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.

Makeup remover is, to some extent, a matter of preference. What are you used to, what format do you prefer, how much makeup do you wear? When I’m swatching, my goal is to get my arm completely clean of often-stubborn products (like heavy-duty foundation, bright lipsticks, and long-wear eyeliners) as quickly as possible, with a minimum of scrubbing, no residue, and without drying my skin. Hands-down, the most effective category is oil cleansers. I prefer them to foams, lotions, cold creams, other liquids, and soaps.

You apply oil cleanser to dry skin, massage it around, add water (to emulsify), massage again, and rinse clean.

Cleansing oil doesn’t leave your skin feeling oily, and it won’t clog your pores or cause acne (the molecules are too large to penetrate). I’m probably going to horrify some aestheticians by saying this, but I don’t use a second product after washing my face with oil cleanser. Once the makeup/sunscreen is off, I’m done.

Anyway, having tried a number of oil cleansers, I wanted to share with you my personal rank list, from best to worst.

1. Shiseido Ultimate Cleansing Oil ($25, 5 oz)
This is, unequivocally, the best cleanser on the market. Designed to remove Shiseido’s notoriously protective sunscreens, it’s the most effective, gentlest, least obtrusive, no-residue, non-drying, best-thing-I’ve-tried. It’s my #1 choice at home and “in the field.” I never need a second product to get my arm “all the way clean.”

Oil cleansers turn cloudy/white when you get them wet (somehow this makes me feel that they’re working), and Shiseido’s does this best.  If you plunge an oiled hand into a bowl of water, it makes a satisfying “poof” of white as the oil dissipates into the water.

2. Bobbi Brown Cleansing Oil ($39, 6.7 oz)
If Shiseido’s Cleansing Oil is, for some reason, unavailable, my second choice is Bobbi Brown’s. It gets almost everything off (though if I’m swatching something particularly tenacious, I might have to follow it with a chaser of Chanel Gentle Biphase Eye Makeup Remover).

With repeated use, I feel like it builds up a bit of residue. But you’re probably not going to feel that in a single face-washing.

3. Shu Uemura Cleansing Beauty Oil Premium A/O Advanced Formula ($75, 15 oz)
Shu Uemura Cleansing Oils come in several “flavors” — Pore Clarifying (pink) for oily/acne-prone skin, White Recovery Brightening (purple), Classic (yellow), Premium for dry/sensitive skin (this used to be called “Rich” and it was orange… they’ve reformulated and now the bottle is yellow).

Anyway, my favorite is “Green,” which is supposed to address aging concerns, yet still feels light. I think it has the best scent, and it seemed to me to be the most effective of Shu’s oils. (Green is also their #1 seller.)

Shu has a sterling reputation for cleanse off oils (and many people feel they basically invented the category), but in a head-to-head (or should I say arm-to-arm?) test, Shu would sometimes leave behind “ghosts” that another cleanser (Shiseido, Laura Mercier’s old Light formula) would remove completely.

Honestly, Bobbi Brown’s Cleanse Off Oil and Shu Uemura’s Premium A/O are probably a tie for me, but since Shu no longer has a physical presence in the U.S., it’s a little harder to get. (You have to order from their website. Though, on the plus side, free shipping and no tax.)

4. Laura Mercier Purifying Cleansing Oil ($40, 6.8 oz)
Laura Mercier used to make two formulas of cleansing oil (Light and Rich) — and Light formerly held my #2-favorite spot.

“Rich” oils, oils intended for dry or mature skin, often don’t rinse clean. They seem like leave-in conditioner for the skin… they feel sort of oily even after you’ve washed them away.

Maybe a year ago, Laura Mercier reformulated their oil cleanser, and the new edition feels like a combination of the old Light and Rich. I’m not a fan.

5. MAC Cleanse Off Oil ($26, 5 oz)
MAC’s Cleanse Off Oil just isn’t my favorite. It simply doesn’t seem as effective as the others when it comes to removing makeup.

6. Lumene Lift Touch Revitalizing Cleansing Oil ($10, 6.8 oz)
Lumene is just about the cheapest cleanse off oil you can buy, and a while ago I bought some for home use (both face and arm). It was even on sale at CVS when I bought it, so I only paid $5 a bottle.

