MAC Rose Romance Collection Review

This is the collection I've been super excited for. I love soft colors and this collection definitely delivers that.

The only problem I see with this collection: it's not going to be for a lot of people. If you lend your palettes more towards the brighter and bolder side of the spectrum, you will probably want to pass on most of the colors. If you're not fair complected, I would pass on Et Tu, Bouquet and Of Summer, unless you want to SERIOUSLY pack on the color. Great for spring, but very light.

Shadowy Lady and Creme de Violet are both available in the permanent collection. These two eye shadows would work for everyone, but they're not LE, so you could definitely wait on them.

Of Summer is a very soft pink and not extremely pigmented. The texture is chalkier than most MAC eye shadows. If you love pinks like I do, you'll still want to have this one in your collection.

Et Tu, Bouquet? is a frosty, pinky - peach. Again, this eye shadow isn't highly pigmented, but is a beautiful color.

The pigments... good lord. The absolute best part of this collection, by far, is the pigments. Circa Plum is a to die for frosty dark purple. Mutiny - a very light, pale blue. Honestly, I'm not too sure where Mutiny and Odyssey came to mind in this collection, as they seem a bit off the radar when compared to the others in this collection.

The lippies are great, soft spring shades. Odyssey, which is the darkest of the lippies in this set, is part of the permanent line.

A Rose Romance is a nice, sweet pink and a must have if you're in the market for spring colors.

Way to Love is also gorgeous, but more on the peach side.

The lipglasses, as previously reported, have more shimmer/glitter than what you may expect of permanent line lipglasses. Steal My Heart lipglass is on the brighter side of a mid-pink. Magnetique is a bolder pink, almost magenta in color. Virgin Kiss is dupable in so many other sheer/sparkly lipglasses, not making it a necessity.

I passed on all of the blushes but am kind of kicking myself for not picking up the Just A Pinch gel blush. It seems to be the perfect color for everyone, but reviewers have said it doesn't wear long.

The beauty powders are perfectly packaged for this release. However, their pigmentation and consistency isn't what you'd expect from MAC. Neither have a lot of color payoff and much like Of Summer, more on the chalky side.

Love and Friendship nail laquer is a perfect cream of purpled-mauve. A must have spring time polish if you're into polish at all.

• Def. look intos - Circa Plum pigment, Mutiny pigment, Silverthorn eyeshadow.
• Def. forgets - Virgin Kiss lip glass, Blush Of Youth Beauty Powder, Summer Rose Beauty Powder.

Check out the swatches on TNBTTGSY.

MAC Style Warriors Collection

With its bold and brazen colors and Amazonian packaging, MAC Style Warriors is an aptly named collection. The colors are bold and beautiful - not for the faint of heart. It seems MAC is playing both ends of the spectrum with its previous soft, subtle Rose Romance Collection, and now the brassy and almost defiant Style Warriors. This collection is slated to be released May 28 in the US and Canada and in June internationally. Images and information for this collection were gathered from both Temptalia.com and Specktra.net.

Emerging from every corner of the glamorous globe, a new Style Warrior. Made to celebrate the cross-cultural sophistication of the modern Amazon Princess, African Queen, Crouching Tigress… Never before have we seen the “Wild Things” of the world come together in quite so many bold new combinations. Introducing a dramatically different and deliberately diverse colour story, an eclectic and expressive way to exalt and admire the strength and solidarity of beauty with no barriers. A selection of all-over summer bronzing shades for Lips, Cheeks, Eyes, Nails, featuring the innovation of Impassioned, Bronzescape and Scatterrays Solar Bits – sunbursts to unleash the animal in every woman. All exotically packaged in stylized zebra and leopard prints to keep it wild and free – the way it always ought to be.

