Oh hey, it’s the fourth day of the Lunar New Year! 恭喜发财 everyone!

It was just a little more than a month ago since Mariah Carey released her second holiday collection with M.A.C Cosmetics. This time, the line boasted a full range of products bursting with more bling than ever.

Thanks to the lovely folks at M.A.C Cosmetics Singapore, I had the privilege to preview the collection before it was even launched online (and in stores). I don’t know how much poorer I would have become if not for this opportunity to swatch the products I initially wanted to get..

This collection, as well as the price tags, is rather massive. I had my eyes set on one of the eye shadow palettes, the eye shader brush, the highlighter and two lipsticks but figured that they would set me back more than S$200.

Anyway, here’s close-up on the lipsticks since this is probably what you’re expecting from a lipstick-centric beauty blog XD :

Off-putting Cremesheens and barely-there nudes, the lipsticks in this collection are SO NOT my cup of tea 🙄 The payoff of the Cremesheens, to say the least, was unspeakably sheer and light. The only redeeming quality of the lipstick line in this collection are the Frost lipsticks, out of which one I already own – All I Want. It is a repromote from M.A.C’s first holiday-themed collection with Mariah Carey in 2015 and no changes were made to the formula. You may refer to my review of it here if you’re interested!

And finally, this was what I got after narrowing down my choices..

Besides the need to pay royalties, product packaging conceptualisation probably accounts for another bulk of the price. The items in this collection are luxuriously decked out in silver glitter and reflective champagne gold, and topped off with the mega superstar’s coveted signature, not forgetting the iconic butterfly logo emblazoned on every lipstick bullet. Nonetheless, in spite of the cost, it was still a sold-out collection (apparently gone within the first day) that left many people begging for a restock (which ain’t happening, unfortunately)!

Did M.A.C’s sales pick up due to the star power of Mariah Carey or was there another beauty breakthrough in this collection?

#1 I Get So OOC Lipstick

Taking cues from Jay-Z who casually suggested that Mariah include some of her slanguage in her music, M.A.C injects some “MCizzle” into this collaboration by naming the darkest lipstick shade after one of her tracks from her eleventh studio album E=MC².

I Get So OOC (which stands for Out Of Control) is described as a shimmering brown with Frost finish but looks more like a fusion of red and brown in real life. It does not pull or tug at the lips and it leaves a wax-like finish akin to gloss, minus the tackiness. The colour payoff is sheer but buildable with a lightweight and emollient consistency. The golden shimmers are evenly spread out across the lips without settling into the lip lines. The lipstick itself, however, is not transfer-proof and can be removed easily with just a touch of a wet wipe. This shade complements all skin tones 🙂

M.A.C has always been my go-to brand for lipsticks, so much so that I would zoom in straight on the lipsticks and pay no attention to the other products whenever they launch a new collection. But this time around, something else managed to steal the spotlight from the lipsticks which are already very eye-catching by themselves with all the glitzy, diamanté-looking packaging.

And that’s none other than the highlighter!

#2 My Mimi Extra Dimension Skinfinish

Truth be told, I was debating real hard whether I should fork out for this gorgeous highlighter because not only is it expensive, it also costs more online than it does in local M.A.C store after the exchange (*gasp*). But knowing that I wouldn’t be able to make it for the launch here that weekend (the collection was available exclusively at ION outlet only), I jumped at the chance to shop the collection online once it was released to Devoted and Obsessed members.

My Mimi is a warm gold shimmer liquid-powder highlighter. Sculpted to look like Mariah Carey’s face that is instantly recognisable from her distinctive mole next to her voluptuous lips, the surface is deliberately made uneven to enable the brush to pick up just the right amount of product. You certainly do not want to look like a disco ball, do you?

The payoff is moderately pigmented – the first sweep gives a luminous effect to the skin without the gold pigment and it takes two to three applications for pigment to show up on my skin (or rather, on camera), which is great for amateur highlighter users like me who may not have applied it correctly the first time (because somehow or other I’m not able to tell where light naturally hits my face).

 

Use a fan brush if you own one for a more even and precise application. I have been searching high and low for a good fan brush but brands I patronise either do not stock them or have discontinued them (why, though?!). Recommendations, anyone?

This may be my first time using a highlighter from M.A.C but I’m actually owner to a couple of face-illuminating products – be it in liquid or powder form – from other brands prior to this purchase. One common problem with the highlighters I currently have is that they tend to accentuate my pores and put a lot more emphasis on my rough blemished skin. While I can’t say that this highlighter doesn’t do all that, it does a better job in accenting my cheekbones and the bridge of my nose without making me moon-faced. The shimmers are well-distributed even on bumpy areas and the fact that the gold pigment complements my skin tone also helps in lending my skin a natural sun-kissed complexion.

Having said the above, I don’t think this collection deserves the amount of hype it got. I believe M.A.C has rolled out similar shades for all the products and honestly, the lipstick finishes are nothing to write home about. Now, answering my own question posed in the beginning of this review, the popularity of this collection is definitely driven by the fact that it is fronted by a highly successfully and critically-acclaimed international superstar. Fantastic choice of celebrity to partner with, M.A.C!

Do you agree with me? Let me know in the comments below!

Thanks for reading! ❤

M.A.C x Mariah Carey for Holiday 2016 is now available on MACCosmetics.com. Most of the products are already sold out but some are pretty much still available on the Canadian site as well as macy’s. Happy hunting!