Immortal Flower is a matte warm pink (even though it’s a Satin finish). Modern Mandarin is a satin tangerine-persimmon with a silver sheen/shimmer. Lovecloud is a satin strawberry-candy pink with a silver sheen (very subtle shimmer).

Here are light and heavy swatches:


Full of Joy is a shimmery pale lilac (pinky purple, though it looks especially purple next to Peony Petal) with a silver shimmer/sheen. Peony Petal is a satin (near-matte, but glowy) cool pink. Pink Tea is a satin rose-pink, and if I’d realized how similar it was going to look to Lovecloud, I would have swatched them side by side. I think Pink Tea is a little bit dustier and a little bit mauvier than Lovecloud.


These blushes are $20 each, and all six shades are still available (with free shipping, natch) from Nordstrom.com.

Eyeshadow duos are back, though they’re $27.50 now. As with last summer’s duos, MAC doesn’t identify individual shade names or finishes.

Dynamic Duo 1 features a warm candy pink with gold duochrome shimmer, paired with a slightly chalky matte magenta berry (really the only shade that disappointed me at all in terms of smooth delivery of pigment). Dynamic Duo 2 includes a softly shimmery blue-silver and a vibrant matte cerulean.

Dynamic Duo 3 offers a shimmery blue-purple-steel grey and a matte teal (yowsers). Dynamic Duo 4 has a matte Pepto/Barbie pale blue-pink and a super-dark matte eggplant purple. All in all, the texture and color payoff of the duos is excellent.

The collection also features a few face powders. Pink Cult blush (repromoted from Jeanius) is a dusty bubblegum pink (Matte). I thought — from its name — that Magenta, a matte red-violet, process magenta, was a permanent, pro color (products with simple color names are often pro shades)… but I was mistaken; it’s limited edition. The blushes are $20 each.

Lightscapade Mineralize Skinfinish was originally released in 2006; recently repromoted in the Cindy Sherman collection of fall 2011. It’s a pearly warm-white shimmery highlight, $29.

I swatched the powders first lightly, then heavily.

The collection also includes three nail polishes (each $16). Vivid Effect is a red-pink coral, an intense hibiscus creme. In the Dark… Purple is grape. Screening Room is a green teal.

There are also four Eye Kohl (non-mechanical pencil) eyeliners ($15 each). Heirloom is a shimmery metallic dishwater blue-purple silver grey. Hyacinth is a satin (low shimmer) justice blue. Resort is a satin grape. Smolder (a permanent shade) is black.

The lips are probably my favorite part of the collection. I’d been vaguely regretting not buying Watch Me Simmer from February’s Shop MAC Cook MAC collection, but it’s already being repromoted, so I got my second chance.

Reel Sexy is a light coral pink Amplified Creme. Watch Me Simmer is a deeper warm pink. Pink Popcorn (Lustre) looks really lavender in the tube, but swatches on surprisingly pink. It’s a very sheer pink lilac with microscopic blue shimmers.

Wag of the finger to MAC for naming the fourth lipstick in this collection Heroine. MAC fans surely remember that there was a Heroine lipstick in MAC’s recent Wonder Woman collection. It was a Frost finish, and a completely different color (frosty red-brown). This Heroine is a grape creme Matte. The lipsticks are each $14.50.

There are also four Cremesheen Glass lipglosses ($19.50). Private Screening is a light warm pink. Star Quality is a bright red-pink coral, a color that J.Crew would probably call “melon.” Cinestyle is periwinkle, pale blue-purple. Colour Saturation is berry.

Reel Sexy is available on Nordstrom.com, Dillards.com, Bloomingdales.com, and MACcosmetics.com — happy shopping!