Lipstick: (All LE) $14.00USD
From left to right:

• Brave New - Bronze Creamy mid-tone pink nude
• Purple Rite - Mid-tone frosty orchid
• Sunsational - Sheer frosted beige gold
• Tribalist - Creamy blackened berry

Lipglass: (All LE) $14.00USD
From left to right:

• Style Warrior - Blackened bronze brown with pearl
• Liberated - Sheer yellow gold with pearl
• Gold Rebel - Sheer copper bronze with pearl
• Fierce & Fabulous - Bright magenta purple with pearl

Eyeshadow: $14.50USD
From left to right, top to bottom:

• Vibrant Grape - Bright magenta purple (Permanent) (Pro)
• Bright Future - Frosty bright yellow gold (LE)
• Night Maneuvers - Deep charcoal brown with pearl (LE)
• Soft Force - Frosty pale white gold (LE)
• Tempting - Sinfully rich cocoa (Lustre) (Permanent)

Beauty Powder Blush: (All LE) $18.00USD
Top to bottom:

• Eversun - neutral peach bronze with gold pearlized pigments. (LE) (Re-promote from Beauty Powder Blush Collection)
• On A Mission - Pearly mid-tone plum

Solar Bits: (All LE) $19.50USD
Top to bottom:

• Scatterrays - Soft metallic peach with gold pearl (Re-promote from Solar Field Collection)
• Bronzescape - Clean yellow brown with gold pearl (Re-promote from Solar Field Collection)
• Impassioned - Frosty cool taupe

Nail Lacquer: (All LE) $11.00USD
Top to bottom:

• Peaceable Pearly pale golden beige
• Violet Fire Bright creamy magenta purple
• Mercenary Frosted blackened bronze

Lustre Drops: (LE) $18.50USD
Top to bottom:

• Pink Rebel - Blue pink with gold pearl
• Sun Rush - Peachy bronze with gold pearl
• Bronze Hero - Hot bronze with fine gold pearl

Loose Iridescent Powder: (Permanent) $21.00USD

• Golden Bronze - Golden brown with golden bronze shimmer

Skinsheen: (LE) $22.50USD
From left to right:

• Medium Dark - Sheer soft bronze with golden tan pearl
• Dark - Golden bronze
• Deep Dark - Deep warm bronze with rich golden pearl

Not pictured but also in this collection:


Eye Kohl: (Permanent) $14.50USD

• Smolder - Intense black

Pro Lash Mascara: (Permanent) $12.00USD

• Coal Black - Honest-to-goodness black

Bronzing Powder: $21.00USD

• Solar Riche Mid-tone brown with slight orange undertones (LE) (Re-promote from Solar Field Collection)
• Refined Golden Finely spun golden with soft pearl finish (Permanent)

Brush: (Permanent) $23.00USD

• #242 Shader Brush - For powder, concealer or emollient-based product application. This brush has firm fibers carefully shaped to form a rounded edge for a smooth, even finish

Brush: (Permanent) $45.00USD

• #182 Buffer Brush - A full, dome-shaped brush of extra soft goat hair. Specially created to flawlessly blend powder onto the skin for an immaculate polished finish. Excellent for all M·A·C powders and pigments.

As always, Specktra has color swatches of some of these items already available here.

Upcoming MAC Collection Release Dates and Products

MAC must think we're all rich. Collection after collection keeps coming out, usually 2 or 3 in the same month! How's a girl suppose to keep up.... or keep from bankruptcy? /end crickets

Anyway, the first 4 months of 2009 have already seen several collections and a ton of new stuff hit the market. MAC guarantees our wallets will stay empty with the launch of at least six more collections by the end of July. Let's take a look at what's to come, shall we?

