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!).

I was able to swatch five shades of the Street Art eyeshadow palette: a shimmery pale pink (the B, bottom left), a satiny orange with gold shimmer (the squiggle just above the B), a sparkling celadon green (the background color to the right of the orange squiggle), a shimmery ice blue (the letter A at the top, center), and a pale, shimmery gold (the funky letter S at the top left). There’s one more color, the beige you see in the gaps of the B and S. It was too small for me to fit the head of a sponge-tipped applicator, but it’s large enough that you could get in there with a brush.

In the Abstract is a pale pink highlighter — really subtle, without obvious sparkle or shimmer. Optical Bronzer is a rosy, peachy blush-bronzer. The highlighter and bronzer can absolutely be applied more sheerly; I just wanted to capture the color accurately.

Cindy Sherman is best known for her photography. She works alone, concepting a story or a character, selecting wardrobe, doing makeup and hair, and often using herself as a model. Before you Google her work, you should know that her images sometimes involve nudity and should be considered NSFW (not safe for work). Her work also includes images that some may find disturbing (particularly her photos involving mannequins).

Thematically, this collection can be broken into three parts. Let’s start with the largest, “Midnight Blue.”

The first four shadows in this picture are all part of the Parlor Smoke eyeshadow quad ($38). Parlor Smoke (Frost) is a somewhat sheer, matte/satin grey-purple lavender. Cross Cultural (Matte, previously swatched with All Ages, All Races, All Sexes) is wood brown. Indigo Noir (Matte) was a sheer, matte, blackened blue-purple. I definitely had to work a bit to build up this swatch. Steel (Veluxe Pearl) is a shimmery charcoal.

The next four swatches are loose pigments ($20). Blue Storm is a shimmery, purpled cornflower blue. It is a repromote, though it was limited edition before and is limited again now. Tan (previously swatched here) is a permanent shade, a frosty rosy copper.

Emerald Dusk is sensational; I would like a dress made out of it. It’s a blackened blue-green teal with very fine silver-green-pink multicolored sparkles. (It’s actually quite sparkly in sunlight.) I think it would also make a magnificent eyeliner.

Starless Night is a matte black base with fine blue and purple sparkles. It’s also quite lovely.

X-S lipstick is a repromote from the permanent line. It’s brown-red, and a Satin finish. Violetta is permanent to pro, and was recently repromoted as part of Venemous Villains. It’s an Amplified Creme, a bright electric purple-pink with tiny blue and pink sparkles. Plum Bright is a Lustre (meaning it’s more sheer) and a new, limited edition shade, a smoked violet red-purple. It looks almost docile next to Violetta. Fleshpot is another permanent to pro shade, a really nude white-warm-pink. MAC lipsticks are $14.50 each.

Next in the lineup is a product called Lip Erase, a skin-colored potted lip balm meant to conceal and cover your natural lip color. It’s supposed to be shine- and texture-free (so once you have it on, you’re free to create whatever kind of lip you want, without interference from what mother nature gave you). It’s a regular pro product, and it’s $18.50. Dim previously appeared in the DSquared² collection, and again more recently with its lighter counterpart Pale in MAC Nudes.

There are two Fluidlines in this collection (potted cream eyeliners). Basic black Blacktrack is a repromote; new and limited edition Ash Violet is a shimmery, deep blue-plum. These are $15 each.

And halleluia! Feline Kohl Power is FINALLY being made permanent. Feline is the blackest pencil eyeliner MAC makes, which is important because Smolder — while black on me — can turn green on medium-toned Indian and Pakistani women (I’ve seen it in action). This pencil is still a kohl, so it’s great for the waterline, but may smudge if used as a regular eyeliner. It’s $15.

I also swatched mechanical brow pencil Lingering ($15, part of the permanent collection).

This collection repromotes Solar Riche bronzer (previously swatched with Style Warriors and Surf Baby). It’s $23, and peachy.

There are also two nail polishes, milk chocolate Coco Clay and warm, mushroomy light grey Oyster Shell. These are limited edition, $15 each.

The next part of this collection is very sweet and kind of girly; MAC calls it Angel Flame.

There are four lipglosses ($14.50 each). C-Thru is a permanent shade, a very pale, milky, warm, chiffon-peach with tiny gold sparkles. Good Times (previously swatched with MAC Me Over; limited edition) is a greyed purple-pink. Pink Fade is new and limited edition, a cool white-pink. Orange Tempera is new and limited edition, a warm peach-pink.