The Extra Dimension Eyeshadows are $20 each (larger size pans) — and yes, I swatched these dry, with no base or primer. Young Venus is a pale, sparkling frosty ice-pink. Blue Orbit is sparkling frosty periwinkle. Lunar is blackened sapphire — a black base with sparkly/frosty blue shimmer. Grand Galaxy is a sparkling/frosty blue-purple grape. Rich Core is more of a red-purple (also sparkling/frosty). Sweet Heat is a high shimmer, very frosty rosy copper. Havana is a satin/frost warm tobacco brown with no sparkle. Modern Pewter is a frosty shimmery green-silver-gold metallic. Warm Thunder is a sparkly/frosty cool, steely, almost bluish silver. Dark Dare is satin/matte black with a few tiny sparkles.

The three Extra Dimension Skinfinishes are $28 each, and — surprisingly — they’re eye- and lip-safe. Superb is beige-pink with silver multicolored sparkles (click here to compare it to Estee Lauder’s first — and unnamed — powder gelee from fall 2011). Whisper of Gilt is warm pale gold with silver shimmer, and doesn’t really have a counterpart from Estee Lauder. Glorify is burnished copper (click here to compare it to Estee Lauder’s spring 2012 Topaz Chameleon).

I swatched these first lightly (because they can be so intense), then heavily (to show the color):


This collection also repromotes two of the “split-personality” brushes from the Semi-Precious collection (photos here): the 128 split-fibre cheek brush ($32) and the 234 split-fibre eye blending brush ($22.50).

Products are available at every MAC counter and free-standing store, though if that’s inconvenient (or your local counter is sold out of something) I’d recommend Nordstrom.com (free shipping at any price!).

Unsure how to use one of the colors you see here? Definitely check out Lauren’s site for inspiration. Whereas I do my makeup basically the same way every day, I’m pretty sure Lauren never does the same look twice.

Blue Calm (Veluxe Pearl), Coral (Matte), Lime (Matte), Vellum (Frost), Soot (Matte), Deep Damson (Matte), Indian Ink (Matte)

Bottle Green (Matte), Kelly (Satin), Aqua (Matte), Bright Sunshine (Frost), Canary Yellow (Matte), Sky Blue (Matte), Rose (Frost)

Cobalt (Matte), Ground Brown (Matte), Naval (Matte), Sour Lemon (Satin), Bio Green (Frost)

MAC’s Viva Glam program is one of the most visible components of MAC’s commitment to fighting HIV/AIDS. MAC is, laudably, the largest non-pharmaceutical donor to the cause, and every penny from the sale of every Viva Glam product goes to the MAC AIDS Fund (not a portion of the proceeds, not 100% of the profits, but every penny of the selling price. You make a donation of ~$14.50, they give you a free lipstick or gloss).

Viva Glam Nicki is a Satin finish lipstick, a bright, 80s Miami, flamingo, electric pink. I would have said Nicki was cool (meaning “too cool for my tastes”), but I think it’s more accurate to say this shade falls somewhere on the spectrum between warm and cool. You can choose to play up its warmness or its coolness with your choice of lipliner and/or gloss. (Your “formula for glam,” as one sales associate put it.)

Click here to revisit swatches of Pink Friday, for comparison.

Ricky Martin’s Lip Conditioner is actually a repromote from the permanent line, but I’m SO glad they featured it, because it had escaped my attention until now. MAC makes three different lip conditioners: the pot (which also comes in colors as “Tinted Lip Conditioner”), the tube, and the stick.

The slant-tipped tube is the only one without SPF, and I think it’s the best formula. (I’m going to have to amend my favorite lip balm post; it’s that good.) I found the stick dried too fast; the pot smells like cake frosting… and it’s in a pot. My preference was echoed by a male sales associate; he said he thought the stick left a bit of a white film, and that the pot tended to collect into a line at the inside edge of his lips. He also said the tube felt the most healing.

Viva Glam Nicki is $14.50, Viva Glam Ricky is $15, and I assume (like the Cyndi Lauper/Lady Gaga lipsticks) that they will be available for one year.

And thanks to the launch, all my sales associates were wearing the new Viva Glam products, which was a great opportunity to see the shade on different skintones.

