To me, nothing says fall quite like pumpkins. The idea of pumpkin farms, Halloween pumpkin carving, pumpkin pie, and Pumpkin Spice Lattes from Starbucks make my little heart flutter! My first eyeshadow pick for fall screams ‘PUMPKIN’! This shade has some shimmer in it so it would be great as a lid or inner corner color. Coastal Scents, $1.95
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This matte navy blue shade will up your smokey eye game to a 1000! Instead of black, which can still be a bit harsh for balmy autumn nights, try a dark blue lid color instead. You can always add a bit of black on the outer colors to further deepen the color. Or try a black eyeshadow base to make the color pop. My personal favorite is also from NYX.
NYX Cosmetics, $4.50 |
Make them green with envy when you walk by in this shimmery moss green shadow! This color is from one of my favorite eyeshadow palettes from celebrity makeup artist Pati Dubroff. This shade is especially gorgeous on hazel or dark brown eyes. Pair this with a bit of gold shadow in your inner corner and you are set for the night! Amazon, $19.75
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Of course I was going to add a copper shadow to this list, DUH! I absolutely love this one by MAC which I got a few months ago. Not only is the formula super smooth, but it is buildable. You can apply a little bit of product for a subtle glow on your lid, or you can pack it on for an intense bright copper finish. MAC Cosmetics, $16
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If you are looking for the most bang for your buck, look no further than Looxi Beauty ‘Urbane’! The pigmentation of this shadow is out of this world amazing. It is a dusty gold with a bit of a green undertone. You don’t have to use much to make a statement. This shade is especially beautiful in dim light so pull it out for date night! Looxi Beauty, $5
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My love for mineral pigments knows no bounds! Pure pigments like ‘Tempura’ from Ultimo Cosmetics offer the most intense color payoff out of all the shades on this list. I’ve worn this shade over a black eyeshadow base to a concert and it didn’t budge during a night filled with dancing and singing along at the top of my lungs. ‘Tempura’ can hang, honey! Jenny’s Mineral Shack, $4.88
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If you aren’t as comfortable with colorful eyeshadow as I am, you will look beautiful (and still be in your comfort zone) with this peachy, golden shimmer from ColourPop Cosmetics and YouTube beauty vlogger KathleenLights. You really can’t go wrong with a shade like this during any time of the year, but there is something about gold in fall that makes it feel more appropriate. This shadow is sold in a set of four colors developed by KathleenLights for ColourPop. ColourPop, $20
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There is no way this list would be complete without a smokey matte black! I’ve picked one of my go-to black shades that will add another layer of sultriness to any of the other shadows on this list. Of course you can hit the town with a traditional smokey eye, but you can also add a tiny bit of this to the outer corner of your eye look to take it from day to night. This black has medium pigmentation so you can build up the darkness of your lid to your comfort level. Milani Cosmetics, $3.99
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Since the announcement of this collection, all eyes went immediately to two shades: Whirl and Stone. Both shades were initially sold as lip liners and were sold out everywhere largely in part to Kylie Jenner’s love of the overlined, 90’s brown lip color trend. Upon hearing these colors were now being made into a lipstick, lipstick lovers shrieked with delight!
Another shade that stirred up some talk was Men Love Mystery, a gorgeous lavender violet color. After the success of Dodgy Girl and Lavender Jade, two limited edition lavenders released in 2014 and 2015 respectively, MAC was long overdue for a lavender permanent addition to complement Heroine and Up The Amp in this color range.
The big question is, how do these perform? So far, I’m a fan!I also have the accompanying lip pencils for Whirl and Stone and was very impressed at how close the lipstick colors match the pencil. Sometimes, I don’t want the dry feeling of the pencil all over my lips, but I still want the color. I will now have a creamy matte lipstick option on those days. The lipstick formula doesn’t seem any different than the pre-exisiting permanent colors. The standard vanilla lipstick scent is there, the bullet is there, I’m a happy camper.
My favorite lipstick from the collection was ‘Steam Heat’. It’s an orange based red that looks flattering against a variety of skintones. However, this Satin did apply thinner than other MAC lipsticks I own and wore more like an Amplified finish on me. While it was my favorite from this collection, I would not say it ranks on my list of top MAC lippies. It wasn’t a game changer by any means. Also, MAC has been releasing so many reds recently that my excitement for yet another red was pretty low. I’d say go ahead and grab this one if you skipped the other reds or if you want a good product in this packaging.
I knew from the start that none of the bronzing powders would show up on my skintone. But did that stop me from buying one? Absolutely not.I kind of have a weakness for limited edition powder compacts so I grabbed one that I thought could be used as a nice everyday summer highlight. I chose ‘Refined Golden’ and I actually really like the way it looks on my cheeks! It shows up best in outdoor lighting and has a slight shimmer that catches beautifully in the sun. If you are fairer than me, then go ahead and grab this if you like shimmer in your bronzer.
