MAC Strength Collection Discussion (December 2012) - Page 33

Originally Posted by Naughtyp 

hmmm rethinking my order now I figured I didn't need the red after all the Marilyn lippies I got...
I'm wondering if I still need:
Party Parrot ( I have Impassioned and moxie)
Pink Pigeon ( I have CYY, outrageously fun, quick sizzle, dear diary, night blooming and show orchid)
Strong Woman ( I have Heroine, Violetta and ordered Seductive Intent)
even the Absolute Power ( I have Runway red, Russian red, charmed I'm sure, love goddess, deeply adored)
do I need more lipsticks in these shades? ;/ so far I only preordered PP, PiPi and SW. guess ill have to chance it and check the red out in person

Originally Posted by singer82 

Oh Liba my ultimate enabler hehe. I always look forward to your reviews!!! Do you think the red lippy it's anything near Ruffian Red? RR pulls cherry red on me.

Originally Posted by Anneri 

Liba, thanks for all the reviews! Really appreciate the time and consideration that is behind it.

 

In your review, you compared Bust out to Strong Woman. I have Bust out and it's really a kind of a meh colour on me. It's not bad, but it's really nothing special. I assume that Strong Woman could suit me better because it's richer in colour (I'm between NC15 and 20). What would you say?

 

And: Is the taupe blush (sorry, don't know the proper names by memory yet) a true taupe?

 

Thank you!

Originally Posted by MRV 

 

You sealed the deal for this one! (and most of the other items, too!  ) Thank yor for ALL the reviews! It is very helpful because I have to order some of the collections without seeing them IRL.

 

The hardest part, however, is to wait 2 months till February for these !

Originally Posted by liba 
It's just pure cherry red - classic cherry time. We were all thinking it was closest to Ruby Woo, but it's a zillion times better in every way. Try before you buy if you're worried it'll look too pink on you. I think it won't on your complexion, though.

 

Originally Posted by purplerinne 

u don't need to be in the store....isn't there a store at Corte Madera?  still far but it's something.....hope u get what u want

Originally Posted by LadyMisfit 

Can someone tell me if Force of Love ls looks similar to Party Parrot ls? I own Force of Love and I barely ever reach for it. I found a picture online on swatches of both of them side to side and it looks almost dupe where I don't think I need to own both. Please help!!

Originally Posted by liba 

I didn't buy Ruffian Red. Red either looks great or horrible on me, so I couldn't bring myself to buy something I couldn't try first. From what I can tell from pictures online, I would say that Absolute Power is brighter, somewhat lighter (but not as light or bright as Scarlet Ibis) and also without all the yellow tones in RR. It's not quite a blue red, but it's a little more in that direction overall - almost like the bluer elements sort of shine around the edges of the lips and the warmer and pinker undertones glow in the middle of the lips where they're at their fullest. It's absolutely nowhere near as pink as Love Goddess. It looks super pinkish on hand swatches - you aren't going to be able to go by those, or by what it looks like in the tube.

 

It's just pure cherry red - classic cherry time. We were all thinking it was closest to Ruby Woo, but it's a zillion times better in every way. Try before you buy if you're worried it'll look too pink on you. I think it won't on your complexion, though.

 

Bust Out is one of those weird ones that looks better or worse on me based on the time of the year and what I'm wearing for sure. Strong Woman is absolutely more vibrant and richer. I actually wore Heroine last night, after having misplaced it for a while  and now I'd say Strong Woman is more vibrant than Heroine too, but only by just a little bit, since it's a touch lighter. From your skin tone description, I think Strong Woman will look even more vibrant on you than it did on me, since the darker your skin, the more it will accentuate the lighter aspect of the color. 

 

Taupe Shape is definitely 100% light-ish taupe. I don't think anyone would want to wear it as anything other than a contour shade, but for contour it was amazing on my NC15 skin. I'm sure you will rock it.

Thanks! I love to talk about all this stuff. Also I know how iffy photos often are - sometimes it's better to just talk about these products, because they're too complicated to capture with even the best photography. I know I probably wouldn't even allow myself to buy anything if I couldn't see it in person, so I honor you for being brave and taking a chance - that's why I try to be as detailed as I can manage. I wouldn't want to see people buy rare LE items sight unseen, then have to return them or have them sit in a drawer collecting dust. 

Originally Posted by Yazmin 

 

Thanks liba!  You provide such wonderfully detailed reviews and commentary!  How do you remember it all?!

Originally Posted by liba 

 

I love color! 'Used to be a fine artist/graphic artist/designer so I've got a color theory background too. Also, I love makeup, so there ya go! Plus, I spend hours just hanging out and chit chatting and trying everything on in different ways because I'm personal friends with my store's manager, so it gives me plenty of time to take everything in. I always am excited to come home and write everything up about what I saw!

Originally Posted by liba 

I saw Strength today and I've been putting all my reporting effort into talking about Apres Chic, but I did want to pop in for some quickie impressions here.

 

First off, let me say that Absolute Power, the "rich red", is ah-maaaa-zing! I'd throw my Marilyn reds in the trash to get this one, if that's what it took. It's so bright and rich and vibrant. I'd call it my Holy Grail cherry red. If all I had was Scarlet Ibis, Runaway Red and Absolute Power, I would have all the best reds I could possibly need. As much as the other new lipsticks are gorgeous in this collection, Absolute Power is my #1 top pick, and that's saying a lot. This is the BU worthy color of the collection. 