Brittany (NC37) is wearing Viva Glam Nicki alone. Brooke (NC45) is wearing Nicki over Beet lipliner.

Jonathan (NW20) is wearing Viva Glam Ricky. Diamond (NW15) is wearing Nicki over Process Magenta lipliner. Tory (NC27) is wearing Nicki alone. Kenitha (NC50) is wearing Nicki over More to Love lipliner, with Power Supply lipglass on top. Allyson (NW10) decided to play up the warmness of Nicki by wearing it over Lasting Sensation lipliner. Brit (NW25) made Nicki a little deeper by applying it over Cherry lipliner.

Though I actually love everything about this collection, the number one thing you need to know about is the lips. I’ve been hunting these lipsticks so long it’s making me crazy — making me want to buy more than I think I would under less stressful shopping circumstances.

Pink Pigeon (Matte) is bright magenta (purple-pink). Scarlet Ibis (Matte, prononced “EYE biss”) is red-coral. Party Parrot (Matte) is intense watermelon pink. Flamingo (Lustre) is a sheer warm pink that’s surprisingly demure on the lips. Morange (Amplified Creme) is a regular permanent shade, construction-orange.

The lipliners are $14 each. Entertain Me and Embrace Me are actually limited edition repromotes (cross-promotes?) from the Tour de Fabulous collection; Redd is a regular, permanent shade.

The collection also includes five eyeshadows ($15 each).

Silver Gull (Velvet) is a matte dove-grey/smoke-grey matte with a few very tiny silver sparkles. I like the color, but the shadow is chalky. Robin’s Egg (Matte) happily reminds me of Cool Heat, a collection from the summer of 2008. If I had a time machine, revisiting Cool Heat would be one of my stops. Anyway, Robin’s Egg is a bright, matte, green teal. Diamond Dove (Matte) is another beautiful color, a dark brown matte taupe. It’s also chalky.

I expected Early Bird (Matte) to be like Free to Be, from Liberty of London (chalky) — but it’s so nice! Early Bird is a lovely, pigmented coral-pink. For the past year, I’ve been obsessed with the promo image from YSL’s spring 2011 collection. Now I want to try recreating the look using Early Bird.

Howzat (Satin) is also very nice: a softly shimmery charcoal repromoted from one of the Snowglobe eyeshadow palettes in the 2011 holiday collection.

There are three new, limited edition nail polishes (each $15). Oriele Orange is a red-orange coral. Sandpiper is a sheer trenchcoat beige. Toco Toucan is a cool fuchsia pink.

And last but definitely not least, this collection repromotes Too Chic Beauty Powder highlighter (previously released in Stylishly Yours). I had forgotten how beautiful this powder is. It’s a pearlescent, gently shimmery, delicate, pale golden shimmer that builds to a glowing golden white as you swatch it more heavily. If you blindfolded me, swatched this on my arm, then asked me to guess what it was, I think I would’ve guessed something much more expensive. Too Chic is $23.

If, like me, you have been stalking MAC’s website hoping they’ll restock, don’t fret. I’m planning to do some comparison swatching, and hopefully we’ll be able to match some of the Iris Apfel lipsticks with their closest permanent and pro relatives.

The Naturally collection is a fantasia on neutrals. MAC periodically revists this genre — their most beloved interpretation was probably 2008′s N Collection.

Naturally’s promo picture reminds me of a passage from Wuthering Heights: “bees humming dreamily about among the bloom, and the larks singing high up overhead, and the blue sky and bright sun shining steadily and cloudlessly.” It’s a quiet collection, but worth your attention.

Starting with the lips, there are four lipsticks ($14.50). A Perfect Day (Amplified Creme) is a muted, dusty, mauvey pink. Beach Sand (Cremesheen) is a warm tan, a rose-beige-brown. I think J.Crew might sell a knitted sweater in just this color. Sweet Sunrise (Lustre) is a pale, warm pink. Pillow Talk (Cremesheen, and a repromote from the Overnight Sensation Lip Bag in Nordstrom’s 2011 Anniversary Collection) is a warm, rosy brown.

