This coming Thursday, MAC will release a new collection in collaboration with Marilyn Monroe. This launch features a total of 29 products —12 of which are new and limited edition, 12 of which are permanent, and five of which are re-promotes. Marilyn Monroe sees the release of five shades of lipstick, three of which are new and limited edition, one of which is re-promoted, and one of which is permanent. Each lipstick comes in a limited edition glossy black tube featuring a photograph of Marilyn Monroe from The Black Sitting, photographed by Milton Greene in 1956, as well as her signature and the MAC logo in red. It comes in matching cardstock packaging featuring the same design, as well as Marilyn Monroe's lip print on the inside flap of the box. Each lipstick contains 3 grams of product, and retails for $20.
Pure Zen, Scarlet Ibis, Love Goddess, Charmed I'm Sure, and Deeply Adored
Pure Zen, Scarlet Ibis, Love Goddess, Charmed I'm Sure, and Deeply Adored
Pure Zen is a light pink-peach nude in a Cremesheen finish. This is a permanent shade. The texture is soft and creamy, and it goes on smoothly and evenly. It has medium pigmentation and semi-opaque colour pay-off. It is slightly more pink than Shy Girl, and more peach than Peach Blossom.
Scarlet Ibis is a medium bright orange-red in a Matte finish. This is a re-promoted shade from this January's Iris Apfel collection, and is limited edition. The texture is soft and creamy, and it goes on smoothly and evenly. It has high pigmentation with opaque colour pay-off. It is more orange than Lady Danger, and more red than So Chaud.
Love Goddess is a medium bright reddened pink with a sheen in a Satin finish. This is a new and limited edition shade. The texture is soft and creamy, and it goes on smoothly and evenly. It has high pigmentation with opaque colour pay-off. It is warmer and more red than Girl About Town, and more pink than Impassioned.
Charmed I'm Sure is a medium neutral red in a Matte finish. This is a new and limited edition shade. The texture is soft and creamy, and it goes on smoothly and evenly. It has high pigmentation with opaque colour pay-off. It is slightly lighter than Russian Red, and warmer than Ruby Woo.
Deeply Adored is a medium-dark scarlet red in a Matte finish. This is a new and limited edition shade. The texture is soft and creamy, and it goes on smoothly and evenly. It has high pigmentation with opaque colour pay-off. It is like a matte version of Dubonnet, and cooler than Viva Glam I.
I do love me a good red lip, and the four featured in this collection are absolutely gorgeous. All of them are smooth and creamy with amazing colour pay-off. I would say Pure Zen is the most skippable here, only because it is permanent and is available all the time at $2 less, but it is a very flattering shade as far as nudes go, so if you absolutely love the packaging of this collection and the Cremesheen formula, then it's definitely worth looking at. If you like any of these shades and can actually get your hands on them, snatch 'em up right away. These are going to fly off the shelves.
Am I the only one that thinks they totally nailed it with the lipsticks but kinda failed with everything else? (okay, I do love RichRichRich but at that price, there are a lot of other options out there).
ReplyDeleteAs for the lipsticks, this is about the only time I've ever liked ALL the colors in a collection.
Well, if you really take a look at photos of Marilyn, the colours and products in this collection really do reflect her classic look: powdered porcelain skin, white eyeshadow, winged eyeliner, and red lip. I just think they could've had more variety (maybe inspired by Marilyn rather than "look like Marilyn"), especially given that MAC is a brand for all races and nearly all of these colours are more suited to light-skinned complexions! I was especially disappointed in the Beauty Powder, to be honest, because it's just not a very user-friendly shade. Why did you think everything else was a fail?
DeleteI totally agree, there is not a single shade from these lipsticks that I didn't want, lol!
Looking at the collection online, they do have products in this collection that match the whole Marilyn look - black mascara, liner, brown pen/finisher, kohl, etc. but to be honest, it's nothing new. It just seems like items pulled from the regular line (and you'd know better than I on that! :P) and labeled part of this special collection. The blushes are not interesting at all, albeit wearable. I would rather like to see a duo or two separate beauty powders - one a darker color.
DeleteAs for the eyeshadows, I would've liked to see a brown in there. Yes, she used pearl and blue eyeshadows frequently but also used brown a lot to contour her eyes. Perhaps a shade&smoke shadow/liner or e/s duo in a light white/blue and/or ivory/brown. Just my 2 cents!
Absolutely agree that there is nothing really new or unique about the shades in this collection... BUT the Marilyn Monroe look is all about classics, right? And they were good about that, while adding a modern twist here and there. However... I do agree that we've seen colours like this before, and in similar formulations. I actually really liked the blushes from this collection, but I do think there could've been one that had a bit of shimmer. I also would've liked to see a darker beauty powder.
DeleteI would've liked to see a brown in there, too, and maybe a taupe. They probably wouldn't have released those shade and smoke liner/eyeshadows because they didn't do well at all with the Beth Ditto collection, and they just had eyeshadow duos with Styleseeker. I have no problem with the eyeshadow singles being released, but I do think they could've had a better range of colours for sure!
I like all the colours here, too, except for Pure Zen. When I looked at them in person, the SA immediately pointed me to Pure Zen (because I probably looked like I wasn't wearing any makeup, lol) and I was like, "Ew, no." Then I went on to say the collection as a whole is great but no colours individually stand out to me.
ReplyDeleteI actually love all the shades here, despite them not being the most unique. Pure Zen is now one of my favourite nude lipsticks. I tend to wear it when I'm wearing a really heavy smoky eye. I like that it's not too nude, and there's a nice warmth to it that works with my skintone. That having been said, it's not the most exciting shade. I think if Scarlet Ibis wasn't released earlier this year, I'd go apeshit for it even though it looks a lot like Lady Danger. I also looooove Deeply Adored, 'cause you know my penchant for deep reds...
DeleteYour pictures are absolutely scrumptious. I'm kind of on a sabbatical, so I didn't pick anything from this collection, but Love Goddess looks divine. Its probably sold out by now.
ReplyDeleteAww, thank you so much, Shivani! :)
DeleteYeah, all the lipsticks sold out in the first day of launch... But there are lots of dupes out there!