I’ve had these pictures sitting in my RAW folder for a while–I’d almost forgotten! But here we have one of the new SHXW colors, Purple Gala. It’s an awesome deep purple and gold foil polish with lots of dimension, which you’ll see in the several pictures below.
The MAC holiday collection is one I look forward to each year. From the unique packaging to the products, I usually find several items I feel I have to have. As a collector, it can be quite draining on my bank account. This year it is A Tartan Tale.
Unfortunately, I have to say that I am simply not as impressed with this year’s holiday collection as I wish I were. Now, a point I would be remiss not to mention: MAC’s holiday collection, this year and every year, represent the only time in the year during which MAC products are discounted. This is a fantastic opportunity for budding enthusiasts and people who otherwise don’t spend much money on make-up to get more bang for their buck. The items all also make great gifts. Another point: there are still a couple items I will probably buy from the collection, which I’ll talk about in another post in the near future.
Since Tartan Tales is such a huge collection, I want to focus the rest of this post solely on the 5 Naughty Little Vices Nail Lacquer set. This post is intended as more of a review than a beautiful post with pictures and swatches, because I have not and will not be purchasing the set.
Let’s get started already!
Set Includes: 5 mini nail lacquers: Nocturnelle, Beyond Jealous, Vintage Vamp, Asiatique & Vice is Nice
Amount: 2.5 mL / 0.09 fl oz each.
Retail Price: $25.50
To start, the only non-repromoted limited edition lacquer shade is Vice is Nice, a yellow gold frost. Nocturnelle is a black cream from the permanent line. Beyond Jealous is a deep teal cream, repromoted from F/W Nail Trend ’09. Vintage Vamp is a red wine cream from the permanent collection. Asiatique is a classic red cream, repromoted from the Dame Edna collection.
My first gripe here is the lack of new products. Yes, there are always “cult classic” colors that everyone can appreciate, but seeing as there is only one nail set, it seems that the colors would at the very least be new limited edition colors. Vice is Nice, on top of being a never-before-seen color is also a unique addition to MAC’s permanent collection (the last metallic gold nail lacquer was Gilded from Antiquitease in 2007).
On that same note, even if all the colors were repromotes, why these colors? Nocturnelle… a black cream… really? Wasted space in my opinion. Beyond collectors, most people will say a black cream is a black cream, and they can easily get cheaper (not to mention MORE) black creams at Sally’s. Beyond Jealous is one of those colors that looks black in low lighting, and isn’t as punchy as the season’s trending teal color (as seen in the collection’s promo picture).
Next, beyond the colors, is the lack of variety in finishes. Asiatique and Beyond Jealous are mistakenly labeled as frosts, but trust me: they are both creams, which makes 4 of the 5 mini lacquers cream finishes. For a set that represents the opportunity for people to try several colors for the price of (roughly) 2 full-sized lacquers, they definitely should have offered more variety here.
Lastly is the seriously minuscule amount of polish you’re given with the set. Yes, you get 5 different colors for the price of (roughly) 2 full-sized nail lacquers. However, the amount of product itself? 2.5 mL in each mini lacquer bottle, compared to the full-sized nail lacquer’s 10 mL. One full-sized bottle of MAC nail lacquer is $13. It takes just a bit of simple math: 5 nail lacquers x 2.5 mL in each bottle = 12.5 mL of nail polish TOTAL in the set. That is just slightly over the amount of polish in ONE full-sized bottle of MAC nail lacquer! You are better off buying 2 full-sized nail lacquers, and you will get more product for your dollar. There is very little value in the set.
So, with all of those complaints, I guess it’s obvious that I wouldn’t recommend this set to anyone. It’s unfortunate, because it’s been so long since MAC did a nail lacquer set, and I was truly looking forward to it. Hopefully next year they will have some better (and bigger, or cheaper!) options. We’ll have to see.
Below, check out swatches of Nocturnelle and Beyond Jealous side-by-side. Does this set really need both colors? Do you agree with the points I’ve made above, or disagree? I’d love to hear from you in the comments.
