Amid confused reports, it seems like the release date for MAC’s limited edition Colour Craft collection in the UK will be JULY 13 according to VexInTheCity, who got it from the horse’s mouth by calling her counter.

There’s often a bit of fuzz around the exact time we’ll be graced with the presence of new collections at different counters, so best to call your intended target up before you make any journeys. I’d call on Friday, as you never know your luck, it could be there early…

The pic above (reposted with thanks from Temptalia.com) shows the visually stunning lipglasses from the collection. We’ll also see a new batch of Mineralize Blushes, 6 Mineralize Skinfinishes including the return of the much-coveted Porcelain Pink, and the first ever Mineralize eyeshadow quads.

The buzz around this collection is big, and I’m guessing the sell-out will happen within a few days.

Me though, I’m hanging on for Love Your Look, which will be released around autumn time. That collection has a repromote of Smoke and Diamonds eyeshadow, which I much regretted missing out on last time it was released. Obviously if I was richer I’d be picking up some of the swirling loveliness of Colour Craft too, but unfortunately for us (and fortunately for MAC perhaps), a person could go bankrupt keeping up with every desirable product this brand conceives.

Do you remember the eyeshadow that cost more than your monthly Council Tax? It was called Parrot, by MAC. And it wasn’t released costing outrageous sums… in fact when it came out it cost a pretty standard price for a high-end eyeshadow - the same as the rest of the MAC line. It was buyers who were willing to pay £50 or more for it that set the bar so high.

Mineralized Skinfinishes Petticoat and Shooting Star experienced similar hype, as did taupe/mauve/silver eyeshadow Moth Brown. It’s not just MAC products that achieve cult status, although the MAC propensity for LE collections certainly lends itself to the phenomenon. This summer’s radiant Brights eyeshadow palette by Bobbi Brown sold out at lightning speed and now changes hands for substanial sums on eBay.

These are lovely and versatile products, and their value as beauty tools is without question. However, sheeny cheekbones and jewelled lids can be achieved without them. In fact, the benefits of all the products mentioned above can be replicated for less money using products or combinations of products with lower prices that are readily available on the high street.

There’s a deeper phenomenon at play: Kudos. Cachet. Exclusivity. These products are not just prized for their ability to make you look lovely - in fact, they’re more highly valued when they’ve never even been opened. They’re coveted because of the edge of kudos they carry with them. Collectors of LE items aren’t just buying a beauty product. They’re buying membership into an exclusive club with limited membership, allying themselves to the glamour and fascination that has amassed around products and brands.

Some people choose their products because they want to be unique, to have tools to express their artistry and to be bold in conveying their own personality. Then, at the other end of the scale are the extreme collectors, those who want to adopt a piece of someone else’s vision of what is lovely, charismatic and bold. They seek to follow, not to lead.

I’m not sure which of these categories I fall into. Like most beauty junkies, I think I’m a bit of both. The urge to collect is natural, especially when you gain so much enjoyment and satisfaction from using the products. You want more of the same. But I think the huge prices and the tendency to preserve items “BNIB” is a shame. If you don’t use the products, you’re not doing them, or yourself justice. You’re simply following the crowd.

It’s interesting that the product at the most extreme point of this phenomenon has the name “Parrot” - following the hype to that extent is a kind of mimicry not often seen outside the jungle.

This month’s women’s magazines bring a bumper crop of high-end beauty freebies.

July’s Glamour magazine (from June 4th - why do magazines do that?) comes with a 4g sample of BadGAL mascara by Benefit. The sample is worth £9, but the magazine costs just £2. And you get something to read on the bus. Nice.

This month’s Harper’s Bazaar (£3.99) comes with three samples of cult (and extremely expensive) Nude skin products. Once you’ve sampled, take the backing card from the sachets to SpaceNK to claim a free Nude skin oil vial worth £15.

Finally, Red magazine are offering a free black and white makeup bag by Cowshed to tempt you.

(tip-offs from www.moneysavingexpert.com, with many thanks!)

Now normally, nail polish isn’t something I splash out on. Polish is polish, I tend to think, and I buy Barry M, Boots 17, or Bourjois. I expect them to chip in a couple of days. That’s OK, then I get to try a new colour.

I’m colour-driven. I’m only lured out of my budget habits by the most exquisite shades or unusual duochrome finishes. (More about my love of duochrome in another post). Muse leapt out at me from Illamasqua’s display for its totally unique hue - it’s a pure, solid petrol blue/teal. Deep turquoise. A very warm toned blue, if you like. A kind of faded, but vivid teal, like the flank of a gorgeous old car. I’ve never seen anything quite like it in a nail polish - so I pounced.

The picture above doesn’t really do the exact hue justice - for a truer representation, here’s Illamasqua’s own depiction of the shade.

The bottle is square glass with a glossy black plastic lid, and the brush is pretty typical - it’s not a flattened brush or anything, it’s pretty old-school, but it works. The colour inside is a medium consistency, smooth, not runny and not goopy. It goes on easily, and the pigment is very intense. Total, opaque glossy coverage in two coats. Drying time is quick as a result.

