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It’s been so long since the first launch, LOL! I know it was MAC for sure. The first MAC collection that really stands out in my mind was Madame B., but the one that I really recall LOVING was Moonbathe.
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MAC Smokey Signal was my favorite line and it bought everything in the launch.
MAC’s Naughty Nauticals sticks out in my head. I can still see both the Port Red and Hey Sailor colors in my head.
I think I’ve commented about this before but it’s probably MAC’s A Tartan Tale. I guess because it was launched around the time that Diana Gabaldon’s Outlander books hit the bookstores and all things Scottish were becoming really popular again and I just loved the whole look of that collection. After that was Alluring Aquatics. I don’t tend to get on board for “collections” – I’m not a collector and “LE” packaging doesn’t generally thrill me and I don’t buy makeup to “collect” it but rather to use it and have it be practical.
MAC Femme Noir. I think it was one of the first big collections they did. So many gorgeous items in that one… And it all went downhill from that.
Definitely Nars: Warhol (epic failure) or Steven Klein
Nars Warhol, 0; Uniqlo Warhol, 5. That’s the score at the bottom of the ninth.
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I didn’t really start really paying attention to makeup launches till 5 or 6 years ago. Too busy and too broke. I was pretty happy when BareEscentuals/BareMinerals launched at Sephora so I didn’t have to mail order from them any more. I was also glad when they launched their Original Loose Powder Foundation in Fair, as it was a better color match for me than Fairly Light had been.
The first one I remember being truly excited for since getting back into makeup was MAC Red, Red, Red. Back then it was a lot harder to find red eyeshadows, much less good ones. How that’s changed in such a short time!
I’ll never forget seeing Revlon StreetWear for the first time. The huge polish bottles! The curated collection- two purples, a mustard, a metallic green, and that fabulous transformer polish that made everything moonstone-like. Everything cost $5. There was a little pamphlet you could take for free that showed example looks, and the looks spelled freedom of expression.
I’ve never really been aware of makeup launches until I started reading Temptalia. I don’t remember which launch excited me first, but my tail starts wagging over anything Disney-related. I also got into the Smashbox Vlada set and bought two highlighters and the eye palette, all of which I now regret buying.
Me too… even now I barely notice them in stores / online.
But the first one that I specifically remember I noticed and got my excited was the MAC Toledo… those red lipsticks… that packaging…
https://www.temptalia.com/mac-x-isabel-ruben-toledo-collection-spring-2015/
MAC Heatherette was the first one I got SUPER excited for, but alas I was a poor high school student and couldn’t afford a thing so I don’t know if that counts or not.
The one that I did set my alarms for and purchased every. last. piece. from was Urban Decay’s Pulp Fiction collection. I still own it all; I always wanted to use the eye shadow palette but I just can’t bring myself to do it so it sits as a beautiful collector’s item. The lipstick and lip liner has been used (when I went as Mrs. Mia Wallace for Halloween a few years back) but I still hold onto the original boxes so those can be displayed as well. Clearly, Pulp Fiction is a movie I love very much!
The first would be Mac’s Venomous Villains (Disney) and the second would be there Mega Metals.
I got hugely excited for the MAC Hello Kitty range, but I was poor and there was only one Sephora in the UK, and when I finally got there everything in the collection was way out of my price range.
I started to be really into makeup in a rather heavy way only 2 and half years ago. The First makeup launch that really hit me was the First huda beauty obsession palettes relase. I fall in love for the color selection
I loved Antiquitease. Queen’s Sin will always be a Holy Grail for me.
I was super excited when I got invited to the Fafi release party, though. That collection was so much fun.
MAC Alluring Aquatic – that was right around the time I was getting back into makeup and found Temptalia. I didn’t really fall in love with the collection until after I got it home because I was just buying whatever was current with MAC to build up my collection again. That collection was a rare find – I haven’t found anything from MAC in terms of quality AND aesthetic (both packaging and color story) I’ve treasured since. MAC Jade Jagger is a distant second.
Even though I didn’t buy it, it was the original UD Book of Shadows NYC Palette! Oh, how I wanted that one, but got talked out of it by some friends who were well-meaning, but made me feel like crap for: “why would you want to waste money on that when you are struggling?” At that time, I really was, too. My rent was literally 2/3 of my total income.
When I first started with makeup, there wasn’t any real announcement of upcoming collections, or collections in general, so there was no anticipation/ excitement to speak of. While there were new products, and/or off-shoots, I don’t consider those collections. That said, I do remember Max Factor doing a collection called “White Lies” back in 1988 or 1989, that I sort of stumbled upon, and bought several pieces from that. It was billed as a sort of ‘tranformer” collection, and included an eyeshadow quad & lipsticks. I’m not sure if there was anything more, but I bought the quad & 3 lipsticks, all of which I still have, just for nostalgic purposes. Back then, these were such unique products.