April 9 - US/Canada
Double Dazzle

Dazzleglasses: $18.00USD/$21.50CDN

• Goldyrocks - Sheer soft yellow with pink and gold pearl (LE)
  
  
• Smile - Light coral with pink and gold pearl
  
  
• Extra Amps - Sheer bright blue pink with blue and pink pearl
  
  
• Moth to a Flame - Sheer neutral beige with violet pearl
  
  
• Girl's Delight - Sheer mid-tone tan with gold pearl
  
  
• Sugarrimmed - Milky pale pink with red, teal and white pearl
  
  
• Steppin’ Out - Clean yellow pink with red pearl
  
  
• Utterly Posh - Mid-tone orange with pink and gold pearl (LE)
  
  
• Love Alert - Raspberry red with red pearl
  
  
• Date Night - Deep plum with blue and gold pearl
  
  
• Funtabulous - Purple with violet pearl
  
  
• Like Venus - Clean light bubble gum pink with red pearl
  
  
• Stop! Look! - Sheer violet mauve with blue and pink pearl (LE)
  
  
• Money Honey - Mid-tone rosy mauve with red pearl
  
  
• Rags to Riches - Plummy pink with teal and red pearl
  
  
• Baby Sparks - Pale pink with violet pearl
  
  
• Bare Necessity - Caramel apricot with red and gold pearl
  
  
• Get Rich Quick Warm yellow brown

Dazzle Lash Mascara: $12.00USD / $14.00CDN

• Star - Brunette Brown
• Black Dazzle - Black

April 23 - US/Canada
Rose Romance

I've already blogged about what is expected in this collection. If you missed it, click here to read all about it.

May 28 - US/Canada
Style Warriors

Lipstick: (All LE) $14.00USD

• Sunsational - Sheer frosted beige gold
• Brave New - Bronze Creamy mid-tone pink nude
• Purple Rite - Mid-tone frosty orchid
• Tribalist - Creamy blackened berry

Lipglass: (All LE) $14.00USD

• Liberated - Sheer yellow gold with pearl
• Gold Rebel - Sheer copper bronze with pearl
• Fierce & Fabulous - Bright magenta purple with pearl
• Style Warrior - Blackened bronze brown with pearl

Eyeshadow: $14.50USD

• Soft Force - Frosty pale white gold (LE)
• Bright Future - Frosty bright yellow gold (LE)
• Tempting - Sinfully rich cocoa (Lustre) (Permanent)
• Vibrant Grape - Bright magenta purple (Permanent) (Pro)
• Night Maneuvers - Deep charcoal brown with pearl (LE)

Eye Kohl: (Permanent) $14.50USD

• Smolder - Intense black

Pro Lash Mascara: (Permanent) $12.00USD

• Coal Black - Honest-to-goodness black

Beauty Powder Blush: (All LE) $18.00USD

• Eversun - neutral peach bronze with gold pearlized pigments. (LE) (Repromote from Beauty Powder Blush Collection)
• On A Mission - Pearly mid-tone plum

Solar Bits: (All LE) $19.50USD

• Scatterrays - Soft metallic peach with gold pearl (Repromote from Solar Field Collection)
• Bronzescape - Clean yellow brown with gold pearl (Repromote from Solar Field Collection)
• Impassioned - Frosty cool taupe

Nail Lacquer: (All LE) $11.00USD

• Peaceable Pearly pale golden beige
• Violet Fire Bright creamy magenta purple
• Mercenary Frosted blackened bronze

Brush: (Permanent) $23.00USD

• #242 Shader Brush - For powder, concealer or emollient-based product application. This brush has firm fibers carefully shaped to form a rounded edge for a smooth, even finish

Bronzing Powder: $21.00USD

• Solar Riche Mid-tone brown with slight oranged undertones (LE) (Repromote from Solar Field Collection)
• Refined Golden Finely spun golden with soft pearl finish (Permanent)

Lustre Drops: (LE) $18.50USD

• Pink Rebel - Blue pink with gold pearl
• Sun Rush - Peachy bronze with gold pearl
• Bronze Hero - Hot bronze with fine gold pearl

Skinsheen: (LE) $22.50USD

• Medium Dark - Sheer soft bronze with golden tan pearl
• Dark - Golden bronze
• Deep Dark - Deep warm bronze with rich golden pearl

Loose Iridescent Powder: (Permanent) $21.00USD

• Golden Bronze - Golden brown with golden bronze shimmer

Brush: (Permanent) $45.00USD

• #182 Buffer Brush - A full, dome-shaped brush of extra soft goat hair. Specially created to flawlessly blend powder onto the skin for an immaculate polished finish. Excellent for all M·A·C powders and pigments.

