Mac Haute Altitude Lipstick Review and Swatches

The last product I want to review from Mac Apres Chic collection (until I get my new Stereo Rose anyway) is Haute Altitude lipstick. Although I'm on a lipstick no buy, I decided to get this because it looked really pretty in the swatches I'd seen and also on my hands when I swatched it at the counter. And since I had 6 B2Mac empties, I got it for free, so it doesn't count anyway, does it?

Haute Altitude is an amplified finish, it's creamy and opaque in a couple of swipes. It feels comfortable on the lips and isn't drying at all. On me it doesn't last very long, I only get a couple of hours' wear out of it. I'm not entirely sure what the difference is between all the lipstick finishes Mac has, but amplified finishes are pretty creamy and have a good colour payoff. Haute Altitude is described as "midtone blue pink" to me it look like a nude pink colour. I'm not entirely happy with how it looks on me, it's a bit paler than I expected and not sure if it suits me at all. It's quite a bit lighter than Mehr lipstick and has a glossier finish. It is a pretty nude pink lipstick and would be suitable for those who don't like bright lip colours or can't wear them due to their jobs, etc.

The colour of this looks different in practically every picture I took, but I'd say it's most true in the lip swatch picture (it was taken without flash, whereas the full face one was taken with flash). It's definitely pink and noy as coral as it looks in some pictures.

Mac lipsticks cost £14 and you get 3 g for your money. Haute Altitude is limited edition and I'm not sure if it's still available. 

See more pictures including swatches after the jump!

Mac Amber Glow Mineralize Blush Review and Swatches

Another item I managed to pick up from Mac's latest collection, Apres Chic is Amber Glow mineralize blush. This is in fact the only cheek product I got (other than Stereo Rose which I haven't picked up from House of Fraser yet) from the collection because I already own Gentle and didn't like the look of Alpine Bronze (it was too brown for my liking).

Amber Glow is described by Mac as "warm peach". It is a very light peachy colour with very fine subtle shimmer. On me it hardly shows up as a blush and I'm quite pale (Guerlain foundation shade 02) in the winter, so this is definitely more of a highlighter, unless you are very pale or pack it on. I did two layers and it still hardly gave me any colour. It's very pretty though and it's not a colour I own, or certainly don't recall owning. It's very finely milled and smooth, goes on and blends out really nicely. It doesn't look ashy at all, so it would probably work okay on darker, warmer skintones. I don't think this is a must have product, but it's nice and gives a really lovely natural looking sheen.

Mac mineralize blushes cost £19 and you get 3.2 g product. Amber Glow and Alpine Bronze are limited edition colours and seem to be selling fast, Amber Glow is showing as sold out on the Debenhams and House of Fraser websites but is still in stock on the Mac website.

See more pictures including swatches after the jump!

Mac Apres Chic Collection Mineralize Eyeshadows Review and Swatches

It's taken me ages to finally get my hands on the new Mac mineralize eyeshadows. The collection actually launched 2 weeks ago on the Mac website and counters, but I was waiting for Debenhams or House of Fraser to put the collection up, so I can collect some loyalty points. Eventually I managed to order from Debenhams, only to receive an e-mail the following day that some of the items couldn't be fulfilled because they were out of stock, even though 2 of them WERE still in stock up until a couple of days ago and Stereo Rose MSF was definitely in stock at the time of order and in fact some Specktra friends who ordered after I did got theirs. On top of it all my order only arrived on Tuesday, 6 days after I placed it, and of course I missed the postman, so had to pick it up yesterday. I managed to buy the two missing items in Selfridges last week and I have now ordered Stereo Rose from House of Fraser, just need to go and pick it up. I'm seriously not happy with Debenhams, but I will stop ranting about them now, because there are more interesting things to talk about, like the new Mac mineralize eyeshadows!

There are 5 new limited edition shades in the Apres Chic collection: Ice, Fireside, Frost At Midnight, Winter Pursuit and Silver Birch. They are all a mix of 2 shades, Ice is described by Mac as "light peach base with white veining", Fireside is "deep plum with grey veining", Frost At Midnight is "deep blue/grey base with purple veining", Winter Pursuit is "copper base with grey veining" and Silver Birch is "grey base with peach veining". My Fireside is almost a duo rather than a mix, it has a plum half and a brown with green duochrome. The eyeshadows are all shimmery, with Fireside being the least, and Ice being the most shimmery, in fact that one is properly glittery. The glitter is very fine though and I didn't experience fallout from it, so it's not necessarily a bad thing. I found Frost At Midnight to be the hardest, least pigmented of the bunch, I don't know if mine's a dud or they're all like that, but it doesn't have a very good colour payoff and it feels rather hard, not as buttery as some of the other shades. I haven't tried them wet yet, only swatched and used them dry, but of course mineralize eyeshadows can be used wet for a more intense, smooth colour.

Mac mineralize eyeshadows cost £16.50 and you get 2.2 g product for your money. Although these shades are limited edition, they are still all available.

See more pictures including swatches after the jump!