 

Taupe Shape is everything I hoped it would be. Strada never worked for me, but this one gives me instant hollow cheekbones to the Nth degree. Not weird looking at all and very foolproof to apply. Also works great on the eyes! It's strictly a contour color, though. If you want to add a pop of color above, Poised is very impressive. Not powdery or chalky at all and the color is very subtle and nude but still shows up well on me. It's got a canceling effect and a brightening effect at the same time. I never buy these colors because they either don't show up on me or look powdery and accentuates peach fuzz. This one I will buy eagerly though! Both of these blushes have a beautiful natural skin effect to them, just a little under a glow, but not matte either. Winners!!!

 

Firm Form feels really good on - it's got a little waxier feeling than the other MAC "good mattes", but it goes on perfectly smoothly and stays on. The gold highlight is subtle but not invisible. The whole effect is slightly warm toned - you can wear this with a bare face just fine. I also tried lining the outline of my lips in Night Moth and that gave a really good, volume effect, without turning the lipstick shade red. 

 

Strong Woman is a little weird. At first it doesn't seem so original and it looks slightly dull in tone. Then, in a little better light, you see the hidden richness in the color. It's not quite as dark as Heroine and it's not quite as in your face bright, but there's something about it that made me like it and not want to pass on it (I love purples, but I'm not 100% team purple - I skip them if they seem to red or too plum, usually).This Strong Woman vs. Heroine is kind of like comparing Quick Sizzle to Pink Pigeon, one is a little richer and more sophisticated and "adult", while the other is wilder and more fun times. The closest lipstick I own to Strong Woman is Bust Out, but obviously the textures are very different. Bust Out has a bit more red too, but both of them have about the same degree of brightness (light reflectivity). If I had to pick only one, I'd probably go with the Seductive Intent mattene, because that one's bluer and more brilliantly bright and a touch more fun. Strong Woman does blot down into a really beautiful effect, so there's that!

 

Lastly, the All Woman quad is filled with good stuff. The white vxp is an amazing highlight for right under the brow or in the tear ducts - a top shelf pure white. Black Magique is rich and smooth and dark (but still slightly warm), much better than the usual carbon. Brains & Brawn and All Woman are both really effective greyed out neutrals that aren't so cool as to clash with the warm tones around my eyes, but still read nice and cool on my skin. Cool eye shadows are very often tricky for me, so these are worth the money - they're balanced really well to give just the right effect. I didn't try the other quad on my eyes, but I'd say that's the one for truly cool-toned ladies and for the very pale. Some very soft pretty colors in that one. Neutrals seem so boring, but these are about as unboring as a standard neutral shadow can get. Very good quality in these quads.

Originally Posted by Monsy 

No one seems excited about quads

Originally Posted by duckrodeo 

 

I've actually got my eye mainly on the quads. Maybe some of the blushes and maybe Absolute Power l/s. I do have Party Parrot and Pink Pigeon, though, so unless I decide to get a BU of Party Parrot, I'm just sticking to the powders.

Originally Posted by TheLadyDanger 

Are Party Parrot and Pink Pigeon comparable to any of the ones I already have (the bright colors I have from MAC are Moxie, Watch Me Simmer and Candy Yum-Yum)? I love bright lipsticks, but if I can manipulate Party Parrot and Pink Pigeon with the lipsticks I already have and lip liners, I'll skip.

 

I was planning on getting all lipsticks and Taupe Shape, but I thought I'd consult with my fellow Specktra members.

 

P.S. Any news yet on an approximate date when it'll launch online? All I know it will prior to the store launch on the 26th.

Originally Posted by peachsuns 

Hoping to see some swatches soon!

Originally Posted by Monsy 

No one seems excited about quads

Originally Posted by peachsuns 

Hoping to see some swatches soon!

Originally Posted by CharlieKelly 

Ok girls, I got my absolute power in the mail today and Libia was sooooooooo right. It looks awful on the stick but it looks so pretty on. 

 

This is my first time posting pics and doing this comparison pics so I am a little embarrased of posting my mouths all over the internex machinesss haha.

 

Anyway, doesn't it look super deep in the tube? 

 

 

 

 

From left to right:

 

Red Racer, Russian Red, Deeply Adored, Charmed I am sure, Absolute Power. 

 

 

 

 

 

I am not sure about my skin tone since I wear Laura Mercier most of the time but  I do have a MAC face and body foundation in C2 and a Studio Fix in NC15. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I also got Party Parrot but you all know that one. Sadly the store was out of Pink Pigeon :(

Originally Posted by CharlieKelly 

Ok girls, I got my absolute power in the mail today and Libia was sooooooooo right. It looks awful on the stick but it looks so pretty on. 

 

This is my first time posting pics and doing this comparison pics so I am a little embarrased of posting my mouths all over the internex machinesss haha.

 

Anyway, doesn't it look super deep in the tube? 

 

 

 

 

From left to right:

 

Red Racer, Russian Red, Deeply Adored, Charmed I am sure, Absolute Power. 

 

 

 

 

 

I am not sure about my skin tone since I wear Laura Mercier most of the time but  I do have a MAC face and body foundation in C2 and a Studio Fix in NC15. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I also got Party Parrot but you all know that one. Sadly the store was out of Pink Pigeon :(

Originally Posted by CharlieKelly