Well I got to try everything today. It's a little later than usual, so we've already got lots of swatches and pictures. I'll keep it kind of short for a change.
First of all: THOSE LIPGLASSES. Who would have thought that the lipglasses would be some of the strongest items in the collection??? Liqueur is just absolutely gorgeous (100% buy), but then there are Utterly Tart and Lust for Life. OMG, I never thought I'd be so head over heels for a plain old lipglass. They're very similar to each other, at least on me, but I'm getting them both. They are so incredibly pigmented - you only need a tiny dab before it gets drastically opaque. They blot down to beautiful stains too. Very impressive. Fashion Punch seems like a color we've seen before, but it's warmed up in this really nice fallsy way. It reminds me of Cozy Up in gloss version. Very smooth and opaque too.
I'd been on the fence about snagging all the lipsticks or not, but honestly, those glosses look so good with them that they're making me want the lipsticks too, just to wear them together. I thought I'd be able to resist Just a Bite, but it is very beautiful, sophisticated rather than bright or vampy, and it's so smooth with a gentle moistness to it. I think it will be a red that will look good on anyone, considering it seemed a little warmish on me, and it still looked great and warm reds are not always the best for me. Feed The Senses is PERFECT for me - not too grey, not too pale, not too pink, not too lavender….juuuuuust right. I should probably back it up because it's not every day to find such a good MLBB/nude. It's more wearable than Restrict and I love Restrict. It might not be so great on everyone, but then again a lot of MAC's soft pink nudes don't work that well for me - things like Venus and Haute Altitude are nice but not perfect.
My third pick is a bit of a surprise - By Design!! It's a soft peachy brownish nude with this fantastic matte metallic finish. Cozy Up is brighter and more yellowish but in the same family. The main thing is the texture. We were having a 90's moment and my MA busted out a dark brown lip pencil and did a great ombre contoured lip with it on top of By Design. It's a very sexy unique lipstick and will be great underneath Liqueur. It's nothing like Heroine from Wonder Woman, which is much cooler, or like Soft Sable, also cooler and more taupe and also lighter. It's not like Warm Companion either, which is glossier and peachier and much lighter. Temptalia compares it to Posh Tone, which I love, but Posh Tone is much more brown, while By Design is more peach. Really impressed with it - I can see myself reaching for it all the time.
Sweet Succulence went on really smoothly for me - not patchy at all. It's just not a super unique color, though. I was going to skip it, but I did reserve it, since it is going to be an amazing base underneath the bright lipglasses. Smash Hit felt very moist on me. I remembered how I skipped it the first time around because I was getting Liquid Lurex instead. It is more straightforwardly wearable than Liquid Lurex though, and this time the formula feels very moist, even with all the glitter. It read very pink on me rather than gold - I guess it was how the light was reflecting.
As for the shadows, Beluga and Deep Cravings are equally beautiful - so rich and pigmented. Beluga especially is so incredibly matte and smooth. We were ooh'ing and ah'ing it. I'm going to get them both. I also loved Sex & the Oyster, which is the sort of color that doesn't always flatter my skin tone or eye color - this one really worked and was a beautiful VP. It's not like Love Lace, which is bluer. I thought Guilty Morsel was really nice too - not your usual Lustre. It was super smooth and hid all my eye texture. It doesn't seem like the most unique color, but it's a particularly good formula. I reserved it. I decided to skip Eat, Love. It was very nice and richly pigmented but that's not a color I usually wear and I will be happy to just use my Dark Indulgence MES. Divine Decadence was really beautiful too, but I think I will just use my shadows from Nudes & Metallics for a similar effect. It's high quality, though. I don't really need Three Ring Circus or Palace Pedigreed, so I didn't really play around with them. Three Ring Circus is a great color to go with this collection, though. It was smart to include it.
I wasn't crazy about the gold f/l but the brown one was really lovely and not sheer or gritty on me. It read true brown on me and was very soft and flattering. It's coming home with me. Same thing for the blushes - they both were pretty but Glamour Feast needed to be blended down on me and wound up a color that was similar to Simmer and other bright berry blushes, so pass. Meanwhile Tease Your Tastes was really beautiful. I was going to skip the blushes but TYT was so youth-giving and smooth - a lovely soft peach that could be built up or blended down for a variety of effects. I was feeling tired and sort of haggard today and TYT really perked me up and made me look years younger in a snap. I really do love the cremeblend blushes, even though I don't always reach for them. Nail polishes were nice, but I've got some Orly and China Glaze polishes that are similar enough. I might get Screening Room which I liked when it first came out, but skipped. It still holds up as a rather unique green teal, so it's worth it if you like that sort of color.