There’s a second (eponymous!) eyeshadow quad, Angel Flame ($38, like Parlor Smoke). Chamomile (previously swatched in Warm & Cozy) is a Satin, a pale yellow-white. Angel Flame is a Frost, a pink-orange-gold duochrome (pink at an oblique angle, orange-and-gold head-on). Feather Pink is a Satin, a cool (almost purpled) Barbie-dream-house pink matte. I did build up this swatch. Gravel is a really-dark-grey near-black (I like it!).

The jumbo Penultimate liner is also repromoted (though I didn’t reswatch it). Artists get very excited about this product… I don’t completely understand the appeal. If you’ve always wanted “a Sharpie for your eyes,” it’s $19.50.

And then! The moment the [makeup-loving] world has been waiting for! This collection repromotes two Mineralize Skinfinish highlighters: Lightscapade (which had attained truly incredible prices on Ebay) and Porcelain Pink (which did reappear in Colour Craft).

If you’re asking yourself whether or not to go crazy looking for the original 2006 releases of these MSFs, get the new ones. MAC has been getting better at making these baked powders, and I believe a new version will be even smoother and more refined than the original releases.

MSFs are $28 apiece.

Porcelain Pink is warm pink, and in the sun it has a rainbow of tiny sparkles (gold! pink! purple! green!). Lightscapade is warm white with its own visible-only-in-the-sun tiny rainbow of sparkles (orange, gold, green, pink, blue, purple). I don’t think you’ll see the sparkles unless you are really closely inspecting a swatch in full sunlight.

Though MAC calls the third and final part of this collection “Wild Colour,” it’s hard not to think of  as “the circus,” especially when Cindy has made herself up as a clown (a recurring theme in her work).

This group of products sort of reminded me of last year’s post-holiday collection Stylishly Yours in how boldly it embraces the neon.

There are five eyeshadow singles ($15 each). Shock-a-holic is a Satin, but it previously appeared in Dare to Wear as a Matte. This new version swatched much more nicely than I remembered. It’s matte royal purple, and limited edition. Royale (a Matte, limited edition) is a matte Dodger blue. Three Ring Yellow (Veluxe Pearl, limited edition) is a toxic, dirty, shimmery yellow. Blue Candy (Satin, limited edition) is matte, retina-searing cyan. Passionate (Matte) is a red-pink matte that I had to build up a bit. I thought Passionate was permanent before (was it discontinued at some point? Made pro-only?)… whatever the case, it will be permanent going forward.

The Chromagraphic Pencils are “multi-use” pencils (a pro product). None of these is recommended for the waterline; Red and Magenta aren’t even recommended for the eye area (but you could wear them on your lips).

Process Magenta is fuchsia. Basic Red is blazing orange-red. Rich Purple is a dark blue-plum. High Def Cyan is cyan (a little deeper than Blue Candy shadow). These are $15 each.

Neon Orange is a regular pro lipstick. It’s construction orange (so saturated it’s almost red). Show Orchid is also permanent to pro, a fuchsia pink with a slight shimmer. Fusion Pink is a really bright red pink (warm enough that I can wear it). It’s also permanent to pro. All three of these are the Amplified Creme formula. Ruby Woo is matte, and permanent to the regular collection. The lipsticks are all $14.50.

There are four more pigments, all permanent to the regular collection ($20). Neo-Orange is matte, day-glo coral. Magenta Madenss is matte fuchsia. I’ve heard that these two don’t perform that well wet.

Golden Olive is a shimmery spring green-gold duochrome (previously swatched here). Violet is a shimmery light blued-purple (violet) — previously swatched here and here.

Just as the Bloggers’ Obsessions collection was a nod to beauty bloggers, MAC Me Over was a “we love you back” to fans — one part celebration of street style and one part celebrity makeover.

Makeup lovers sent in their answers, with photos and videos, and the company selected six winners. These winners became the face of fall trend — they’re the folks you see on the displays.

The fall collection is truly enormous, and I realized I had to break it up into three posts (or risk putting you all to sleep). I thought we should tackle the largest section first, “MAC Basics.”

MAC Me Over features six individual eyeshadows — all “basics” — and they are all fantastic.

Creamy Bisque is a gently shimmering, crystalline satin beige-white. Moleskin is a warm, pink-brown, nude, neutral matte (it reminds me of Bobbi Brown Woodrose or Naked).

Outre is a matte mustard yellow, and every MAC makeup artist I know always gets so excited about these ochre/mustard/camel colors. I asked one of them why they consider it such a must-have. He said, “it looks good on basically every skintone. On dark skin it can be a highlight; on very fair skin it works in the crease. Basically, with very little effort, it looks like you did a lot.”

