Daphne Guinness for MAC Swatches and Review

I was able to play with some of the products from the Daphne Guinness for MAC collection that is coming out the day after Christmas, so here are my thoughts on these.

Pro Longwear Lipcreme:


Seasoned Plum, Approaching Storm, Red Dwarf






Red Dwarf, Seasoned Plum, Approaching Storm





I mentioned in a previous entry that as much as I love Pro Longwear Lipcremes' formula (very pigmented, smooth, rich), I haven't had much success with it because the formula makes my lips itch, peel and develop red rashes. Usually, I would develop adverse effects as soon as an hour after I apply the product, but I've been wearing these new Pro Longwear Lipcreme shades for four days now, and I have yet to see any negative reaction. I am loving these new ones a lot.

Red Dwarf is my favorite; the name is just amazing. It looks dark in the tube, but it morphs into a very just-bitten reddish pink shade that is gorgeous. Great for the holidays.

Seasoned Plum is a nice mid-tone lavender that I like to pair with Narcissus Cremesheen Glass. This is great with pinks, berries, rose and plum makeup colors.

Approaching Storm looks scary dark in the tube, but it is actually pretty wearable. Love how it looks great layered over Red Dwarf.

All in all, I am liking this new batch of Pro Longwear Lipcremes. They glide really well on the lips, they stay matte and intact almost the entire day, although I do re-apply after every meal. I hope MAC maintains this kind of gentler formula. I don't know if they reformulated this, all I know is that this particular batch is very gentle on my lips as opposed to the previous releases.

Cremesheen Glass:


Top to bottom: Narcissus, Borealis


Richly Revered (top, from Semi-Precious collection)


Borealis, Narcissus






Richly Revered (bottom)

As I have mentioned in my previous reviews on the Cremesheen Glass, this is perfect for those who don't like too sticky glosses. They have a very nice texture on the lips - not warm or sticky - just a nice gloss to amplify your lip color. They don't last as long as the lipglasses or dazzleglasses just because they are thinner in consistency. They are also quite sheer, but the darker Cremesheen Glass does lend a bit of color on the lips. These come in doe-foot applicators which don't bother me as much as they used to.

Narcissus is my favorite. It reminds me of my top favorite Kissable Lipcolour in Flaunting It from the Peacocky collection, although Narcissus is more sheer. Narcissus is great to pair with pinks or lilac colored lipsticks. Very feminine and pretty.

Borealis is a pale grey and iridescent pearl. Lovely, lovely, lovely. This is perfect for brightening up dull lip color because the iridescent particles really pick up and reflect light for luscious, glistening lips.

Richly Revered is repromoted and appeared in the Semi-Precious collection. It is a deep brown plum, a nice fall/winter color.

All in all, I still prefer the lipglasses over the Cremesheen Glasses, just because the former last longer on the lips. I do reach out for my cremesheen glasses when I don't feel like wearing tacky lipgloss, but just a nice sheer wash of color on the lips with luscious shine.

Pigment:


Aurora pigment









I have a new favorite pigment- Aurora! It is a pinked taupe frost, and I love MAC's taupe pigments like Coco (I bought a ton of these) and Subtle. Coco and Subtle are on the cool side of the spectrum, but Aurora is on the warmer, pinkier side. Aurora can double as a crease or lid color. I really like this one. I love it over Morning Frost paint pot, which I use to create a tacky base for the pigment to prevent fallout.

Eyeshadow x4: Interior Life Quad


Stratus (satin), Bruised Sky (satin)
Interior Life (veluxe pearl), Heather Belles (satin)




Stratus (satin), Bruised Sky (satin)


Interior Life (veluxe pearl), Heather Belles (satin)


Stratus, Bruised Sky
Interior Life, Heather Belles, Aurora (far right)


Stratus, Bruised Sky


Interior Life, Heather Belles





Things that I like about Interior Life quad: There are no shadows that are too shimmery. Most of these are satin and one matte. One is a veluxe pearl but it is not frosty or shimmery. The colors are rich and pigmented, with the exception of Status, a light pink matte that simply disappeared into my skin. I like that the darker colors have good pigmentation on them. They have decent staying power (8 hours over two kinds of primers- a basic base and a colored primer).

