From upcoming MAC designer collections, Toledo stole my heart with beautiful packaging design and gorgeous ombre blushes. Although I didn't feel the red lipsticks all that much, the nude lipstick called Oxblood called my name. I also wanted to try the green liner and give the purple palette a go. Here is what my thoughts are for the second part of my picks from MAC. Check the first part of my Toledo Collection review here.
MAC Lipstick Oxblood, Intense Eyeliner Chlorafill, Eyeshadow Palette Violetwink and Ombre Blush Kindergarten Red |
There are three palettes in the collection, a blue, a purple and a green one. I would like to try the green, since it looked unique but remembering that the green palette from Simpsons Collection didn't work all that well on me, I settled on to the purple one. Purple is always a safe decision for me but then yet again a hard one because I own so many purple eye shadows, it is hard for a palette to become my favorite. I was once asked to do a "Purple/Plum Favorites" post, let me know if you would like that in the comments below.
MAC Eyeshadow Palette Violetwink for Toledo Collection |
After swatching MAC Toledo Eyeshadow Palette Violetwink for the first time, I have understood that I made a mistake by picking this one up. The second and the third colors of my palette are rock hard and the third color literally needed to be scratched from the pan for the swatch below. Fourth color is an iridescent magenta, which is beautiful but wouldn't justify the price all alone. In the States, MAC Cosmetics is a little more affordable than other high-end brands so one can (possibly) tolerate a quality deficiency for one or two of the six colors but in Germany once you pay 45€ for this palette, it should deliver the quality of, say a Chanel eye shadow palette and unfortunately with Violetwink it is not the case.
Swatch: MAC Eyeshadow Palette Violetwink for Toledo Collection |
For the look below, I used the second shade on the inner corner, the fourth shade in the middle of the lid, the fifth shade on the outer corner and sixth shade on the crease. I then added the green MAC Intense Eyeliner, called Chlorafill on the lower water line. I usually like green and purple combination but this Chlorafill was a little too dense (is this why it is called intense? lol) with a chalky appearance once applied on its own, so I had to combine it with a deep blue eye liner, Urban Decay's 24/7 Glide On in Tornado, which I also applied on the upper lashes.
MAC Eyeshadow Palette Violetwink and Intense Eyeliner Chlorafill for Toledo Collection |
Here is MAC Intense Eyeliner in Chlorafill. I love those type of acid green shades but one should really apply this one with moderation since there it is very soft and pigmented, which is not a bad thing but didn't look all that well after the first application until I brought some blue/violet around it.
MAC Intense Eyeliner Chlorafill for Toledo Collection |
I am in love with the ombre blushes from the collection. I had to have all three but unfortunately my deer friend who picked these up from MAC Store in the states made a mistake and picked a second Ripe Peach for me instead of Azalea Blossom. Now I have to wait a little more for that beauty to come to me. Meanwhile I am happily playing with Kindergarten Red. The name made me think a bit but it is really not a red color, it is a gorgeous neutral to cool pink. Some have reported quality issues with the blushes. I am happy to report that my Ombre Blush in Kindergarten Red is very smooth and applies beautifully. It is love!
MAC Ombre Blush in Kindergarten Red for Toledo Collection |
There are reds lipsticks in the collection, but I went for the nude one, a matte lipstick called Oxblood. The name is a little misleading, it is a lovely peachy nude, very close to Enchanted One from Alluring Aquatics (swatched here) but warmer and lighter. I love Oxblood but it doesn't hold very long on me, after the first coffee it was already gone. Next time I will try to layer it and blot it to improve the longevity.
MAC Lipstick in Oxblood (Matte) |
Here are some swatches of Mac Blush Ombre in Kindergarten Red, layered and separately up and bottom shades as well as Lipstick in Oxblood and Eyeliner in Chlorafill.
Swatches: MAC Kindergarten Red, Oxblood and Chlorafill, |
Here is everything in action, below I am wearing Eyeshadow Palette in Violetwink and Eyeliner in Chlorafill on the eyes. I have Kindergarten Red Ombre Blush on the cheeks and Lipstick in Oxblood on the lips. I think Kindergarten Red Blush and Oxblood lipsticks make a gorgeous combination. I ended up wearing this combination for other eye looks during the last weeks.
FOTD with MAC Kindergarten Red, Oxblood, Violetwink and Chlorafill |
FOTD with MAC Kindergarten Red, Oxblood, Violetwink and Chlorafill |
Final thoughts: From MAC Toledo Collection, I am in love with the Ombre Blushes and Lipstick in Oxblood. Unfortunately my Eyeshadow Palette in Violetwink had quality problems, two of the six shades have poor color pay-off. Eyeliner Chlorafill is nice but hard to make it work, even for a color wearer such as myself.