Satin Taupe is a regular permanent color, a shimmery purple brown. Why does Mythical feel so familiar? You’re probably confusing it with Mythology, like I did. Mythology is a Lustre, and more orangey/coppery. Mythical is a frosty, pinked, bricky red. Carbonized is a dark, shimmery, warm (red-) brown.

All six of these shadows delivered great pigmentation and fabulous texture — even the mattes. Buy with confidence — though the price of eyeshadows has gone up to $15.

There are also two repromoted Eye Kohls ($15): warm, shimmery, chestnut-brown Teddy and black Smolder.

I think this guy actually has a future in modeling

Secret Lover is a sheer, milky white-pink with tiny, invisible sparkles. Peachstock is permanent to pro, a satin/matte pale peach that always looks good on my arm… but is a bit too nude for my lips (I’m not usually ready to commit to the amount of eyeshadow I would need to offset it). Offshoot is a blue-rose-mauve. And I think Oh, Oh, Oh is meant to evoke permanent Frost lipstick O (burgundy/crimson-red-with-gold-shimmer). Oh, Oh, Oh is a Lustre, a mauvey-rose-with-gold-shimmer.

Illicit lipglass… is 2007′s Smoke Signals really the last time this color came out? It’s cream peach — basically Kim-Kardashian-perfect. Social Light is rose quartz with dense silver sparkle/shimmer. Curvaceous is a very blue pink creme. Plum Fun is berry rose with a few subtle sparkles. Lipsticks and Lipglasses are still $14.50.

There are two permanent, repromoted lip pencils: muted mauve-rose Spice and dark brown Chestnut. Both are $14.

There are two Cream Colour Bases (or Cream Color Bases, or CCBs) and two powder blushes, so I swatched them first lightly (to simulate on-cheek application), then heavily (to better demonstrate color).

Cream Color Bases are multipurpose products that can be used on eyes, cheeks, or lips — though Take Root and Seaside are not lip-safe. Take Root is a contour-a-licious brown with silver sparkles. Seaside is a very shimmery warm beige pink with dense silver shimmer/sparkle. Both CCBs are $17.

Equilibrium is a warm, slightly peachy, neutral beige-brown with a sheen. Stunner is cool, blue-pink with a sheen. Both are Satin finish; both are $19.50.

And finally, this collection also repromotes a few permanent collection “basics”:

• Studio Fix Fluid SPF 15 foundation, $26.50
• Studio Fix Powder Plus Foundation, $26.50
• Studio Finish SPF 35 Concealer, $17
• The 116 small blush brush, $34 (I personally like the 129, which has a slightly larger head)
• The 190 foundation brush, $32

Of course, this is only part 1, so tune in tomorrow for more of MAC Me Over.

Multiples are sticks of cream product, meant to be used on eyes, lips, or cheeks. They are $39 each.

For color descriptions of individual shades, as well as light swatches, please revisit the original posts:
Part 1 (highlighters)
Part 2 (blush)
Part 3 (bronzers)

Multiples are $39 each, and right now NARSCosmetics.com is offering free shipping at any price, no code required.

In each pair of colors, I feel like you’re getting a blush and a highlight (or a bronzer and highlight). I definitely think you could use the colors individually or together (on face or on eyes).  Each MSF is $28.

Semi Precious Pearl (misleading name!) has a red-orange-with-gold-sparkles inner ring, and a shimmery/sparkling, golden pink-beige outer ring. Together they make a sparkly beige-bronze-pink with bronzey-gold sparkles.

Semi Precious Crystal Pink has a shimmery/sparkly peach-pink-sand inner ring, and a shimmery/sparkly white-pink inner ring. Together they make a sparkly beige-pink with white/silver sparkles.

The next two MSFs aren’t quite as sparkly.

Semi Precious Rose Quartz has a pale/white pink inner ring with a warm, blossom-pink outer ring. Together they make a light, sparkly pink.

Semi Precious Goldstone has a sparkly peach inner ring and a golden tan outer ring. Together they blend to a golden sparkly peach bronze.

There are a few more pieces to the collection: Zoom Fast Black Lash mascara ($14), Mineralize Satinfinish SPF 15 foundation ($29.50), Mineralize Charged Water ($22), and Mineralize All Over Lotion ($29.50).

