This past Thursday, MAC launched their first official Fall colour collection called A Novel Romance. As the name implies, it is inspired by romance novels. MAC describes A Novel Romance as "a colour collection teeming with deep, luscious shades that will have you feeling overwhelmed with desire. Passion mounts, and untamed hues fan the flames of your deepest emotions, as an amorous adventure begins... Like fiction brought to life, the surging passions of this after-dark adventure seem almost too good to be true." This collection will see the launch of 41 products, 15 of which are new and limited edition (of which one is an online exclusive), 13 of which are new and permanent, nine of which are re-promotes, and four of which are permanent. A Novel Romance will see the release of six limited edition lipsticks, one of which is an online exclusive shade and one of which is a re-promoted shade. Each lipstick comes in a regular black packaging, contains a total of 3 grams of product, and retails for $19. These are applicable for the Back to MAC recycling program at all locations.
Myself is a light soft cool-toned pinked beige in a Lustre finish. This is a re-promoted shade from 2010's All Ages, All Races, All Sexes collection, and is limited edition. It has a soft and creamy texture, and goes on smoothly and evenly. It has low pigmentation and sheer to semi-sheer buildable colour pay-off. It is cooler than Politely Pink, lighter and much cooler than Viva Glam V, and much pinker than High Tea.
A Novel Romance is a light-medium cool-toned pink in a Cremesheen finish. This is a new and limited edition shade. It has a soft and creamy texture, and goes on smoothly and evenly. It has high pigmentation and opaque colour pay-off. It is cooler than Angel and Creme Cup, and warmer and softer than Saint Germain.
Good Kisser is a medium-dark vibrant watermelon pink with subtle cool undertones in a Matte finish. This is a new and limited edition shade. It has a soft and creamy texture, and goes on smoothly and evenly. It has high pigmentation and opaque colour pay-off. It is lighter and more pink than All Fired Up, cooler and more pink than Relentlessly Red, and cooler and more matte than Speak Louder.
Yield to Love is a medium-dark pinked plum with subtle cool undertones in a Cremesheen finish. This is a new and limited edition shade, and is an online exclusive. It has a soft and creamy texture, and goes on smoothly and evenly. It has high pigmentation and opaque colour pay-off. It is brighter and more pink than Plumful, slightly warmer than Craving, and lighter and more pink than Captive.
Hearts Aflame is a dark warm-toned rich oxblood red in a Matte finish. This is a new and limited edition shade. It has a soft and creamy texture, and goes on smoothly and evenly. It has high pigmentation and opaque colour pay-off. It is more brown than Diva, lighter and more red than Media, and warmer than Sin.
Lingering Kiss is a deep dark burgundy plum in a Matte finish. This is a new and limited edition shade. It has a soft and creamy texture, and goes on smoothly and evenly. It has high pigmentation and opaque colour pay-off. It is darker than Media, and more reddened than Cyber and Smoked Purple.
At first glance, the variety of lipsticks in this collection is kind of odd. I mean, you have your vampy shades (Hearts Aflame and Lingering Kiss) and even a brightened plum (Yield to Love, which is online exclusive) which are expected for a fall collection, but then you've got a bright pink that's quite summery and a light pastel-like bubblegum pink that's quite springy. But it all makes sense when you put it together with the rest of the collection and consider the colour story, because these shades look stunning when paired with the eyeshadow quads. Either way, all the lipsticks here have gorgeous textures and great colour pay-off (even the Cremesheens go on opaque!), with the exception of Myself, which is very sheer. I have to put on about ten layers of Myself before it looks like I'm wearing something on my lips, and then it's actually a very nice pink-nude shade (like Blankety or Viva Glam II), but you really gotta work it. It's also a nice shade to lighten up very reddened lips or if you want a really subtle, really natural shade... but if you're going to spend the money, there are many other shades from MAC that give very similar colour but with a lot less work. Regardless, if any of these lipsticks entice you, you better grab it ASAP, because as with all lipsticks from MAC collections, these ones will sell out fast.
They're all like, pink, though? Or well, not really, but I feel like it's a real Valentine's day palette, lol. No browns or oranges or purples or whatever. I like the look of Lingering Kiss (and I love mattes!) but I'm trying to restrict the number of vampy shades I own, lol.
ReplyDeleteHaha, I didn't really see the Valentine's Day aspect until you brought it up. Of course, given that it's inspired by romance novels, it kinda makes sense. :P
DeleteThere's gonna be lots of new matte lipsticks coming out in October. Keep your eye out for them. ;)
I had my eye on Yield To Love, but none of the lipsticks really grabbed me. Do you find that there's a slight retro feel to this collection? Like, in a good way. :)
ReplyDeleteI feel like there are enough dupes in MAC's permanent range that make most of these skippable... but I do love Hearts Aflame and Lingering Kiss. What can I say, I'm in vamp mode.
DeleteAnd yep, almost all the collections for fall have a "throwback" vibe to them. :) I kinda love it.
Definitely digging the last two, but I feel they're all similar to either shades I own or shades I could get my hands on easily. Interested to see what the new mattes are you mentioned above though!!
ReplyDeleteAgreed -- everything here is pretty dupeable, especially the two darker shades (which are my favourites). If you have MAC's Diva and Media, you definitely don't need them, lol. And yes, new mattes in October. I'm quite excited to see them in person myself. :)
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