I had a chance to test drive the upcoming Naked Honey products and I have the rundown for you on a few of them: Highlight Powder in Golden Nectar, the Skin Salve and the Creme de Miel shadow.

To be honest, when I first heard of the Naked Honey collection, I was over the moon (as usual, right?) with the details of a new collections. Then, after the initial high dissipated, I was questioning how impressed I would really be once I saw it in person. It was, after all, quite neutral and skin-centric and I tend to go for colourful lip and eye products. I also love the smell of honey when it’s done right, but did MAC hit the nail on the head? All questions evaporated once I got a chance to play with the collection. The honey scent is warm and evokes visions of warm summer days. The products, as a collection, meld together perfectly to collectively highlight the face and body in a suitably, low-key glamour summer style.

HIGHLIGHT POWDER IN GOLDEN NECTAR
$24.50USD / Shade: Muted golden tan with gold shimmer

For those uninitiated with the highlight powders, the first thing that needs to be said is that the shimmery finish on top is just a frost overspray. It disappears within the first 10 uses or so. So the first few applications have much more shimmer than the rest. That said, this powder does highlight, just not in the obvious way that MAC’s Mineralized Skinfinishes do. Due to the ingredients and finely-milled pigments, these highlight powders produce a slight glow that is more of a glow from within. Like the slight glow you get from Mineralized Skinfinish naturals, just slightly amped up.

Golden Nectar is a lovely med-dark, caramel colour with infused gold tones. As far as the overall tone, to me, it looks more yellow toned in the pot, but there is a slight pink undertone. This will look amazing as a bronzer on porcelain gals, beautiful for more coverage on med-dark gals and wonderful has a highlighter on darker skin tones. This is almost the same shade as the med-dark Mineralized Skinfinish Natural, only Golden Nectar is a bit lighter and more pink-toned.

NAKED HONEY SKIN SALVE
$18.50USD / 1.41oz

I have been using this for about a week now and can honestly say that I really like it. The consistency is like a balm/salve, but it is not loose and goopy like say Vaseline. It is firm in the jar and it kind of melts into your hand as the heat and friction of your hand rubs on the product. Whilst it isn’t goopy, it is probably a bit much for a hand lotion on a regular basis. I love it as a cuticle conditioner, on elbows and knees, and occasionally on my hands and feet overnight. For a salve, it feels pretty light on the skin and gives great results. No more Solar Oil for my cuticles, Skin Salve is my new fave.

The scent is really nice. It is a subtle honey blended with a powdery scent (like a baby powder scent). If you are familliar with the flower scent of heliotrope, it smells exactly like heliotrope with honey. Divine.

CREME DE MIEL EYE SHADOW
$14.50USD / Shade: Frosty light yellow gold (Veluxe Pearl)

I am always looking for my next HG brow bone highlighter. As an NW20, Rice Paper can be too subtle, and Nylon can be too cool toned and too bright. Creme de Miel is the embodiment of my perfect brow bone colour. It is a beautiful neutral with gold undertones. It is as if Nylon eye shadow and the perfect, neutral gold had a lovechild. It applies smoothly and stays nicely, as do all veluxe pearls. I love it as a highlight, on the lid, at the tear duct or at the corners of the inner lid. This will be stunning on darker skin tones. Like seriously amazing. It is more golden and a bit darker than Nylon. Definitely darker than Solar White and zero pink undertones. This will be back up worthy. Trust.

I will have more info/swatch pics for you shortly. If you would like to see the full collection details and promo shots, check out the Specktra Naked Honey colour story thread. The Naked Honey Collection will be available on MACCosmetics.com on 09 Jun 09 and at stores and counters on 11 Jun 09.

What are your impressions of the Naked Honey collection so far?