There are also four Lipglass lipglosses ($14.50). Wee Coquette (originally released as a mini in 2010′s Tartan Tale and repromoted in MAC Me Over) is a very pale white-pink with silver sparkles. Fresh Air is warm, sheer pink with multicolored sparkles. Naked Space (a repromote from Neo Sci-Fi) is a soft orange with gold multicolored sparkles. Hot Spell is a warm, burned caramel with multicolored sparkles. All of the lipsticks and glosses are limited edition.

There are three new mineralize blushes ($22, limited edition). Subtle Breeze is a cool, candied rose. Fresh Honey is sherbet orange. Early Morning (my favorite) is a tropical red papaya, a sunrise color with a slight sheen.

Here are heavy swatches.

In what I think was a brilliant move, MAC also repromoted two Mineralize Skinfinish powders with this collection. Redhead and Blonde were two fabulous products to come out of a fabulous collection called Blonde, Brunette, Redhead. Redhead is peach with gold shimmer (and is the slightly more sparkly/shimmery of the two); Blonde is warm pink with a silvery sheen. These might be sheer blushes or highlighters, depending on your complexion. They are $28 each.

There are a handful of Mineralize Eyeshadows ($20). Daylight is a shimmery violet. In the Sun is a shimmery tomato with pale gold sparkles. Summer Haze is frosty peach-pink. The aptly named Cloudy Afternoon is a soft, cloudy, shimmery silver-grey. Twilight Falls is a gently sparkly, almost bruisey black-plum.

The collection also repromotes two permanent Eye Pencils ($14). I didn’t swatch Ebony because it’s black, but I thought you might not have seen Coffee. It’s a dark cool brown.

And last but not least, there’s a new brush in the collection. The 286 is $30 and it’s like a duo-fibre 224. It’s a ponytail fluffy blending brush. Black-and-white fibers usually mean a more sheer application of color (for example, the 187 or 188 stippling brushes might be good blush brushes if you have a heavy hand). Speaking of the 187, it’s repromoted in this collection, at its regular price of $42.

I find the promotional photo interesting, given that none of the shades is lip-safe.

Virgin Silver (a repromoted shade) is a shimmery white with silver sparkles. Palladium is my favorite, of course, a smoky, shimmery taupe (brown-silver). Gold Carbon is like a sexy smudge of grease. It’s brown-black with dense, multicolored rainbow shimmer. Cyber (another repromote) is cool silver shimmer with silver sparkles. Fusion Gold (the third and final repromote) is a shimmery beige pink. Rusty is shimmery copper with rainbow shimmers. Red Hot Copper is… well, red-copper with rainbow shimmer. Venetian Tarnish is a very brassy, dirty, golden-bronze shimmer. Vintage Coin is a sophisticated, shimmery olive green.

The Metal X shades are $20 each, all limited edition.

Have you tried multiple generations of Metal-X shadows? What do you think of the current incarnation?

Casual Air is a milky, warm  pale pink with shimmer. Have to Have It is a rosy-peach with shimmer. Rich & Witty is a warm, terracotta rose with shimmer. It’s a Wow is warm, bubblegum pink with subtle shimmer. Comfort & Joy is a pink-purple shimmer/sparkle. Famously Fab! is lilac with subtle shimmer. Real Posh is red-grape/berry with subtle blue shimmer. Rich Bounty is slightly browned orange-red with gold shimmer. Knockout is red-orange (so hawt!). Tour de Fabulous is a hot, summery coral-peach with tiny multicolored shimmers. Style Packed is bright, cool Barbie pink.