It’s finally feeling like Autumn here in coastal South Carolina, and this feels like the perfect polish for the new season. From MAC’s Venomous Villians Disney collaboration collection comes the star nail polish of the three limited edition releases: Baaaaaad Faaaaairy!!! (Cue angels singing.)
Before I get on with the review and pictures I should mention that there are 2 other polishes that were released with the Venomous Villians/Maleficent: Formidable! and Mean & Green. The reason that I didn’t purchase these is because Orly Galaxy Girl and Orly Space Cadet are dupes (and cheaper, no less!!) for both of those, respectively. I will have comparison pictures coming up soon! Now, onto BF!
Bad Fairy is a beautiful multichrome nail polish which changes depending on the sunlight between fuchsia, purple, a warm pink, copper, orange, and gold. It’s a sparkle formula, with large particles of shimmer that aren’t exactly glitter. The formula is pretty sheer, but I see that as a pro and not a con. Why? Because its being sheer allows you to either layer it over other colors without covering them completely, or use it alone. I’m anxious to try it over both dark and light colors, but this is 3 coats by itself. It’s a really gorgeous and versatile color, and definitely eye-catching. One person asked me, “So is your nail polish copper or purple?” I was happy to clarify by turning my fingers every which way to show her how the color changed in the sunlight and shadows.
Without further ado, here are a BUNCH of photos! Bottle pics first:
Nails & bottle pics!
Just nails in different lights!
noneBase: Gelous
Layer 1: MAC Bad Fairy
Topcoat: Sally Hansen Mega-Shine Topcoat
A reader requested that I swatch By Candlelight Mineralize Skinfinish and Warm Soul Mineralize Blush side by side to see how similar the shades are. Before I start I should say that the only 2 Mineralize Skinfinishes that are permanent at MAC at the moment are Soft & Gentle and Gold Deposit. The one I’m swatching here, By Candlelight, was a limited edition release from the 2009 Warm & Cozy collection. Warm Soul is permanent.
Warm Soul is a very warm rose color with gold shimmer, while By Candlelight is a gold with shimmer that flashes gold and pink. If you dislike any shimmer on your cheeks, neither of these will probably appeal to you, but Warm Soul doesn’t actually flash glitter in the way that you might expect, so it’s worth trying at least. The specks of shimmer are much more subtle, especially compared to By Candlelight. Warm Soul is more pigmented than By Candlelight in addition to being a bit deeper in color. (It’s not uncommon for Mineralize Skinfinishes to be less pigmented since they are usually used as more of a highlight.) Warm Soul is perfect for light to medium skintones, and warm- or cool-undertones.
3 comRoadie is one of my beagles. We rescued him a few years ago. Last night as he cuddled in my bed, I gave him an awesome pedicure to match mine with Orly Solid Gold.
So, I’ve been lusting after Solid Gold since I saw Scrangie post it with & without a topcoat. Um, words? Escaping me. This is a totally beautiful glittering bronzy-gold which finishes matte and ooooh-so-smooth. I like the novelty of matte polishes, but this one has really been sold to me due to how BEAUTIFUL it is with a topcoat. It’s hard to describe why the effect of the matte finish + glossy topcoat is more beautiful than a typical glossy finished polish.. maybe the glitter is slightly magnified? I’m not sure, but I love it.
Big SdP - I.
Oi meninas!
Post rapidinho para mostrar mais uma estampa da placa “I” da “Big Sdp”.
Os esmaltes que usei foram:
1 x “Base Cetim” da “Skin Color”.
4 x esmalte “Ácqua” da “Big Universo”.
Placa “Big Sdp - I”.
Esmalte “Preto Fosco” da “Risqué” para carimbar, (deu super certo).
Esmalte “Platinum” da “Sancion Angel”, (usei alguns glitters nas florzinhas).
1 x “Extra Brilho” da “Dote”.
Beijos!
