MAC A Rose Romance: Swatches and Review

The minute I first saw the promo images of A Rose Romance collection, I fell in love with the concept, the shades, the jaw-droppingly gorgeous beauty powder with the rose imprint. I love roses, I love old rose shades, and I basically swoon over anything vintage-y and romantic. I was also curious about the new products that were coming out in this collection, the Fix+ Rose and the gel blush. I also love the combination of pinks and lilacs/dirty mauves and violets in this collection, as purples and pinks go well with my skintone. Here are some swatches and my thoughts on some of the products from this collection.









First of all, I am thrilled with the lip colors from this collection. True to the collection's theme, they are very romantic and I believe would suit a wide variety of skintones. The lipsticks are so pretty because they are neither too light nor too dark, and I believe they would be perfect for everyday looks and may also be worn for special occasions. They are that versatile.

Way to Love is a creamy light yellow pink that would go well with peachy pinks, corals, golds. It is a lustre finish and gives a pretty glowy finish. A Rose Romance is my favorite - a very romantic mid-tone pink with gold pearl, which is just beautiful with a pink gloss over it. I can't wait to create looks using this lipstick; I believe this would be a favorite.

The lipglasses are beautiful as well. Virgin Kiss is a sheer pale pink with multi-dimensional pearl - which is extremely light-reflective. I love how it looks glass-like when you wear it. I compared it to En Pointe and Cherry Blossom (from the Cult of Cherry collection) lipglasses, and they are pretty similar. I love these two lipglasses, so having Virgin Kiss is great since I would be using this often. Comparison swatches of these three lipglasses are coming up soon.

Steal My Heart is a sheer bright pink with multi-reflective pearl, and it reminds me of Strawberry Blonde lipglass from the Brunette Blonde Redhead collection, except that Steal My Heart is a tad brighter pink, but they are quite similar.

When the see-thru lipglasses first came out in the MAC for Ungaro collection, I didn't care very much for them. I didn't like how it appeared splotchy on my lips and the taste was quite unpleasant. This time around, though, I was surpised that the see-thru lip colour now has the yummy scent of vanilla like the lipglasses. I loved Tender Tryst and how smooth it looked on the lips (lip swatches coming soon). However, I am not a fan of Secret Crush, because it again looked splotchy just like the Not So Shy lip colour from the Ungaro collection. I guess liquid berry-like lip stains don't look good on my lips.



I liked the cheek stain because it reminds me of my NARS cream blush in Cactus Flower that I always keep in my purse for quick touch ups. I like how it gives a natural, lit-from-within, natural flush that doesn't look powdery or made up. I just don't like the paint-pot pots again, as it is a tad heavy and not really that travel-friendly. I would still tote this around because this is such an amazing product. I like how you can freshen up your look with a natural-looking flush without a need for a blush brush.





As I said, I love how romantic the eyeshadows are. Of Summer is a frosted light dirty mauve, while Et Tu, Bouquet is a frosted pale pink gold that would brighten up the eyes. The latter can be used as a highlighter or as a lid color, and Of Summer can be a wonderful lid or crease/blender color. I can't wait to create looks using these.







The beauty powders are divine. They have the rose imprint that can be a conversation piece in itself, but I like how it doesn't give a frosty, high-shine finish unlike beauty powders from past collections. I like how it gives a radiance but not an in-your-face kind of way, but I guess the best word I can come up with is "ethereal". it gives a subtle, ethereal glow that truly bespeaks the romance of this collection.



I have a full-size jar of Circa Plum pigment from the Colour Forms collection, and the shade is just perfect for this current collection. It is a frosty dirty mid-tone lavender that would be great as either a lid or crease color.

I am gearing up for the Love & Friendship nail lacquer, a creamy dirty mid-tone lavender (it's basically a cream Circa Plum nail polish!). My holiest of holy grails in nail polish are OPI Color of the Zen-tury and Essie Sand Of A Beach, both purple-lilac based nail polishes, so I know that Love & Friendship would be another must-have for me.

Other must-haves for me are the Fix+ Rose and Blush of Youth Beauty Powder. Watch out for my reviews on the rest of the items from this collection.