Rihanna Loves MAC: Fall Haul

On Thursday MAC released their new Limited Edition Fall range – a collaboration with the one and only Rihanna once again, going by the name ‘RiRi <3 MAC Fall’. I was a little late to the party, not usually paying much attention to MAC’s Limited Edition ranges (mainly because if I love it then it will only cause me torture) but oh, the packaging... the packaging of this one is just devine.  Cleverly, they’ve used rose gold (what girl can resist) and the designer in me just had to own such a beautiful product.

As soon as Friday lunchtime came around I found myself stomping into Leeds city centre on a mission to Harvey Nics in the pouring rain (again, cheers Yorkshire), feeling pretty defeated already having seen all the ‘SOLD OUT’ signs on the website; I was fairly certain I’d missed the boat altogether. Thankfully when I arrived I found that there was still some, if limited stock available and the loveliest MAC artist I’ve ever had helped me make my selection.

Initially tempted by the Her Cocoa Eye Palette (and admittedly still tempted by the Duo Fibre Shader Brush – lust), I decided on the Cream Colour Base in Diamonds (I’ve been looking for a new highlighter) and the Powder Blush Duo in Hisbiscus (after the assistant advised me that this was what she was taking home that evening). For ladies with a deeper skin tone, the Talk That Talk Lipstick looks to die for, but unfortunately my pasty northern skin just couldn’t take it L – check out RiRi wearing it in the promo shot though, just unbelievable.

The Duo Blush did not tempt me at all initially, but once on the skin I thought it was stunning and ingenious; all the contouring a girl could ever need in one easy, compact palette. The perfect matte bronzer which is not orangey or cakey in the slightest, and the pinkest of pink blushes which I admit, is always a favourite for my skin tone. As my MAC artist said – two for the price of one really. There’s a handy mirror inside too which also means the packaging is completely opaque from the outside, so more rosey-goldy-goodness for us – yay!

This little beauty is so easy to apply, it really is beautiful contouring for dummies. I use the bronzer in a diagonal line from the top of my ear, underneath my cheekbone towards the corner of my mouth but stopping just under the pupil in my eye. I then blend the blush just on/under the apple of my cheek (directly under my pupil), blending it under the cheekbone and slightly into the bronzer. I also always lightly build the coverage as this stops it from looking to liney or cakey, making it look far more natural. And voila – the results are just lovely! It really is foolproof – try this technique with your regular bronze and blush even if you don’t have this compact.

All three used together to make a lovely contour

The Cream Colour Base finishes off the look perfectly in my opinion. The beautiful thing about this compared to other highlighters I’ve used, it’s far more golden and natural rather than pale pink and pearly, which I think makes for a much more lovely effect and also doesn’t contradict the warmth of any bronzer you’ve already applied. In my experience this can end up a bit messy, particularly with a liquid highlighter.

Overall, I’m so impressed with product. It gives such a natural, dewy effect which I love and it’s also versatile; it can be used all over the face as a highlighter but also works beautifully as an eye base, or even an easy eye colour for day to day wear. As you can hopefully see from the picture (I’ve tried to capture the light reflection as best I can!), I’ve applied it above the cheekbone in a small line towards the edge of my face, spreading it round under my eyebrow, with a little also on my tear ducts and cupid’s bow (just above the v on your top lip) which I think gives the ideal natural glow without looking shiny/greasy/sweaty/all of the above. I find just using my fingers works best for application so no need for any extra tools!

Swatches L-R: Hisbiscus Blush, Bronzer then Cream Colour Base in Diamonds

All in all, I think this is a lovely collection and I’m chuffed to bits with my little purchases, I think I’ll really get a lot of wear out of them and already am! I may still go back for the brush though…

Let me know what you thought about the collection and if you haven’t had a look yet, you better get your skates on and snap it up!

Duo Powder Blush: £23, Cream Colour Base: £16.50

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