On to one of the most unique pieces from the collection, the highlight powder in ‘Freshen Up’. The overspray for this powder really screams HEATWAVE! GET YOUR GLOW ON! I love it, but I’m sad that it’s only an overspray and doesn’t extend throughout the compact. I don’t want to rub it all off just for the sake of the review, but I did get a chance to swirl all three colors in the compact together and they make for a gorgeous apricot color. While the presentation of the product and the overspray are unique, I wouldn’t say that the color or forumla of the product are anything to get worked up over. The color and effect are not unique and can probably be duped fairly easily.
Lastly, I purchased the lipglass in ‘Domestic Diva’. This was the surprise favorite purchase from the collection for me! I don’t really like the lipglass forumla (I tolerate the VG Rihanna 2 and VG 1 lipglasses because the colors are fab), but I saw positive reviews on this item prior to release. I was very impressed the second I put this on! The main pain I find with the MAC lipglasses are that they are so thick that they seep into the fine lines around my mouth. I was happy to find that this was not the case with ‘Domestic Diva’. It clung to my lips like a champ and did not feel too heavy! This might get some heavy use this summer!
Did you guys happen to catch anything from this collection? If you live in a country where this has yet to be released, what’s on your list? I hope this helped give you guys insight on some of the products, let me know if you have any questions in the comments below!
This product truly ‘hugs’ your lips and this can be good or bad depending on the way you like your lipstick. Within two swipes, the color had already clung to my lips and was making its way into my lip lines. By the third swipe, it was all up in my lip lines! It did feather a bit around the edges of my lips with three coats, but I noticed that the feathering wasn’t excessive and was easily cleaned up with some concealer. This product will definitely accentuate the natural lines of your lips so if you aren’t too comfortable with the natural look, then you will want to be careful when applying around the corners of your mouth.
Regarding product packaging, the Huggable colors are packaged differently from regular MAC bullets. They come in sleek, glossy gunmetal packaging that looks similar to the design of the pro longwear lipsticks. The actual lipstick tip is completely circular and mimics the outer packaging. It is cut on an angle, but the blunt cut makes it harder (in my opinion) to apply the product directly to the lips. I found that trying to apply closer to the inner corners of my mouth, I had to issues accidentally getting some color outside the natural borders of lips. If you aren’t going for the over-lined look, this is problematic. Overall, I would say this wasn’t so much of an issue after I got used to applying to my lips directly with this style tube.I would suggest going to the stores to test out the Huggable colors. There is just something about that will make you either love or hate them. Before you spend your good $20 online, make a quick stop to check out the formula. If you swatch in store, check out how easily it settles into the creases on the back of your hand. That will give you some idea of how it will perform on your lips. You can see how it settles into my hand with three swipes in the swatch below:
But in the end, that worked to my advantage, because the ‘Oxblood’ lipstick sold out in less than 20 MINUTES! I mean this has got to be one of the fastest selling items in a while. Three days later, Nordstrom and Macy’s quickly sold out upon release and now all that is left are the store displays that go up tomorrow.
Is this collection worth penciling in a visit to your local MAC location tomorrow morning? If you are a lipstick or makeup collector, YES! The product packaging by itself is drool worthy. Each lipstick was double packaged with an inner and outer sleeve to protect the bullet. Both sleeves were covered in designs on the inside and outside of the packaging making this the ultimate collector’s item. The only other products I ordered were the three blushes and those each came in their own customized boxes, but those beauties will get their own review later!
Back to the lipsticks – if you are a fan of ‘Oxblood’, you should definitely go get it tomorrow! I have heard that MAC’s ‘Kinda Sexy’ lipstick is a close dupe, but not perfect. This is a great peachy nude that flatters a variety of skintones. After tomorrow, it might be a bit harder to get that perfect match! The other colors are still available on the company’s website, as well as Nordstom and Macy’s online (as of 2/4/15) so if you are interested in any of the other colors, you might be able to hold of … but not for long as these are still limited edition!
I have to say that ‘Oxblood’ was not my favorite of the lipsticks I purchased from this collection. I don’t have many red lipsticks so I decided to go all out and purchase the four red-ish lippies debuting with this collection. ‘Barbecue’ has a distinct orange tone that can be played up red with the right liner. ‘Tenor Voice’ has enough of a blue undertone to make your teeth appear whiter. ‘Victoriana’ is a beautiful pink-red tone. ‘Opera’ is a deep red perfect for Valentine’s Day. ‘Sin’ is the only shade that is permanent (in regular packaging) from this collection and is a deep, deep red that has some berry hues shine through on my skin tone. I absolutely love them all, but I have to say ‘Victoriana’ stole my heart from the moment I swatched it! It wasn’t too bright on me (as some true reds often are) and the pink undertone really popped on my lips. Definitely grab this one online before it sells out! I wish MAC has millions of these lipsticks so we could have backups on backups and we would never run out! But alas, we might fight alongside everyone else for a piece of their genius!Good luck to everyone tackling the counter tomorrow. May the (Toledo) force be with you!
