MAC Holiday Collection: Divine Desire Paramore Pink

 

I've never bought anything from MAC collections before because there was always a new one almost every month and it just seemed like their regular products with different packaging. Funny that because I bought MAC's Holiday Collection 2012 based purely on their packaging. It's so pretty! The contents are pretty neat too of course.

I'm surprised they went for something so cute and dolly. This design is typical to Japanese cosmetics - kinds of reminds me of Dollywink with the pale pastel colours and big black bow. 

There are several products you can get in the collection including the kits which I think have the most adorable packaging. The collection includes:

• Holiday Colour - includes single products from eyeshadows to lipglosses (the usual - price varies)
• Holiday Eye Kits - beautiful eyeshadow palettes in the clutch box (smaller than one above - £32)
• Holiday Face Kits - these include Blot Powder, lipstick and lipglass (£30)
• Holiday Eye, Lip and Brush kits - comes with a leopard print makeup bag and includes eyeshadow, eyeliner, mascara and brush (£37)
• Exclusive Face Kit - as above and reviewed below (£45)
• Holiday Mini Kits - 4 mini eyeshadows or lipglosses (£25.50)

Most of these items are sold out so get them while you can! I bought mines from the MAC website but check Debenhams as they also stock MAC makeup. They are the perfect gift for makeup lovers and the price range allows you to get it for someone whatever the budget.

The one I chose was the Exclusive Face Kit: Divine Desire Paramore Pink. I really like MAC blushes and I've never tried their lipsticks or lipglosses so thought this would be a good kit to try out. Plus I love pink! I couldn't decide between this kit or the coral one but in the end I much prefer the light pink packaging. I would have got both if I could afford it!

I considered asking this for my Christmas but I wanted it right away so purchased it myself. For £45 this is a great price as you get 5 MAC products. 

This includes:

• 129 SE Power/Blush Brush 
• Technakohl liner in Purple Dash
• Cremesheen Lipstick in Heart to Heart
• Lipglass in Warm Embrace
• Powder Blush in Divine Desire

129 SE Power/Blush Brush 

Unfortunately the blush brush is not as good as their regular brushes. Not very soft at all so I've not really used this at all. The brush was tucked in the pocket inside the clutch.

Technakohl liner in Purple Dash

I've tried the Technakohl eyeliner before in Graphblack which was amazing in pigmentation but this one in Purple Dash just doesn't seem to compare. I tried to put this on my waterline and it just didn't transfer at all. So I was quite disappointed. 

Sorry for the poor quality swatch below (lack of good daylight lately).

Cremesheen Lipstick in Heart to Heart 

I've only heard good things about MAC lipsticks especially the Cremesheen formula so was excited to finally try this! It's the perfect shade for me as it makes my lips 'pop'. It's not too far from my natural lip colour but adds more pigmentation for them. It glides on so nice and the lasting power is quite impressive. I love the shape of the lipstick - like a bullet!

Lipglass in Warm Embrace

I used to wear lipglosses all the time until I started to get more into lipstick. The packaging is super cute (but what isn't with a bow!?). Not much to say except that it doesn't have a really strong smell or is overly sticky. I shall use this on special occasions.

It's quite sheer and surprise surprise works wonderfully together with Heart to Heart.

Powder Blush in Divine Desire

Comparison between the two sizes

The blush is around half the size of the normal MAC blushes which is fine as it will take me forever to finish one blush! I love pink cheeks but I also love peachy/coral cheeks. Since I already have a MAC blush in Peaches this blush adds nicely to my collection.

The shade is buildable - a really cute pink colour that is not as bright as it looks in the pan. All swatches in this post is one swipe with a finger. Blush never swatches well but that's a good thing as you don't want to put too much on in one go!

 


Again sorry for the crappy photos - it's really hard to catch the sunlight and take proper photos during the winter.

Conclusion

If you were thinking of purchasing something from this collection I'd go for an item that comes with the clutch as it is to die for. 

It's very good quality and the tray comes out so you can use it for all the Christmas parties! The big mirror comes in handy as well if you're on a night out. But that is if you can risk taking it out as I think it's too pretty to lose/damage. 

The material of the clutch can be prone to dirt so to keep it clean I put it back in the plastic bag and then into the box it came with.