I asked my sales associate about Mineralize Charged Water. I’d heard on the street (okay, internet) of people using it post-makeup-application, as a finishing/setting spray. My sales associate said he prefers to spray it on before moisturizer. It’s supposed to pH-balance your skin, and the ions it contains are supposed to help your moisturizer penetrate more effectively. He also said it helps with skin clarity/unevenness. If you use this product (or something like it), I’d love to hear about your experience.

Mineralize All Over Lotion first launched in Warm and Cozy (holiday 2009). It’s an “all over” moisturizer, and though I was initially skeptical, I really like it as a day moisturizer for hands and face. It absorbs quickly, but is still effective (which is a very rare combination).

I thought that this summer’s Surf Baby collection might remind me of Cool Heat, and it does — not because the colors are the same, but because it similarly caught me by surprise. I find myself embracing elements I didn’t expect to love.

Once I had Surf Baby’s five eyeshadows on my arm, one of the sales associates leaned over and described the color palette as “70s.” As soon as she said it, I could totally see it.

Short Shorts is a cream white with a slight sheen/satin finish. Sun Blonde is a dirty mustard yellow with a slight sheen. Saffron (repromoted from Mickey Contractor) is pigmented, but slightly dry feeling, compared to the other shades. It’s a muted red-orange with a slight sheen. Surf USA is a brilliant teal green with tiny sparkles. Swell Baby is an elephant grey with tiny sparkles.

The eyeshadows are $15.50 each. This isn’t the first time we’ve seen limited edition/special packaging items priced slightly higher, but it’s always been in conjunction with a licensing agreement (such as with Disney’s Venomous Villains or DC Comics’ Wonder Woman). I always thought the extra cost was to cover MAC’s royalty fees, but I guess a slight increase on limited items is just something the market will bear.

The two Powerpoint (non-mechanical, water-resistant) eyeliners are also $15.50 each. Gilded White is a limited edition repromote, white with a gold sheen. Blue Noon is a sheeny aqua-teal.

And this collection repromotes two permanent pigments ($19.50): sparkly (tiny sparkles) beige-pink Naked and sparkly (big sparkles) orange-pink-gold Melon.

Like last year’s Spring Forecast, Surf Baby features two “stacks” (stacked jars) of loose pigments. These are called Crushed Metallic Pigments instead of Spring Forecast’s Crushed Metal Pigments — I don’t know if there’s a reason for the name change.

Summer Stash includes a white, a mauvey-beige pink with strong silver reflect, a royal orchid purple with silver sparkles, and a warm, nutty brown with gold sparkles. Surf the Ocean is truly incredible. It includes a very cool grey silver, an iridescent seafoam/fairy green (it looks grey at an oblique angle, shines Little-Mermaid green straight on), an antique (bronzed) gold, and a blue-grey-charcoal with blue, green, and gold sparkles. It’s breathtaking. The pigment stacks are $32.50 each. I swatched these dry, though you can also spray your brush with Fix + for a more intense application.

There are four Surf Baby lipsticks. Naturally Eccentric is a ballet white-pink (somewhat sheer, because it’s Lustre formula). Hibiscus is bright coral. Bust Out! is an artificial-grape purple. Mocha (a repromote from the permanent line) is a brown rose. Like the eyeshadows, these are $15.50 each.

Naturally I had to try on bright, warm Hibiscus. I wasn’t sure I loved it right off the bat… but eight people in quick succession told me how fantastic it looked. Who am I to argue with that kind of consensus?  I bought it.

There are four lipglosses (also $15.50). Girl On Board (love the name) is a sparkly beige cream. Good Lovin’ is a warm, very sparkly, granite pink. Strange Potion (repromoted from Venomous Villains) is bright coral pink. Krazy Kahuna is warm (red) Kahlua brown.

This collection also brings back Suntints (“Liquid Lip Balm” originally released with 2009′s Baby Bloom). They’re super sheer glosses with SPF 20, packaged in a squeeze tube with a slanted tip.

I put a bead of each gloss on the back of my hand to show you the colors, but applied to the lips, these are all basically sheer (I tried on Full of Grace). They’re lip-sunscreen for someone who prefers a sticky, lipgloss feel. Like all the other lip products, they’re $15.50 each.

If there is a MAC limited edition blush, we must all go nuts over it — especially if the powder is patterned in any way. But I am surprised and delighted to say I think My Paradise ($28) is totally worth the hype.

In the pan, the powder is a bright coral with a gold hibiscus. The hibiscus is overspray, but it’s unusually thick/deep. The gold is VERY sparkly, but this means that you choose how sparkly you want your blush to be. For a less sparkly blush, keep your brush on the matte powder, and lightly tap the flower to pick up sparkle. If you like more sparkle, go for more. The thickness of the flower means the sparkle will last you quite a while (and if you just hate it, you can rub it off with a sponge-tipped eyeshadow applicator).