The lipglosses are $14.50 each, and if I were to group them by level of shimmer, Level 1 (smallest, least, almost creme-finish) would include Knockout and Style Packed. Level 2 would contain Casual Air, Rich & Witty, It’s a Wow, Famously Fab!, Real Posh, and Tour de Fabulous. Level 3 would include Check This Out, Comfort & Joy, and Rich Bounty.

The lip pencils are $14 each. What Comes Naturally is a light, warm pink. Have to Have It is a warm, terracotta rose-brown. Just My Type is dark, cool brown. Hip ‘n’ Happy is a cool, blue-toned, slightly mauvey eraser/chewing gum pink. Embrace Me is bright! cool! fuchsia! Just Wonderful is a sheeny red-purple-rose. Entertain Me is construction-fence orange. Lasting Sensation (my favorite) is a fluorescent red-orange.

Did anything from this collection speak to you?

The Honourable Daphne Suzannah Diana Joan Guinness (born 1967) is perhaps the world’s best known living heiress. She is famously fond of fashion, friend of the late Isabella Blow and the late Alexander McQueen. She is also muse to Francois Nars (she has been the face of several recent campaigns, and Mr. Nars created an eyeshadow that bears her name).

Anyway, Ms. Guinness’s MAC collection includes an eyeshadow palette (Interior Life, $38), which is cool and pretty, but on the chalky side. Stratus (Matte) is a ghostly marshmallow-pastel-pink. Bruised Sky (Satin) is a dusty purple, deeper and more proper-purple than permanent shade Shale. Interior Life (Veluxe) is a smoky, blued, industrial-grey satin with pretty good pigment. Heather Belles (Satin, repromoted from Tartan Tale) is a chalky, sheer, near-black satin.

There are also three loose pigments ($20). Circa Plum is a repromote (from the Nordstrom-exclusive Colour Forms in 2008 and Rose Romance in 2009). It’s a bruisey, red-purple shimmer/frost. Aurora is a shimmer/frost muted silver-rose-brown. Nebula is my favorite, a satin-with-tiny-sparkles cool, earth-brown taupe.

This collection repromotes two permanent Powerpoint eyeliners (water-resistant, non-mechanical pencils, $15). Engraved is black. Grey Utility is blue-grey.

It also repromotes two permanent Brow Pencils (mechanical, $15): ash-golden Fling and java-dark-brown Stud.

One major source of excitement over this collection is the limited reintroduction of two of the Blush Ombres from 2010′s Spring Forecast collection. These “dip-dyed” blushes feature one color at the top of the pan, fading into a second color at the bottom. Since I did top/bottom/mixed swatches for Spring Forecast, I gave you light and heavy swatches this time.

Azalea Blossom is a cool pink with just a very few tiny sparkles (so it’s not completely matte). Vintage Grape is a red-violet. Both blushes are $26.

There are four limited edition Pro Longwear Lipsticks ($17). Seasoned Plum is artificial-grape. Approaching Storm is a rum-raisin, browned, bricky red. Red Dwarf is cool rose. Warp Speed is a sheer white frost.

There are also three limited nail polishes ($15). Endless Night (what a funny name for a light-colored polish. It’s not at all like NARS’ Endless Night) is a greyed beige-pink with pearly pink shimmer. When I swatched it, I thought of Chanel’s recent Rose Cache, but the two colors are not actually very similar. Hyperion is a polar ice blue creme. Blueblood is a very dark red-purple-brown. I’m dying to compare it to Tom Ford’s infamous Bitter Bitch.

Last but not least, there are four limited edition Cremesheen Glass lipglosses ($18.50). Borealis is a very sheer blue-grey with tiny, invisible orange-rainbow shimmers (I didn’t even notice them ’til I got outside). This color instantly made me think of Chillin’ from In The Groove. Japanese Spring is a pale, cool, cotton candy pink. Narcissus is a vibrant royal-orchid pink-purple. Richly Revered (repromoted from Semi Precious) is a rum-raisin red-rose-brown.

Love it? Hate it? Dying to hear what you think.