June 11 - US/Canada
Naked Honey

Lipglass (LE) - $14.00USD/$16.50CDN

• She’s a Star - Light neutral gold (Repromote from Dress Camp)
• Queen Bee - Mid-tone apricot with multi-dimensional pearl
• Buzz - Dark copper brown with multi-dimensional pearl

Eyeshadow (LE) - $14.50USD/$17.00CDN

• Crème de Miel - Frosty light yellow gold
• Pollinator - Mid-tone warm reddened peach with pearl
• Buckwheat - Dark copper brown with multi-dimensional pearl

High-Light Powder (LE) $24.50USD/$29.50CDN
A highlight powder specially created for the Naked Honey Collection. Features an embossed honeycomb pattern. Super fine, impeccably pearlized, it creates soft highlights. On cheeks, brows, shoulders–anywhere on the body.

• Honey Light - A light peachy gold with shimmer
• Golden Nectar - Muted golden tan with gold shimmer

Naked Honey Salve (LE) $18.50USD/$22.50CDN
Formulated from honey , organic beeswax, sunflower oil and other natural ingredients, this rich honey–scented and flavoured salve instantly moisturizes and helps recondition dry skin. Multi-purpose . Use everywhere.


Naked Honey Hand and Body Cream (LE) -$22.50USD/$27.00CDN
A sensuous cream made from bio-converted honey, shea butter, and vitamins C and E derivatives. Absorbs quickly for skin-softening moisture. Conditions, nourishes, protects. Use on all areas where ultra-moisture is called for.


Naked Honey Body Wash (LE) - $19.50USD/$23.50CDN
Formulated from bio-converted honey, this body wash cleanses the skin while providing the soothing and moisturizing benefits of lavender, narcissus, jasmine flower and blue agave extracts. Provides a sensual, calming, cleansing experience.


Creations Fragrance: Naked Honey (LE) -$22.50USD/$28.5CDN
An aromatic journey that traces honey’s fragrant heart back to summer’s sweetest blooms. Energy starts to buzz, spirits soar, light floral and woodsy notes float toward an electric finale. Sweet and sexy all the way.


Creations Fragrance: Africanimal (LE) - $22.50USD/$28.50CDN
A scent that starts with a honey-ness that’s seductive and given its dash of pepper, not without spice. Add a dark kiss of bergamot and wood, and an aromatic orgy breaks out to create a scent that's all-honey, but far from sweet.

July 2 - US/Canada
Euristocrats II

Lipstick: $14.00USD (All LE)

• Costa Chic - Light coral (Frost)
• Naked Paris - Mid-tone brown with multi deminsional pearlized pigments Lustre)
• Patisserie - Creamy neutral pink (Lustre)
• Milan Mode - Deep pink with multi-dimensional pearlized pigments (Lustre)
• London Life- Deep berry with multi-pearl pigments (Lustre)
• Saint Germain - Pastel pink (Amplified)
• Cockney - Yellow red with multi-diminsional pearl pigments (Lustre)

Dazzleglass: $18.00USD

• Date Night - Deep plum with blue and gold pearl (Permanent)
• Euro Beat - Peach coral with gold pearl (LE)
• Internationalist - Yellow pink with blue pearl (Permanent at MAC Stores Only)
• Local Colour - Neutral yellow pink with gold pearl (Permanent at MAC Stores Only)
• Roman Holiday - Med brown coral with pink pearl (Permanent at MAC Stores Only)
• Rue de Rouge - Light red with pink pearl (LE)
• Vie Veneto - Light violet with blue pearl (LE)

Lip Pencil: (All Permanent) $13.00USD

• Magenta - Vivid pinkish-purple
• Cherry - Vivid bright bluish-red
• Subculture - Underground pink
• Whirl - Dirty rose

July 9 - US/Canada
Colour Craft

Lipstick: (All LE) $14.00USD

• Madly Creative - Pink neutral with white pearl (Frost)
• Ever Embellish - Plum brown with red pearl (Lustre)
• Made with Love - Bright coral pink (Lustre)
• Colour Crafted - Milky pink (Frost)
• Trimming Talk - Bright fuschia (Frost)
• Most Popular - Purple with yellow undertone (Lustre) (Repromote: Hello Kitty)

Lipglass: (All LE) $14.00USD
These have a new marbled texture. They contain three colors that mix into one.