Now this sounds absolutely crazy, but I stopped using Lumene on my face because it was drying my skin. How can a cleanse off oil (which even mentions dry/mature skin on the bottle) be drying? Well, the bottle also mentions “toning,” so maybe that ingredient is the culprit. Has anyone else had this experience? I did buy this about a year ago, so it’s possible the product has been reformulated since then.

What’s your favorite makeup remover, readers? Are you on the oil bandwagon? Do you have a favorite that I haven’t tried yet?

Miss Piggy’s MAC collection includes a single limited edition eyeshadow (Miss Piggy Pink, $15), a repromote of the regular Penultimate eyeliner ($17.50, no special packaging), and the naturally dramatic 36 Lash ($15).

I swatched the shade twice (because I feel silly taking a picture of a single stripe). Miss Piggy Pink is a satin blue-pink; the eyeshadow version of Nicki Minaj’s Pink Friday.

This collection is available online at MACcosmetics.com. MAC provided this product for swatching purposes.

The Warm eyeshadow palette (on the left) is a nice assortment of browns. Winterscape is a classic Lustre, a slightly chunky, somewhat fallout-prone pale silvery white. (I just don’t understand the Lustre formula.)  Magical Mist (Lustre) is a shimmery brown taupe, and a repromote from Tartan Tale. Patina (Frost) is a permanent shade, an intriguing golden, ashy brown that reflects copper.

Buckwheat (Velvet) is a warm brown with small gold sparkles, a repromote from Naked Honey and Tartan Tale, though it’s always been a Frost formula before. Gaelic Gold (Veluxe Pearl) is a dirty-gold frost — also a repromote from Tartan Tale. Midnight Flurry (Matte) is a relatively dark, reasonably cool earth-brown.

The Sultry eyeshadow palette is particularly full of shades that are sheer, chalky, unpigmented, or likely to produce fallout. Lightfully (Lustre) is a very sheer silvery white. Trax (Velvet) is a permanent shade, a sheer lilac with tiny pink sparkles. Fun! (Lustre) is a sheer, fallout-prone rose-copper. Festive Delight (Lustre) is a sheer red-plum with tiny pink sparkles. Black Tied (Velvet) is a permanent shade, a sheer black with silver sparkles. Shadowy Lady (Matte) is also permanent (and repromoted in Rose Romance, Cult of Cherry), a very dark, blackened red-purple.

The Cool eyeshadow palette is — no pun intended — the coolest. Snowball (Frost) is a sheer white with tiny sea green shimmers. Illegal Cargo (Frost) is a periwinkle sheeny satin with a lilac reflect. Idol Eyes (Lustre) is a permanent shade, a frost-blue-grey shimmer with a dirty-gold reflect. I did a double-take at Warm & Smoky (Veluxe Pearl). How does a blue eyeshadow get named “Warm & Smoky”? It’s a duochrome deep blue-purple shimmer. Howzat (Satin) is a slate/charcoal blue-grey satin. Set to Dance (Matte) is actually a repromote from one of last year’s Tartan Tale palettes, but this incarnation looks quite different. It’s much more black/less blue this year. I’d call it a matte navy black with so-so pigment.

If you like blue eyeshadow, the cool palette offers a pretty nice assortment.

Love ‘em? Leave ‘em? What do you think?

Every year, MAC invites kids affected by HIV/AIDS to design holiday cards. MAC produces them (in sets of 6 mailable cards with envelopes and 12 “gift tag” mini cards), and sell the sets for $10 each. And every penny of that $10 goes to the MAC AIDS Fund, to help kids affected by HIV/AIDS.

Kids Helping Kids! Could there be a more perfect way to spread holiday cheer?

The Rocking set includes Kanga Rouge lipstick, an Amplified Creme and a repromote from Dame Edna. It’s a cool, cherry red with a few tiny, subtle pink sparkles. There’s also Golden Blanket lipglass, a sheer white with tons of dense gold multicolored pearl/shimmer/sparkle. Rounding out the set is MAC’s oft-repromoted Asiatique nail polish, an opaque cherry red creme.

The Pure Drama set includes berry-wine Hang-Up Cremesheen lipstick (a repromoted permanent shade). There’s also Frozen Lame lipglass, a sheer white with very fine silver multicolored (almost holographic) pearl/shimmer/sparkle. The nail polish is deep wine/browned red Vintage Vamp (another permanent shade).