I don't have a lot of experience with Mac products compared with many makeup 'gurus' - but seeing as I'd heard a lot about their eye shadows I have been waiting the real urge to purchase them and try them for myself. What better way than to get them at half the price in the U.S. (rather than AUS) right? :)
I wasn't aware of when the Mac holiday collection was being released, but I happened to come across them at Macy's a few days ago - just the day after they were released apparently! I swatched only a few items given I was a little rushed that day, but I purchased the 'Sultry Eyeshadow Palette' for US$38 which contains 6 eye shadows (3 permanent and 3 limited editions) - tending towards plummy, wine colours, which I don't own many of. I also bought the paint pot in 'Let's Skate!'.
I then went back to the hotel and did some research (e.g. Temptalia) on the collection and found out that there were more items - in particular, the 'face kits' that were exclusive to standalone Mac stores. (Hence, why I did not see them in Macy's!) These seemed much better value for money for me, so I decided to return the 'Sultry Eyeshadow Palette' and venture out back to Ala Moana Shopping Center (again!) where the Mac store is located. Gosh I can't tell you how many times I've visited this shopping centre! It would be err...embarrassing. At least I can say that I walked there (~20 mins back and forth) each time, so I got a good work out along with my credit card. I bought the 'Warm Fabulously Festive Face Kit' for US$59.50. There are two face kits - a warm and a cool version. Most of my eye shadows tend toward the cool toned, so decided to get the warm tone this instance.
Warm Fabulously Festive Face Kit
- warm eye shadow quad and powder blush 'snow dome' compact with mirror,
- a set of travel-size make up brushes,
- a lipstick,
- lipgloss, and
- a cute little clear makeup bag.
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| Left: outer box packaging for the face kit (white with silver lines). Right: silver box packaging for the paint pot in 'Let's Skate!'. |
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| Under low lighting, the box reveals a very pretty, festive, cozy effect. Oh, just how pretty would this be under the Christmas tree! ^_^ |
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| Clear plastic travel makeup bag with zip closure and large silver circle decoration (it's a very simple design, yet it's kind of interesting - goes with the Christmas tree silver ball theme perhaps?). |
Eye shadow quad and powder blush 'snow globe' compact
The packaging is a very cute white plastic compact with a snow globe of silver glitters (more like a snow *dome* really ;) ) at the top. It's very festive indeed! The top compartment of the compact houses the eye shadow quad, which contains 3 permanent and 1 limited edition (LE) eye shadows (altogether being 6.4g / 0.22 US oz of product):
- Golden Flurry (Lustre): beige with slightly pinkish hue and gold shimmers (LE)
- Soft Brown (Matte): soft camel or peachy brown (Permanent)
- Carbon (Matte): black (Permanent)
- Omega (Matte): soft neutral brown (Permanent)
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| Clockwise from top left: Golden Flurry, Soft Brown, Carbon and Omega. |
The bottom compartment of the compact (revealed when sliding the eye shadow quad over) houses the powder blush in 'Seasonal Appeal' which is matte orange brown and is LE. It contains 5.2g / 0.18 US oz of product. Again, something I don't really have in my current makeup collection, so excited to try this out.
Lipglass in 'Join the Party' (LE)
This is a pale peach lip gloss.
Lipstick in 'Mellowarm' (LE)
This is a peach lipstick with a frost finish. To continue with the ice/holiday theme, the packaging is in a white glossy kind of plastic tube instead of the usual black packaging.
Travel-size Brushes (LE)
This kit includes:- 129SE: Powder/blush brush
- 275SE: Angled eye shadow brush
- 266E: Angled eye liner brush
Normally, I don't like to buy travel-sized brushes that come with holiday collections as I usually find they are not as good a quality as their full-sized versions. I haven't tested these brushes from this Mac holiday collection yet, but I can feel in particular that the powder/blush brush is not that great. However, even though it's not super soft, it does not feel coarse on the skin, so that's OK for a travel brush. Will see about its application performance. The other two brushes seem of reasonable quality based on initial look and feel. If you are curious, these ones are made in China. I know the full-sized brushes are either made in Japan or France, which are very good quality from my personal experience (particularly those from Japan). Love the cute clear, silver glittered handles though!
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| Top to bottom: 129SE, 275SE and 266SE. |
I would have ignored this item if I had not swatched it at the store - simply because it's the kind of pale pink colour that would not show up on my olive/tanned skin. I was pleasantly surprised by the swatch and mesmerised by it's prettiness! It's a kind of sheer, pale yellow-based pink cream eye shadow with lots of gold shimmers. I swatched the other paint pots in the collection, but this was the stand-out for me. I just hope it's just as pretty on my eye lids - fingers crossed! This is limited edition and it was US$18.50 for 5g / 0.17 US oz of product). It's my very first Mac paint pot!
I'm currently leaving all my U.S. purchases unopened/unswatched until I get back to Australia - mainly to ensure they remain safely intact in their packaging during the long journey home. But, I will definitely post swatches soon! (Also still to come, other brands' holiday collections including Chanel in case you're interested)
Meanwhile, stay well! x
What do you think of this collection, or holiday collections from other brands? Or is it still too early to think about Christmas holidays? ;-) Please leave a comment below. ^_^
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