• Pretty Pattern - Warm mid-tone beige
• Crazy Haute - Blue pink
• Nice Mix Up - Burnt ginger
• Funky Fusion - Pink coral
• Eclectic Edge - Cool violet
• Miss Marble - Muted pink

Mineralize Skinfinish: (All LE)
Three of these are the regular MSF design and three are "striped" with three different complimentary colours.

• Sunny by Nature- Rich bronze with pink pearl pig
• Cheeky Bronze - Soft golden coral wth bronze pearl
• Porcelain Pink - Soft pinky coral wth gold veining (Repromote: Gold Play and A Muse)
• Triple Fusion - Left: Soft champagne gold / Center: Soft golden peach / Right: Rose pink with gold nuances
• Smooth Merge - Left: Soft champange pink / Center: Deep rose / Right: Pale cool pink
• Warm Blend - Left: Antique gold / Center: Mahogany Bronze / Right: Copper

Mineralize Eyeshadows: (All LE)
These are a "pinwheel" design that incorporate 4 shades into one pan.

• Assemblage - White with silver pearl / Deep grey / Black with silver glitter / Warm yellow gold
• Odd Bits - Mid-tone silver grey / Dusty rose with gold pearl / Dark burgundy/ Peachy bronze
• Fashion Patch - Ice blue / Off white / Black with silver glitter / Light white pink
• Eccentricity - Rich gold / Light violet / Deep plum/ Rich bronze
• Natural Flare - Copper / Yellow orange / Mid-tone brown / Rich gold
• Girlish Romp - Mid-tone violet / Yellow white with gold pearl / Light pastel coral / Mid-tone pink

Mineralize Blush: (All LE) $21.00USD

• Hand-Finish - Light pink with deep gold veining
• Fab-dabulous - Mid-tone burnt coral with yellow gold veining
• Daft Pink - Deep blue pink with light white gold veining
• Improvise - Mid-tone neutral coral with light white yellow gold veining
• Cheek & Cheerful - Mid-tone bronzy brown with yellow gold veining
• Style Demon - Mid-tone brick red with copper veining

Brush:

• #226 Small Tapered Blending Brush - Small tapered blending brush (LE) $24.50USD (Repromote from Brunette Blonde Redhead)
  
  
• #109 Small Contour Brush - Use on the face to apply, blend or contour powder products. Softly rounded dome tip delivers just enough colour; smoothly blends colour into the face. Of natural fibres. (Permanent) - $32.00USD
  
  
• #130 Brush - Flat tapered face brush w short natural hairs and long synthetic fibres (LE)

Information and images provided by Specktra.net

Is anyone else already feeling the pain in their wallets as much as I am? Each collection offers so many new products, and between the collections, there's bound to be something for everyone. Good for MAC, not so good for us :-P

I'll update with a separate blog as pictures of the products become available.

MAC Rose Romance Collection

All image sources credited to: risser/Ewige Liebe
Information credited to: Specktra.net

This is my most anticipated collection from MAC for the first half of 2009. I LOVE pinks, purples, and grays, which seems to be what this collection is about. Here's the run down of what this collection entails:



Eye Shadows - $14.50USD
Top to bottom, left to right:

• Silver Thorn - Mid-tone gray with silver pearl (LE)
• Of Summer - Frosted light dirty mauve (LE)
• Creme de Violet - Pink-violet with gold pearl (Frost) (Permanent)
• Shadowy Lady - Blackened plum (Matte) (Permanent)
• Et Tu, Bouquet - Frosted pale pink gold (LE)