My Paradise is an absolutely gorgeous coral-guava, and you can bet it’s going to sell out in a Jumping Jack Flash.

There are two nail polishes ($15). Hangin’ Loose is a semi-sheer, Essie-esque beige-clay-pink. Ocean Dip is an opaque muted teal creme. The tape swatches are each two coats. (I think Hangin’ Loose might be opaque in three, but I wanted to preserve the sheerness for you to see.)

While I was swatching, I also painted one hand with Ocean Dip. I am really digging the muted teal, but the color is VERY close to American Apparel’s Malibu Green, which I already own. Ocean Dip is more muted; Malibu Green more vibrant/saturated.


Skinsheen Bronzer Sticks look a lot like NARS Multiples. They’re wide, water-resistant cream sticks in a twist-up tube. I’m slightly concerned about the cap; it’s not quite as secure as I’d like. The product was also firmer than I expected (not as creamy/emollient). And they dry pretty quickly, so blend fast.

Tan-Tint is rosy. Billionaire Bronze is yellow-peach brown. Gilty Bronze is a burnished reddish shade, and the only sparkly one. The sticks are $29.50 each, and my sales associate recommended applying stick to cheek (lightly!), then blending with fingers.


And finally: the bronzers. MAC introduced a new formula of bronzer this summer: Studio Careblend/Pressed. Like the Careblend powder foundation, Gold-Go-Lightly and Lush-Light Bronze are a hydrating formula. (They also have the MAC logo printed on the powder.) Gold-Go-Lightly is a very yellow peach. Lush-Light Bronze is rosier. Both are $28.

Refined Golden you’ve seen lots of times before; it’s a permanent bronzer. It’s more brown than either of the Careblend bronzers, but it’s a peachy brown. It also has gold sparkles. Solar Riche is a limited edition repromote, last seen in Style Warrior. It’s a peachy brown, softer and less intense than Refined Golden. These two are only $24 each.

This collection officially launched this week in the U.S., and it was out almost two weeks ago in Europe — what have you all gotten so far, or what are you planning to get?

Most prominent are the Star Bronzers, which come in three “Natural Matte” shades (Lancome’s first ever matte bronzer! Particularly good for contouring) and three “Natural Glow” shades — all $35 each, all 14-hour-wear.

The Natural Matte shades are lighter, generally (these are actually pretty heavy swatches). Suntan and Sunkiss both seem very well suited to fair skintones. Sunkiss seems just a touch more pink; Suntan perhaps a bit more yellow.

The Natural Glow shades are more intense, and they have very small, very subtle sparkle (they photograph with more of a glow, don’t they?).

The collection repromotes Spring Fling Juicy Tube gloss, Corset Color Design Matte Lipstick (if you haven’t yet tried Lancome’s matte lipsticks, they are fantastic), powder brush, Tropiques Minérale self-contained bronzer brush, Eclat Miracle…

The new items of note are the limited edition Crayon Kohl Waterproof (non-mechanical pencils in Noir and Purple Quartz, not yet swatched), and two limited edition Color Design eyeshadow quints ($48 each).

Kissed by Gold features a yellow-beige satin, a bronze shimmer, a matte leather (yellow brown), a cinnamon pink shimmer, and a dark brown with sparkles.

Emerald Boudoir features a muted gold/brown shimmer, a jungle green with gold shimmer, a matte, cool, walnut brown, a peach pink with gold sparkles, and a lovely dark cool brown with a few tiny sparkles.

And just in case you missed these coupon codes for Lancome-usa.com… As you start shopping, the site automatically puts Genifique Concentrate (0.25 oz.), High Resolution Refill 3X SPF 15 anti-wrinkle moisturizer (0.5 oz jar), and Bright Expert Dark Spot Corrector & Radiance Activator in your basket.

• Then with a $35 purchase and code MISSUMAYPTS, you’ll also get free shipping plus a mini Hypnose Drama mascara, Bifacil, and Sheer Amourose blush.
• Or with $45 purchase and code AMAY, the High Resolution Refill 3X turns into Absolue Premium BX Cream SPF 15, plus you get Hypnose Drama, Cils Booster, and free shipping.
• Or with $35 purchase and code MOTHER, the High Resolution Refill 3X turns into Absolue Premium BX Cream SPF 15 and you get a 2 oz. Creme Radiance creme-to-foam cleanser (but no free shipping).

I believe these codes expire at the end of May.