A notification email just appeared in my inbox - MAC’s Love Your Look collection is now available to buy from their website.

This collection is all about eyeshadow. Ten shades in the limited edition “Starflash” finish are included, including a repromote of 2008’s infamous “Smoke and Diamonds” from the original Starflash collection.

I’m curious to see a chartreuse shade called “Rated R” that looks remarkably like the green half of Nars’ cult “Rated R” eyeshadow duo. Could it be that MAC’s seemingly endless supply of cute and original shade names has finally run dry and they’ve resorted to plagiarism? They’ve also called two of the shadows in this collection by very similar names - Fashion and Fashion Groupie.

MAC - if you need a copywriter, I’m so available.

On my wishlist -

Rated R
Smoke and Diamonds
Fashion
Fashion Groupie

Letting men have a say in makeup can result in some interesting outcomes - Specktra’s Miss Pumpkin is one of the luckier ones. Wonky eyeliner, clown cheeks and Herman Munster brows are common results of amateur males let loose with traincases, if the livejournal communities I’ve browsed are anything to go by.

So when I asked my boyfriend what colour eyeshadow I should put on yesterday, I wasn’t totally surprised when he pulled a mischevious face and said “Yellow!”.

I’m not a piker though - it took about 10 minutes but I finally dug out my one yellow eyeshadow and got to work with it.

Here’s what I used:

Urban Decay Eyeshadow Primer Potion
Ruby and Millie Eye Colour Yellow 220M
Illamasqua Yearn eyeshadow
MAC Fluidline (Blacktrack)
Maybelline Full’n'Soft mascara

I’m actually really pleased with this. (Apart from the wonky-looking eyeliner in the second picture - it was alright IRL.) The yellow brings out the green colour in my eyes, which I hoped it would. The green accent on the crease helps too.

Seedy Pearl and Sumptuous Olive eyeshadow pans

Blogging has taken a bit of a back seat this week, falling victim to a more urgent but far less enjoyable demand on my time - huge numbers of job applications. However, a trip to MAC yesterday has put me back in touch with what is truly important in my life: Eyeshadow.

With the last of my store credit (left over from Christmas 2008 - never let it be said that I’m not thrifty sometimes), I picked up two permanent-line eyeshadows that have been softly purring my name.

Limited Editions have come and gone, but I remain convinced that most of MAC’s best work resides in its permanent collection. That’s why it’s permanent I guess (although it’s the LE stuff that tends to grab headlines). Passing over the warm shadows from Naked Honey and the Mineralize quads from Colour Craft (is it just me, or are these really sheer?), I picked out Sumptuous Olive, and Seedy Pearl. Two shadows that appeal to my long-standing love of all things duochrome.

Click through for swatches and descriptions.

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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.