Oh, hey Summer beauty: MAC Alluring Aquatics

You’re all probably really sick of reading about MAC’s Alluring Aquatic collection, but I don’t care, I’m gonna put in my two cent anyway. Because seriously, how freaking gorgeous is the packaging?! When I first saw this online it got my heart seriously racing and I’m not even a die-hard MAC fanatic. In fact, I hardly own anything from MAC; an eye shadow, a paint pot, and now this stuff. I’ve always found going into MAC really daunting, do you feel like that too? The MAC girls, dressed all in black, just seemed really snobby – sitting around fixing their own makeup or chatting amongst themselves. And also the fact that MAC is always really darn full whenever I walk by. Anyway, 4^th June (HK release date) came and I practically ran to the department store after work. I got there all sweaty and out of breath and to my horror, the lipsticks weren’t in the display; I almost had a heart attack, how could they have sold out so soon, it was only 4pm… In panic I asked the beauty adviser and she almost laughed at me, no, no, she just hasn’t put them out yet. Phew

Fast forward half an hour, I walked out with two lipsticks, one extra dimension shadow and a liner happily swimming in my bag alongside my not so happy wallet (actually, that’s a lie, I don’t carry a wallet) bank card. I wish they had more lipstick shades, the case is just so gorgeous, but I wasn’t gonna go wasting money on things I wouldn’t wear. I picked up Mystical and Goddess of the sea, (not swatched as I intend on giving it to a friend for her birthday, and if I swatched it then that would just be gross) both in cremesheen finishes. Mystical, a mid-tone creamy rose, is not dissimilar to my favourite MLBB shade – Revlon Soft rose, and I’ll be keeping this on me on the go as it goes with everything; how pretty is it gonna look every time I pull it out of my handbag. Goddess of the sea is a dark vibrant violet, it has enough purple tones to set it about from other dark plummy shades, and not too dark to rock during summer nights. Goddess of the sea applies super smoothly (Mystical requires a little effort) and both feel very light weight on the lips. You can pat it on your lips just for a stain or layer it for full intensity. Enchanted one, a matte peachy nude, was so creamy and pigmented when I swatched it at the counter, definitely one to pick-up if you love that 60s smokey eye, nude lip look.

Mystical lipstick, Lorelei dry & wet swatch, Blackline

I also picked up two eye products, an Extra Dimension eye shadow in Lorelei and a Pearlglide Intense eye liner in Blackline. Blackline is described as black with gold pearl and I believe it is in the permanent collection. To me it looks almost like a shimmery khaki and reminds me of the Dolce e Gabbana eyeliner in Stromboli which I really wanted but never bought. It’s a great way to bring sparkle to brown eyes (probably very complimentary to other eye colours too, but I’ve only got brown eyes) and once it dries, it does not budge! It glides on without tugging as the pencil is so creamy so be very careful you don’t apply too much pressure otherwise you'll smoosh your eye liner (especially if you live in warmer climates). To avoid such problems, you can either store your liner in the fridge, or pick up colour using a liner brush rather than applying it straight to your eye. The Extra Dimension eye shadow in Lorelei is golden beige and leans neither warm nor cool. It’s so so pretty on, especially when blended with the darker colours in the collection. Smokey eye lovers should keep an eye out for the other eye shadows in the collection as they are simply STUNNING, snap them up quick before they sell out. *sigh* If only I had a bottomless bank account, or more eyes to put eye shadow on…

Did you pick up anything from this collection and what products do you pair them with? What are your favourite make up collections this Summer? I went swimming today, what an appropriate activity to accompany this blog post.Wishing you all lots of sunshine,

Linzi :) 

PS - how matchy matchy are my nails