yellow-gold base. It doesn’t give a lot of color, but it can add a lot of dimension when layered with other lip products. I actually liked this one!
• Tribalist is a deep, opaque burgundy-wine with a touch of purple. It’s creamy and incredibly pigmented–definitely not for the color shy!

Lipglasses: Liberated, Fierce & Fabulous, Gold Rebel, Style Warrior

Lipglasses

• Liberated is a pop of sunny yellow gold with gold shimmer. It’s pretty sheer, so don’t expect a yellow pout or anything. Again, like Sunsational, it makes a good way to layer color to get a unique shade that’s perfect for you.
• Fierce & Fabulous is a magenta-pink kind of color with purple and pink shimmer. It looks beautiful, though it’s not a shade I haven’t seen before. It’s not like Magnetique (recently launched), as it is sheerer and not nearly as bright.
• Gold Rebel is a sleeper hit for me. It’s a warmed-up bronzy gold. It’s kind of like a peachy bronze with gold and peach shimmer. I didn’t even notice it before, but it grabbed my attention as soon as I swatched it.
• Style Warrior is a pretty opaque, warm chocolaty brown with micro red and gold shimmer. Kind of hard for me to wear alone — definitely would need to overlay it on top of a lipstick to find a way to make it look good on me.

Eyeshadows: Soft Force, Bright Future, Tempting, Night Maneuvers, Vibrant Grape

Eyeshadow

• Soft Force is a just slightly yellow-tinged white shade of eyeshadow. It’s kind of like Rose Blanc, though probably a little less yellow and perhaps a bit smoother. I didn’t find it particularly unique, because I have several other colors that work just as well as highlighters/lid colors.
• Bright Future is a bright pop of yellow with little shimmer, mostly a sheen. It seems yellower than Going Bananas (from C-Shock), and I definitely urge anyone who missed out on Going Bananas to check out this one in its stead.
• Tempting is a warm shade of medium-to-dark chocolate brown. It’s part of MAC’s permanent range of colors, so no need to rush to get this one (unless you’re dying for the packaging!).
• Night Maneuvers is a dark, cool-toned brown with a little bit of gray cast to it. It kind of reminds me of Mothbrown, but the texture feels different (chalkier). It’s not as pigmented/smooth as I’d like, but it is buildable.
• Vibrant Grape is a pretty medium purple with a little bit of pink tones to it, fairly bright, and just lovely. It’s a satin finish, though it looks and goes on nearly matte. This is permanent at PRO stores.

On A Mission, Eversun Beauty Powder Blushes; Solar Riche, Refined Bronzing Powders

Beauty Powder Blush

• On A Mission is a neutral-to-cool raspberryish-pink shade of blush. It doesn’t have much shimmer (very faint–kind of like a satin eyeshdaow), but the color is rich. It’s not intense, but you get the color you’re expecting from the pot.
• Eversun is a peachy-pink shade with the same finish as On A Mission, so no obvious shimmer/glitter bits. Just a very subtle sheen.

Nail Lacquer

• Violet Fire is a vibrant shade of violet with pink tones to it. It has some shimmer, but it isn’t over the top. Two to three coats should give you a good, opaque finish.
• Peaceable is a metallic-y beige-bronze shimmer. It has shimmer, but it has the metallic finish which results in noticeable brush strokes (for those who mind).
• Mercenary is a gold and bronze flecked chocolate brown. It’s the most stunning of the three, because it really catches your eye, and the way the light plays with it is amazing.

Bronzescape, Impassioned, Scatterrays

Solar Bits

• Bronzescape is a warm, chocolaty brown with a high shine finish. When smoothed on, it goes on and almost looks like liquid.
• Impassioned is a dark, chocolaty brown with the same kind of high shine finish as Bronzescape.
• Scatterrays is a melon-y kind of shade (really does remind me of a poor man’s Melon pigment–perhaps a little lighter, less pink). It’s grittier than the other two, which went on smoothly as I crushed the bits against the skin.

Bronze Hero, Pink Rebel, Sun Rush

Lustre Drops

• Bronze Hero is a richer, deeper bronzy orange highlighter color. Lustre Drops are designed to be used with your foundation/moisturizer to give an all over glow.
• Pink Rebel is a sheer, pearly soft pink. It’s more of a warmed up pink with maybe just a touch of peachiness/gold shimmer in it. I can’t say I’m really won over by the lustre drops, because the tube is so small and the price seems hefty ($18.50), though for sure a little goes a very long way.
• Sun Rush is a peachier/lighter version of Bronze Hero for me. It also seems like it has a little bit less shimmer than Bronze Hero.

Bronzing Powder

• Solar Riche is a sheer, nearly matte brown with a little bit of orange tones to it.
• Refined Golden is a softer, more golden toned bronzing color with a pearl finish.

You can see all of the swatches in the previous post.