The lasting power is positively other-wordly (as is fitting for the Sirens theme). A week later, I still have glossy, perfect petrol-blue nails that look great with a surprising number of different outfits.

This is nail polish in another class - and I will be more than happy to invest in other Illamasqua shades, for colour, but also for the divine finish and application and the phenomenal lasting power.

Muse is limited edition with Sirens, which is the first ever Illamasqua LE collection (there will be 2 collections each year). It costs £12.50 from Illamasqua

Cosmetistas (and fashionistas) everywhere shed a tear when it looked like Stila would be joining the great train-case in the sky. Earlier in the year, there were ominous rumblings that the brand was going into administration. Franchises were shut and stock was liquidated world-wide – it looked like the bell had well and truly tolled for this chic, fresh, flirty brand.

But in a dramatic reversal of fortunes, Stila and its cartoon damsels were rescued by Patriarch Partners LLC, an investment company who will hopefully help continue the Stila success story for many more chapters. Malaysian blogger plusizekitten has done her homework – she tells the full story here.

In the meantime, the first collection since the takeover has been released in the USA, and it looks absolutely delectable. Named Indian Summer, the collection’s theme is gold – real gold, Au, that one really heavy shiny element. The 24k golden noir smudgepot, 24k lipgloss, charmed eyeshadow quad and tinted moisturiser are all infused with genuine 24 carat gold. There’s also a brand new shade of old Stila favourite Convertible Colour in – continuing the floral theme of yore – Marigold. The look for the collection is jewel tones, warm shimmer and smouldering nude lips.

Bring it to Britain Stila!

Stila’s recent brush with death has led to a lot of bargains appearing online. It’s like when Pout went kaput, only with a happy ending. Aww. Whatever the story, the quality of the items is undisputed, so it’s definitely worth keeping your weather eye out for Stila treasure.

Today, BeautySpot Cosmetics have a limited number of Stila cheek colour pans on sale. They are being offered at the extraordinary price of £2.95 each. AND - if you buy 4 or more, you get a free silver 4-pan palette to house them in.

There are only a handful in stock, so get there quick to avoid disappointment!

For Selfridges’ 100th anniversary, limited edition items in the signature yellow hue have been produced by everyone from Moleskine to Coca-Cola. As the newest and brightest addition to Selfridges’ Beauty Hall, it figures that Illamasqua would be joining the party. They have created a limited edition gift box containing both the black shade “Boosh”, and a centenary special edition yellow called “Self”.

It costs £25 - the same price as two nailpolishes from the regular line. Only 200 sets have been made. With Illamasqua’s reputation rapidly climbing, and the added prestige of the Selfridges’ connection, this is probably a wise investment for collectors.

However, I doubt if many people could manage to stop themselves from using the vivid yellow before it matured to collectible status!

Clinically proven Protect and Perfect Intense serum is the product of the moment at Boots. An aggressive marketing drive and the claim of scientific proof has piqued the interest of the media and the public, with customers queueing outside stores to get to the goods. I’m pleased to see that it’s also caught the interest of seasoned science-bullshit-eradicator Ben Goldacre, of the Guardian.

Ben points out that the exceptional nature of the trial isn’t the results - which prove only that P&PI works better than placebo, but rather the fact that a cosmetics company has trialled their product under lab conditions. Most don’t. Here’s the article at Bad Science, Ben Goldacre’s blog.

We spend millions on skincare products with exotic ingredients, often on the strength of marketing alone. With creams costing £100 and over, it does seem kind of strange that intelligent, otherwise shrewd people will buy into pure marketing without a shred of proof.

Should we be demanding more from our skincare?

The sad fact is that if every product were lab tested, we’d probably come up with a truth that nobody wants to face: They don’t really work very well. I.e. you ARE going to get old, and you ARE going to lose your looks.

The myth of miracle creams is one that we’d all like to buy into - the promise of a magical loophole that will keep us young forever. If cold hard science is there to tell us that isn’t true, we kind of lose our hope. Perhaps we’d rather spend huge amounts of money and keep the possibility that just maybe, there’s a product that can grant us a little bit of immortality.

Enfu-Oh is a Korean nail artist on a mission. Her mission is to make the most remarkable, unusual, exceptional and downright weird nail art the world has ever seen. Or at least that’s what you might conclude after a visit to her site.

Claws filed to pinprick points, exquisitely hand-painted and appliquéd in the most baroque detail. Forget opening a can with these nails - you could stop traffic just by lifting a finger.

There’s small but growing buzz around the web about Enfu’s brand, Nfu-Oh, in particular the multi-faceting sparkling polish she makes. It’s not directly available to us in the UK, though if you were near her Seoul-based salon it would certainly be worth a visit. The polish can be ordered from overseas at the moment, and sometimes filters through onto UK eBay.

Nfu-Oh’s work is global and spans the whole discipline of nail art, but it’s those kaleidoscopic polishes in their cute corset-shaped bottles that I’ve got my eye on. Some shades are a translucent base colour with fine leaf foil and glitter, some are holographic metallics that mesmerise in bright light.

I’m planning to track a couple of shades down through eBay. You’ll hear more if I do. In the meantime, why not visit the blog of Nfu-Oh’s main distributor in Asia for a bit of inspiration?