Things I don't like about the quad: Stratus' color pay-off is very poor. Although I swatched it heavily, I didn't have a hard time swatching it, but it didn't really have good pigmentation either. I also don't like that this quad did not include a lid color. Most of these are crease colors, and the one that can pass for a lid or even highlight color is useless (Stratus). I am liking the other three colors, though, which are great for smoky eye looks.

All in all, I am on the fence about this product. I love the fact that it has mostly satin and matte colors (perfect for the crease to deepen or contour color), but Stratus is a dud. I won't be able to use it. My favorites are Bruised Sky on the crease applied with a 224 brush, and Heather Belles on the crease or socket applied with a 222 brush. Eye makeup tutorial using this quad is coming up soon!


Blush Ombres:


Azalea Blosssom, Vintage Grape

Note: the Beauty Powder is featured in another collection. Will talk about it soon.




Azalea Blossom


Vintage Grape


Azalea Blossom (swatched light, swirled [light and dark colors together], dark)


Vintage Grape (swatched swirled [light and dark colors together], light, dark)

These blush ombres first came out in the Spring Colour Forecast collection last year. Too bad the most coveted one of the collection, Ripe Peach, is not part of this collection, but instead, two closely related ones in terms of color are back. Azalea Blossom is a light cool pink, and Vintage Grape is a mid-tone violet pink. The good thing about blush ombres is that there are different shades of coordinating color in the same compact, so you can either use just one of those shades, or swirl and blend them together for a different effect. Vintage Grape doesn't look bruised on me, even though the darkest shade looks scary in the compact. It gives a nice pinky-plum shade on the cheeks. Azalea Blossom is your classic pink blush.

Nail Lacquer:


Endless Night



Endless Night is one of the best lighter MAC nail lacquers for me, mostly because this reminds me of the one nail polish I actually consumed two bottles of (that was when I was only wearing one shade and I wasn't into nail polish collecting yet). Endless Night reminds me so much of Essie Sand of a Beach (clever name, eh?)- they are both pale grey pink with iridescent pearl. If you look closely in the swatches, you would see the iridescence. Really pretty and looks quite clean on the hands.


Hyperion



Hyperion is a light grey blue creme that reminds me of those nail polishes from the Zoya Feel collection - those light, wintry shades that remind me of snow and cold, and make me conjure images of manicured tips nursing a big mug of hot cocoa by the fire. I think Hyperion is a bit too blue for me, though. I'd like a little more grey infused in it, but it's not bad, it's just a personal preference.


Blueblood



Blueblood is a pretty deep eggplant creme that is perfect for the season, and it's your typical vampy nail polish. I am just not as excited about this shade because I have a lot of similar hues. It's not its fault, though- if you don't have a vampy eggplant shade yet (although I see tones of red in Blueblood), this is a good choice.

I think MAC's nail polish formula has improved over the years, because I don't experience much streaking or chipping as I had in the past. Of the three nail lacquers, I'd recommend Endless Night.

All in all, I have specific favorites in this collection, namely Aurora pigment, the Pro Longwear Lip cremes, and Endless Night lacquer, but I wish they included Ripe Peach blush ombre instead of the two pinks/violets that are not as coveted as the former. I am on the fence about Interior Life Quad, because even though I like the darker shadows in this quad, I can't justify buying this quad when it includes a dud that has little to no pigmentation (Stratus). The Cremesheen Glasses are okay, and the Powerpoint Pencils (not swatched) have good pigmentation and texture. If I have to recommend products, I would suggest Endless Night lacquer, Aurora pigment, one or more of the Pro Longwear Lip Cremes,and the Powerpoint Pencils.

The Shades Of U Rating: 3.85 out of 5 stars

Available North America December 26, 2011
International 2012 at all MAC locations, 1-800-588-0070 and www.maccosmetics.com

Note: Media sample was provided by a representative of the brand for consideration. All opinions are completely mine.