With the sizzling summer sun beating down, and the terrible humidity of Mumbai and the task of unpacking cartons and “setting up home” all combined to make me a cranky, about-to-explode volcano. What I needed was some retail therapy so off I went with nothing specific on my to-buy list. To be honest, I am not a person who lusts after MAC’s limited edition collection. But the Flamingos in Palladium’s Summer installation and the Flamingo Park Collection by MAC seemed to hypnotise me and I ended up picking up something from each of the MAC Summer 2016 Makeup Collections….
This is what my little haul consisted of:
- Modern Twist Kajal Liner in shade Groundbreaker
- Haute Contour from the MAC Zac Posen Collection
- Flocking Fabulous lipstick from the MAC Flamingo Park collection
Along with that, a friend of mine visiting from USA got me the Versicolor Stain in the shade Resilient Rouge.
Here are some more details and pictures of each of the products….
Modern Twist Kajal Liner in Shade Groundbreaker (₹990)
I think by now you must all know that I prefer eye pencils to liquid and gel liners. They are so easy to use and coloured liners make eye makeup a breeze. Especially, if like me, you don’t have time to apply and blend eyshadows. Since the last couple of months, I have suddenly been leaning more towards brown and bronze shades for the eyes rather than the black liner I was always so fond of so needless to say, Groundbreaker was my choice.
MAC describes Groundbreaker as a “warm, rich, bronzy brown” and I have to say it is a very accurate description. It is an incredibly beautiful brown colour (a slightly darker version of the Lakme Eye Artist liner in Burnished Brown) that thankfully shows up on my pigmented eyelides. The Modern Twist Kajal liner is smooth but not too creamy and has a long wear time. On my upper lid, it lasted almost 8 hours while on the lower lash line and water line, the wear time was a slightly less. The Kajal also sets pretty fast and doesn’t smudge or fade at all. Groundbreaker has bronze micro-shimmer in it so if you rub your eyes, then the shimmer does smudge but not the liner itself.
MAC Zac Posen Haute Contour (₹2,800)
The matte grey packaging with gold lettering is what instantly attracted me to this blush-bronzer duo. I didn’t even bother to swatch it because the shades looked so pretty.
The MAC Zac Posen Haute Contour duo has a matte, cool toned brown filling up three-fourths of the pan and a shimmery rose-coral shade in the other one-fourth. The Bronzer shade looked like it would be great as a contour powder for my skintone and the blush would add a flush of colour to the face. Both these powders looked very creamy and pigmented in the compact till I actually used them.
Firstly, it was quite difficult getting the product onto the brush. It took me repeated swirls of the brush on the pan to pick up even a little product. Secondly, the pigmentation which is quite sheer. The MAC Zac Posen Haute Contour would work wonderfully on very fair and fair skintones. However, it barely even showed up on me despite my attempts to layer it on.
There is barely any colour showing up on my wrist – which is a couple of shades lighter than my face. The bronzer is a nice matte brown with cool undertones and I would have loved it if it was a bit more pigmented. The blush shows up better than the bronzer, perhaps because of the gold tones in it. The colour is super pretty and again I find myself wishing that it were more pigmented like the other MAC blushes.
MAC Flocking Fabulous Lipstick from the Flamingo Park Collection (₹1,450)
After the peacock, I find flamingos to be the prettiest birds. The long curvy neck, the beautiful pink plumage….it’s no wonder then that MAC has done a collection titled Flamingo Park. There are 9 shades of lipsticks in this collection of which two are repromotes ( Please Me and St. Germain).
The shade Flocking Fabulous has been described by MAC as a “bright coral red”. It has a Cremesheen + Pearl finish and perhaps, as a combination of this finish and my pigmented lips, it looks much lighter and peachier on my lips. In fact, it looks simply fabulous. I love the creaminess of the Cremesheen formula and the fact that it doesn’t make my lips feel dry like the Retro Matte finish.
This picture was taken in the evening so perhaps the diffused golden evening light is the reason why the lipstick looks so light. While it doesn’t look as dark as it does in the tube, Flocking Fabulous looks a bit brighter than it shows in this picture as you will see in the hand swatch below.
MAC Versicolor Stain in Resilient Rouge ($24)
The Versicolor Stain hasn’t been launched in India as yet, but after having tried it out, I can’t wait to get my hands on more shades. The Versicolor Stain is “the ultimate fusion of gloss + stain in one fluid formula that melts onto the lips for a full-on glossy shine that lasts and lasts and lasts. I have been a huge fan of the YSL Glossy Stains (read post here and here) and this new variant by MAC didn’t disappoint either.
It comes in a cute chubby tube with a transparent central band to show the colour inside and a doe-foot applicator. The gloss/stain hybrid has a jelly-like texture that feels almost weightless. True to it’s claims, it does last quite long. Depending on what you eat/drink, the gloss stays on for about 6+ hours after which the it settles down to a stain. The stain isn’t easy to wipe off or rub off either but comes off without a fuss with a makeup remover.
Resilient Rouge is a beautiful, bright cherry red that looks lovely in it’s high-gloss avatar as it does as a stain. The best part is that though it is a gloss, it doesn’t bleed so I don’t need to wear a lipliner.
Swatches
This is exactly how the Flocking Fabulous lipstick looks on my lips – a beautiful, bright peachy coral.
To Sum It Up
I love these new Summer 2016 makeup collections from MAC – especially the Modern Twist Kajal and the Versicolor Stain. The Flocking Fabulous lipstick is one I find myself reaching for most frequently these days. All these launches, with their ligtweight textures and long-lasting finishes make them perfect for summer. I only wish the Zac Posen Haute Contour would have been more pigmented – it would have worked so well as a bronzer.
Which is your favourite from all of these? Have you tried any products from MAC’s new launches? Do let me know in the comments below.