MAC Spring Forecast Preview Party

Last night my MAC store had an early-launch party for Spring Forecast, the big upcoming collection. This was actually the first time I’d been to a collection launch, and the scene was managed chaos. People were given scheduled arrival times, and admitted in batches to view the collection. When I arrived, the line to get in stretched down the hall and around the corner. The four colors of the collection (pink, coral, plum, and amber) were each set up as individual stations, with an artist to answer questions and demonstrate any of the products on you.It was really too crowded for me to take my usual swatch pictures — but I figure there’s always this weekend. One interesting item in the pink and coral collections were these set of four pigments in stackable jars. I heard that these pigments are a new formulation — they’re supposed to contain an ingredient that helps them adhere to skin, even without a base underneath. I’ll comment more on that when I have some first-hand experience. I think coral is going to be my favorite part of the collection (shock!). Meanwhile, servers circled with trays of hors d’oeuvres and theme-colored drinks. I was too busy snapping pictures to partake. I’m really curious about the “ombre” (gradient) blushes. I usually love MAC blush, but, while browsing, I suddenly remembered seeing some gradient blushes on the Estee Lauder counter… I wonder how similar they are. The eyeshadow quads are slightly different in this collection. I wouldn’t say better or worse, just different. I wonder if all quad palettes are going to move to this look?  Plum was a really popular station (as you’d expect). The artist stationed there was so busy I couldn’t ask her to hold still for a picture — so you get an action shot.The artist at the Amber station was actually dipping a blush brush in the three darkest colors of the eyeshadow palette and using it as a blush on darker skinned customers. It looked pretty amazing.Do not be alarmed by his costume contact lenses — he’s a makeup genius. They also had what MAC calls an “animatic,” a live recreation of the promo image of the collection. They had a totally cute model, having her makeup done by one of the artists — I managed to snap a picture before her look was finished.