Hello everyone!

Makeup is like clothes; it changes with the season and is generally influenced by the particularities of the physical-geographical environment at the time. But instead of associating summer with jarring bright neons and glitter-flecked chrome hues that illuminate in the glisten of the sun like many of us would, M·A·C stepped out of the norm to drop a collection themed on bokeh and city lights (albeit with a bit of an ’80s vibe) to kick-start the festivities.

Launched mid May, the whole of the collection includes lipsticks in 5 different finishes (Twig / Goodbye Kiss / Beach Nut / Noon Noir / Nothing To Wear), 5 Lipglass (Oysterized / Strip ‘N’ Dip / Midnight Dip / Treasure Beach / Soft Shell), 4 eye shadow singles (Slow As You Glow / Sun, Tan And Repeat / Dust Off / Sun Speck), 4 bronzing powder compacts (Golden Rinse [ED] / Delphic [ED] / Baiana Bronze / Matte Bronze), a Pearlmatte Face Powder (Mother O’Pearl), 2 Face and Body Foundation (Light Pearl / Medium Deep Pearl) and a fan brush (140ES) – all decked out in holographic duo-chrome packaging that shifts from blue to purple when viewed from different angles (yes, even the brush and bottled foundation!).

I am not gonna lie – this collection wasn’t exactly up my alley, but the packaging was just too irresistible to say no to. Whipping out my trusty credit card, I proceeded to break my no-buy for the rest of May (in view of the expenses involved in my wedding.. and also because I had already spent a bomb at Sephora earlier – damn sales!) for two lipsticks. Incorrigible, I know, but thank God for mid-year bonus 😜

Noon Noir

Noon Noir is described as a frosty brown with Frost finish, which essentially means that the formula would be made up of three parts fine glitter and one part pigment. This cool-toned cocoa brown contains brownish-purple shimmers, rendering the shade a metallic sheen that masks most of its pigment when the light hits it.

Gliding smoothly on the lips, the first swipe gives a sheer payoff of a rather poorly distributed product where some areas appear much darker than others. Moreover, it has the tendency to gather around the lines and cause it to look streaky and patchy. But with a few additional passes, the lipstick becomes more opaque and certainly more pigmented although, at the same time, you can see the product settling into the lines. That said, if you dig the frost finish, this also makes the perfect candidate for a lip topper as due to its lightweight consistency, it won’t really move what’s beneath it.

Beach Nut

Beach Nut is described as a deep violet in a matte finish. Although matte, this warm purple is emollient, has a lightly glossy appearance and does not emphasise any imperfections on the lips. The downside of it is that it does not last as long on the lips as traditional mattes do because it is very prone to transfer. This lipstick applies creamy without dragging or skipping, providing a mostly opaque coverage (but easily buildable to full opacity with another stroke or two) with a slightly patchy consistency.

Discounting the thought that this collection isn’t very summer-appropriate (seems more fall if you ask me), the lipsticks – the ones I bought – are all right, but nothing exceptional. And maybe it’s just me, but I really don’t see the relevance of the retro discotheque-ish theme to the year-long heat and humidity I’m experiencing in my room now. In terms of publicity, I think this collection is a failure despite the eyeball-grabbing packaging. Perhaps there is too much hype centred on the M·A·C Aaliyah collection (review is in the works 😉) that practically no one is paying attention to this. Don’t believe me? Google “MAC Mirage Noir” and tell me how many reviews on this collection you see.

What do you think of this collection? Let me know what you got in the comments below or simply take a quick poll!

Thanks for reading!

M·A·C Mirage Noir is now available on MACCosmetics.com and in all local M.A.C outlets.

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