Flying Off the Virtual Shelves: MAC Bloggers' Obsessions Review

Half of this review today is pretty much pointless, because out of the two items I have to review, one is sold out. Completely. It was only available online, and it is, as of this writing, gone. Finito. Poof. It is a late eyeshadow. It has ceased to be.

Well, shoot.

I am going to go ahead and review it, in the event it reappears in some new incarnation, or you happen to stumble upon it on ebay. That's actually a distinct possibility, come to think of it. You may even find it here before too long. Of course, none of that's a given, so this truly may be a completely unnecessary review. Or not. Oh, I hate when this happens! Darn you, limited editions!!

But I digress...

Last week, I posted that MAC Cosmetics had given nine beauty bloggers carte blanche to create a collection of eyeshadows and lipglasses (all are $14.50 and available at MAC). With a group like this one coming up with the colors, the collection was assured to be on-trend and fashion forward. Not only did it not disappoint, they can't keep it in stock! The first to go (a gorgeous emerald green eyeshadow called "Jealousy Wakes") didn't even make it 24 hours. I wasted no time in snapping up my favorites--a sparkly, orange-based red lipglass, "Sonoran Rain", and a glittery, iridescent green-tinged gunmetal eyeshadow, "Hocus Pocus"--and was able to test them out today. I took pictures, but with my not-professional-quality-in-the-least cellphone camera. They're not great, but it was the best I could do, so please bear with me. One day, I'll figure out how to take self-portraits with my nice SLR camera, but that day has not come, as of yet.

But again, I digress...

Let's start with the out-of-stock eyeshadow and get that over with. I'm actually sick that this is gone, because I'd really like to recommend it. It's, as mentioned above, a stunning gunmetal gray shadow with a glittering green tinge. Multi-colored iridescent pearls float throughout for an effect that makes me think of the scales on a mermaid's tail. No, I'm not trying to be poetic. That's really the first thing that came to mind. It's not a GREEN eyeshadow, but if you like green and need a good, versatile gray, this would be your shadow. You can use it all over for a smoky look, in the crease for definition, or as a subtle liner. I paired mine with a pale champagne pink, and was really impressed. My only gripe (other than the fact that it's, you know, gone) is that it's not as highly pigmented as most of the MAC shadows I've used in the past. Normally, my brush picks up the shadow like a magnet, but I had to layer this a bit to get the amount of color I wanted. Of course, it could have been intended to be sheer, in which case, they nailed it. Here's a really horrible, low-quality image taken in dim lighting to probably not help you even slightly:

Yep. That's a spectacularly bad photo of Hocus Pocus.

Final Verdict: 9 out of 10. I love the color, but I wish it were more pigmented.

So, moving on. The lipglass I chose is still in-stock (for now). This is a classic example of why I rarely buy makeup online without first testing out the color in person. From the pictures online (and even the one I took, myself), the product appears to have a sheer, glittery texture. In reality, the color is much more opaque, and more shimmery and shiny than glittery. It's still nice, and I really like it, but it's not what I was expecting. I ordered what I thought was a jelly and received a cream. However, I'm not holding an error on my account against the lipglass. The color is rich, creamy, and patent-leather shiny with a little gold and silver sparkle, but it's not a true red. MAC calls it a coral-red, but it's not pink enough for that description. This is almost true, Russian red, but has a tiny bit of orange to warm it up a bit. If you look good in orange, yellow, or gold, this is going to look amazing on you. My only complaint is that the lipglass is super-sticky, which would make you think that it would also be long-lasting. It's not. It didn't even come close to making it through lunch, and I even had to reapply after talking for a bit. Here, again, is an unspeakably bad picture of Sonoran Rain. I am so sorry:

I swear, my lips look much better in person. Dear God, my skin looks BLUE!

Final Verdict: 7 out of 10. It's moisturizing, shiny, and an amazing color. It just doesn't stay on worth a lick.