Collections

I think it’s safe to say that Patrick Starrr sleigh-ed 2018.

Get it? Sleigh-ed?? 🤣

OK, sorry, you know how I am with puns.

The mega influencer/YouTuber/all-around “It Boy” is launching yet another collab with MAC, and it’s pretty intense for a holiday collection. There are five lipglosses, three lipsticks, a huge over-sized Mineralized Skinfinish that’s almost as big as my head, a translucent loose setting powder, two eyeshadow palettes and three pigments, and the whole shebang drops December 3rd.

Patrick Starrr’s known for bringing the glam, so there’s lots of sparkle, shine and cheeky innuendo. The products have names like “Shady Santa” and “Ride My Sleigh.”

I just swatched the collection and took a few things out for a spin while I returned almost all of the clothing I bought on Black Friday… Side note: The jig is sooooo up. I officially loathe shopping for clothes because apparently I’m terrible at it now and can no longer dress myself without professional help. ARRRGHHHH!

I did, however, keep this $10 scarf from Old Navy, which happens to go with the rose gold eyes I wore using Patrick’s Oh Holy Eyes palette.

Some thoughts on the products…

• Eye Shadow X 6 in Oh Holy Eyes: Swatches smoothly and intensely, but when the shadows are applied dry, they’re sheer on my lids. The shimmers are pretty frosty, too, so I had to buff like crazy to take the shine down a few notches.
• Pigment in PatrickStarrr: Fine shimmer? I like!
• Mineralize Skinfinish in Baby Its Gold Outside: Intense and frosty.
• Lipstick in Spank Me Santa: A smooth, opaque, WEARABLE rose
• Dazzleglass in Twerk for Gifts: Surprisingly subtle glitter that isn’t gritty. Love this as a layering gloss for nudes and pinks.
• Set Powder: Completely translucent (no flashback), but very, very matte.

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Swatches on NC42 skin along with some quick first impressions of the three new MAC Girls palettes, which are out right meow.

Three new girls just joined the MAC Girls family, and guess what? They’ve got accessories! This time around MAC made matching lipsticks and glosses to go with the eyeshadow palettes.

I’ve still yet to test drive these on my lids and lips, but here are some swatches and thoughts on the Raver Girl, Smarty Pants and Pretty Punk palettes, lipsticks and glosses.

• Price is now $41 for the Girls Eyeshadow Palettes. Last spring they were$39.50. $18.50 for a Lipstick (same price as the permanent collection lipsticks) and $17.50 for a Lipglass (also same price).
• Lipsticks and Lipglasses have packaging that matches the palettes, cute! All of them have the usual vanilla MAC flavor and scent, and I wonder if MAC’s gonna add lipsticks and glosses for the other Girls palettes, hmm…
• Initial arm swatch thoughts? All three palettes have a sensationally soft, almost creamy texture, much like Risk Taker palette from last March. I haven’t tried them on my lids (yet), but I hope they don’t kick up too much dust, which was an issue with Risk Taker…

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Pics, arm swatches and lip swatches of MAC Shiny Pretty Things…as well as commentary/thoughts from the perspective of a 40-something-year-old woman who loves MAC and makeup. ? Please note, this is just the makeup collection, not the gift sets or kits. The whole collection is LE and available now at MAC counters and online. If you’d like to see the makeup in action, check out this post, this post and this post. For reference, I’m an NC42.

If you like shimmer, shine, frost, pearl and/or glitter, and you’re cool with the fact that it’s already the holidays for makeup companies, this MAC holiday collection is both shiny and pretty. It radiaties megawatts of luminescence. Of the 21 pieces, all which are bedecked/bedazzled in limited edition shiny silver packaging, only one has absolutely no shine to it — a hot pink matte lipstick called Both Cheeks ($19.50), which is gorgeous, by the way. It’s like a matte version of Show Orchid.

I suppose you could also consider creamy beige-pink Babetown Lipstick ($19.50) as something other than shiny, because it isn’t as shiny as the other items in the release, but it is technically a Cremesheen, so it’s still kinda shiny… It’s also the thing I’ve been wearing most from this entire collection.

I know, SHOCKING. Karen’s favorite thing is the neutral lipstick?!

That’s sarcasm in print, by the way. ?

Note: Babetown isn’t one of those corpse-y pink beige colors. It’s light (but not pastel), and I think it’s lovely layered on top of the MAC Soar, Edge to Edge, Spice, Boldly Bare — the usual MAC liner suspects. It’s smooth, opaque and doesn’t latch onto lip flakes, either.

But yeah, you better be into glitter if you’re gonna go big with this collection, because there’s SO MUCH GLITTER. All of the Shiny Pretty Shadows ($21.50 each) are glittery (allegedly they’re a new formula, but I think they might be re-branded Pressed Pigments), the Dazzleliner liquid liners ($22 each) are glittery, and the Extra Dimension Skinfinish in Snowflushed ($35) is HELLA glittery — like, someone could illuminate a disco party using the reflection off your face.

I happen to like glitter in controlled/small doses, and I’m very particular about the particulars of the glitter I like to wear because, as a non-21-year-old, I have pores.

I also have experience lines.

And glitter amplifies those things.

Yet I really like the Shiny Pretty Things glitters. They’re — wait for it — wearable!

So what’s “wearable glitter”? Well, I think the flecks are fine (but not necessarily microscopic), and not like the massive Skittle-sized pieces of glitter you use for face painting at a child’s birthday party.

Also, IMO the glitter bits in “wearable glitter” aren’t all the exact same shape and size. They vary, owing to a higher degree of complexity and sophistication…

Yes, I know that’s taking glitter very seriously. ?

By far, the most interesting glitters in this collection to me are the Shiny Pretty Shadows. They’re moderately pigmented glitter shadows with a pearly base, and the glitter bits are all different shapes and sizes. When you press the shadows on your lids either wet or dry — because, let’s face it, using a sweeping motion is just gonna send the stuff flying all over the place — they almost look like shattered glass sparkling in sunlight. Some flecks even look like they’re floating above your skin like pixie dust.

The long-wearing Dazzleliners (sparkly-er cousins of the MAC Liquidlast Liners) also have that shattered glass effect.

And then there’s Snowflushed, with its relatively incognito gold, bronze and pink flecks of glitter (subtle glitter is always a plus if you have a pore situation).

Also, none of the glosses feel gritty, by the way, if you were wondering.

The take-home home message is this: This is a *very* glittery collection, but a surprising amount of it is wearable, even for someone older than 20. If you’re into that, check out the eyeshadows, the liner and the highlighters, which I think are the standouts.

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