Availability/Price: Toledo Collection is now available in the states. In March, it will be sold in all MAC Stores in Germany. Ombre Blushes will cost around 32€, Eyeliner is 20€ and eye shadow palettes are 45€.
Have you picked up or are you eyeing anything from this collection?
Disclaimer: The products in this post are purchased by me.
I'm pretty sure I had a Mac ombre blush called Azalea Blossom a few years back and although it looked very very pretty in the pan (pink and Lilac) it pulled really ghostly on my skin and I got rid - so try before you purchase! Susan, London
ReplyDeleteSo sorry to hear the palette has quality issues, but you created a stunning look regardless! I'd love to see your purple/plum favorites for sure!
ReplyDeleteI like your eye makeup, Sara! Chlorafill really adds that fun twist to the overall look! I'm not surprised that the palette performs poorly. MAC collection palettes are usually hit or miss (mostly miss) so I rarely buy any unless I see something I really like. I wonder why MAC makeup is so much more expensive overseas. I think it costs 3x more in Thailand than in the States. Crazy!
ReplyDeleteThe purple looks stunning with your eyes, too bad about the palette. I have to be careful when wearing purple/plums, as they can make my eyes look bruised or emphasize undereye dark circles, so I would love to see swatches of your favorite purple/plums to see if they will work for me. Thanks so much !
ReplyDeleteoh no the shadows looked so pretty in the pan but when 30% of a palette doesnt perform well..Boo! And Oxblood..wow what were they thinking. I mean beautiffl colouryes but NOT OxBlood lol. Actually they may as well have named it NotOxBlood loolll Love the whole look on you though Sara!
ReplyDeleteI didn't pick up anything from this collection although I was really tempted to. I love purple eyeshadows but I am glad I skipped the palette. The blush looks great and it compliments your skin so nicely. But I am pretty sure I have something similar in my massive collection of blushes.
ReplyDeleteIt's such a FUN collection! I'm gonna go discover it next week, I can't wait to check out that blush and lippie for myself.
ReplyDeleteHi Susan,
ReplyDeleteyes Azalea Blossom is a repromote. I hope it doesn't look ghostly on me, because I have already ordered it by the time I have read your message. There seem to be some quality issues with Ombre Blushes too, some reported rock hard surface which is better once scratched, so I am having second thoughts ordering it overseas, sight unseen.
Hi Sunny,
ReplyDeletelol it will be a long and hard post which I was trying to avoid for so long ;-)
Hi Jaa,
ReplyDeleteI know limited editions eye shadows of MAC is rarely good. I wonder why especially MAC has this price difference. 3 times? OMG, that is unacceptable!
Last year MAC was really surprising, especially from Summer to fall collections. Now I started to feel I should stop ordering these sight unseen and see if I like them in person.
ReplyDeleteHi Rach,
ReplyDeleteRed is very close to peach, I would get it if I were you.
I was also eyeing green I feel like a look is not complete without an eye product and feel like I have to order something for eye department. I should try to stop myself in the future from doing so lol.
Hi,
ReplyDeleteI want to play with the items too once they are released. But maybe I rather shouldn't because I may end up with more lippies lol.
Hi Katherine,
ReplyDeletethe same story for me with olives. I have olive under eye darkness and this is emphasized with olives if I don't conceal accordingly. I am definitely getting plums purples post in the list :-*
Hi Agata,
ReplyDeleteI think you can safely skip the palette. Ombre Blushes are something I can't help buying but you are right, it is easier to find a blush dupe than an eye shadow dupe, simply because blush is used sheer :-)
LOL Oxblood name got me so confused!
ReplyDeleteNotOxBlood LOL, that cracked me up!
Thanks Dee :-*
I haven't tried Clinique Eye Shadow Palettes yet but I am sure there are close colors out there. You are right about the quality. I love extra dimensions as well, they perform so good!
ReplyDeleteAh, so gorgeous! Kindergarten Red was my biggest temptation from the collection and it's lovely on you! The purple shadows are stunning too :)
ReplyDeleteHi Sara! I love the look you created there, it suits you very well! The Toledo collection came out yesterday in London and Oxblood is now sold out in Selfridges (the store - I am not sure online!) I played it safe and got the oxblood lipstick with ripe peach blush - gorgeous combo! And I was bit daring with the eye palettes - I picked up the green one. It's gorgeous, in particular the olive yellow type of colours with the shimmery khaki. Unfortunately, even if it looked fab, it did not last long. About two hours and the lighter colour was gone. Saying that, I need to play with it more and maybe I find a way to make it last longer. Sorry to hear the purple one was not a great option. Would you try the green palette?
ReplyDelete