I also remember looking forward to Wet n Wild Fantasy Makers every Halloween season. Again, back in the 80’s/early-90s, we didn’t have many options for more “alternative” products, so we’d stock up once a year on things we could only get then. To this day, Wet n Wild holds a special place in my collection, and I will always support the brand. Although the quality was pretty awful back then, the fact it was available made up for it.
In more recent times, I’d have to say the NARS X Andy Warhol collection, although it turned out to be an epic disappointment…
The 2014 MAC Playland collection is the first release I remember showing up to my local MAC store on the release date to make sure I got the lipsticks (I bought four). I googled the collection again today to see if I still liked the aesthetic, and TBH, it’s stunning and I’d line up again today to get those corals, brights, and pastels. I still wear Toying Around on a regular basis and I love it!
Probably the Tarte ‘True Blood’ collection. I remember really looking forward to the collection release and I really loved the show so…I bought almost everything. The collection ended up being a mixed bag, I wished the theme was a bit darker, like the show itself. Though don’t purchase or follow Tarte anymore (too many repetitive, influencer inspired releases and declining quality) sometimes I still pull out my ‘True Blood’ eyeshadow palette! 🙂
Nothing has ever excited me more than the launch of the Clinique 3-step skin care system in the late 60’s when I was in college. I had severe acne and the thought that I might have clear skin was more enticing than any makeup launch has ever been. Unfortunately it took regular visits to a dermatologist and a regular salary to support them to get the acne under control. But I am really looking forward to the PMG foundation launch next month.
Afterdusk from the Moonbathe collection is still one of my all-time favorite blushes, and I’ve never found a convincing dupe!
Should revisit it was so long ago. Probably that satiny finish – so few brands opt for it!
There have probably been others, but the one that really made me buy the second it launched was the Jenn Im x Colourpop collection from a few years ago. I’ve since destashed all the products, but I regret getting rid of those Supershock Shadows!!! Waaahh. (They would’ve been dry by now, but still…)
MAC’s Fairy collection. I really wish I got more products from it. And the Aquatics collection – so cool.
MAC Cinderella launch!!
We don’t really have makeup launches here in Aus, just a few products dribble through – like half a collection, which is hard to get excited about.
Having said that, I am not really into whole collections as very few actually suit me.
But the very first eyeshadow palette and ‘collection’ as such was Estee Lauder’s Sky and Sea palette, the first time any kind of decent blues and teals were available here in Aus.
MAC cult of cherry and Blonde, Brunette, Redhead! I looooved the Redhead MSF! And the Spiced Chocolate eyeshadow quad! I never actually got it but I wanted it so bad.
I first perked up at the MAC Fafi collection, but Cult of Cherry was what really got me hooked! It was a wonderfully cohesive collection that could have been an entire makeup wardrobe, especially with the sibling release of Overrich pigments.
While I don’t have any of the lipcolours left from it, I still have Blooming blush and found a Spiced Chocolate quad a while back.
Mac Archie’s Girls really stands out in my memory because it was really cute awesome packaging and beautiful shades.I wanted everything but I settled fir all the lip products and the blushes!
I only got interested in makeup a couple of years ago and MAC’s Alluring Aquatics collection will forever have a special place in my heart: the colour story, the packaging, promo materials,… It made me realise that makeup is about so much more than just “colourful stuff you put on your face”. I’ve come to see it as a powerful form of self-expression and art, that I can greatly enjoy.
Certainly your blog has been a great companion in this journey through the years, many thanks for that, you’re a great ambassador /authentic voice in spreading the joy of makeup and you’re not being led by short lived trends / superficial marketing messages 🙂
x.
The first release of Mac extra dimension! Or maybe it was the Mac collection with everything orange in it!
Launch? Urban Decay Naked Heat and Dior Backstage. After waiting one year for the NH arrival in my country, I got a pigmentless, patch, dust palette. ?? Dior was the first brand to bring their whole shade range here for a foundation after MAC. No shade match for me (I mix), but Backstage gives ELDW a run for its money.
It is not a launch, but I waited anxiously for my first bottle of ELDW. I always thought something was wrong with my skin color bc I couldn’t really find a match in anything. Later I discovered the something wrong was my olive undertone. ????
ELDW was so hyped I decided to look it up. Booooy! I looked at swatches of 4w2 and it was instant love. I just knew it was my shade. The foundation also seemed perfect for my oily skin too. It was impossible to export from any store in the USA, but Ebay was my savior. Two months later and I got my skin in a bottle. Love this foundation.
Very first? Goes back to the 90’s when MAC introduced Lip Glass (just the clear tube). I had many drink straws stuck to my lips that year.
The Hourglass ambient powders then ambient blushes were the next-first-launches that I can remember going ape over, around the time I discovered online beauty communities and not-MAC brands for the first time.
I remember being so excited for the Loreal Matte Morphose mousse foundation to launch in Australia, I remember buying it on the first week it was launched. I didn’t end up loving it (for one, Golden Ivory was way too dark) but I did try to use it all up. I think it has been discontinued for a while, probably not that long after the launch (I think 2009 from memory).