A Rose is a Rose Eye Shadow Quad (Nordstrom's Exclusive) $36.00USD

• Solar White (frost)- Golden White
• Contrast (Velvet)- Dark Purple/Blue
• Seeds of Love (frost)- Frosted Peach
• Petal Worship (frost)- Light, blue-based Pink

Image credit and information: Temptalia.com

Pigments - (LE) $19.50USD Left to right:

• Circa Plum - Frosty mid-tone lavender (Frost) (Repromote from Colour Forms)
• Mutiny - Sky Blue with gold pearlized pigments (Frost) (Repromote from Naughty Nauticals)

Beauty Powder - (LE) $.22.00USD

• Blush of Youth - Clean pink with gold pearl
• Summer Rose - Soft violet pink with pearl

Gel Blush - (LE) $18.50USD

• Just a Pinch - Sheer red pink tint

Lipsticks - $14.00USD
Left to right:

• Way To Love - Creamy light yellow pink (LE)
• A Rose Romance - Mid-tone pink with gold pearl (LE)
• Odyssey - Spiked-up plum (Frost) (Permanent)

Lipglass - (All LE) $14.00USD Top to bottom:

• Virgin Kiss - Sheer pale pink with multi-dimensional pearl
• Magnetique - Frosted violet fuschia (Repromote from Belle Azure, Nocturnelle and Holiday Minis '09)
• Steal My Heart - Sheer bright pink with multi-dimensional pearl

See Thru Lip Colour - (All LE) $14.00USD Top to bottom:

• Loving Touch - Sheer pearly light pink
• Secret Crush - Sheer red berry
• Tender Tryst - Sheer pearly plum

Mascara - (Permanent) $12.00USD

• Splashproof Lash - Blacksplash (Black)

Nail Lacquer - (LE) $11.00USD

• Love & Friendship - Creamy dirty mid-tone lavender

Fix+ Rose - (LE) $17.00USD

• Fix+ Rose - An aqua-spritz of vitamin and minerals, infused with a calm-the-skin blend of green tea, chamomile, cucumber, topped off with the fresh, natural, energizing scent of Sugi. Adds radiance, finishes makeup.

Fragrance - (LE) $22.50USD

• Creations: DejaRose - A striking bouquet of lush Bulgarian, Turkish and Tea Red Roses, ruffled with dewy watery and luminous green nuances. Velvety petals of exotic Orchid, Lily, Jasmine and Peony are teased with a hint of crimson Red Raspberry and the gentle texture of Pink Pepper. The interplay of light and dark woods, weathered Teak contrasting with Patchouli, adds to the intensity, while hypnotic Incense vapors and Amber Crystals lend a sense of intrigue and allure to this sensuous creation. A thoroughly modern "retro-scent": Dejarose. (Repromote from DejaRose)

The release date is scheduled to hit the US and Canada on April 23.


Even though the International release date is set for May, it seems Rose Romance has already been released in Taiwan. Check out ChefCaffy's YouTube Channel for some information and swatches. Thanks to Charisma103 for this scoop.


It should be noted that even though the eye shadows look brilliant in color, the LE items are not as pigmented as they appear. (This is with the exception of the Nordstrom's quad.) If you're looking for softer color eye shadows from this collection, then you'll be satisfied. If you're more into dramatic looks and darker colors, you may still find some products of interest in this collection. However, most of those products are from the permanent collection.


I'd also like to mention the lipglasses in this collection are a bit different than current lipglasses. They're more of a lovechild spawn from a lipglass and a dazzleglass. The Rose Romance lipglasses have more of a glittery finish than what they appear in the promo pics. Although not quite as much glitter as the dazzleglasses, they do have more than what you may expect.


If you're interested in checking out some swatches, Specktra.net has quite a few up already. Thanks to Alexa for the update on the postings.


All in all, I believe this is going to be a beautiful collection full of soft spring looks with a bit of added pop.