MAC It's A Strike!: Lipstick in Honeylove, Flat Out Fabulous, All Fired Up, Perfect Score, and Bowl Me Over

Last Thursday, MAC launched their first fall collection called It's A Strike!: "Head straight to the fast lane and have a ball with It's A Strike! A set of varsity-chic hues gives you that glamour strike that's sure to bring you luck." It's A Strike! inclues a total of 29 products, and sees the release of seven lipsticks, of which two are new and limited edition, three are permanent, and two are limited edition and online exclusive (which will not be reviewed here). Each lipstick is housed in regular black packaging, contains a total of 3 grams of product, and retails for $21. These are applicable for the Back to MAC recycling program.
Honeylove, Flat Out Fabulous, All Fired Up, Perfect Score, and Bowl Me Over
Honeylove, Flat Out Fabulous, All Fired Up, Perfect Score, and Bowl Me Over

Honeylove is a light warm pinked beige in a Matte finish. This is a permanent shade. It has a soft, creamy texture, and goes on smoothly and evenly. It has high pigmentation and opaque colour pay-off. It is more pink than Yash, lighter than Velvet Teddy, and lighter and more pink than Cherish.

Flat Out Fabulous is a medium-dark cool magenta pink in a Retro Matte finish. This is a permanent shade. It has a drier texture, but goes on smoothly and evenly. It has high pigmentation and opaque colour pay-off. It is lighter and more pink than Heroine, lighter than Tailored to Tease, and darker and more matte than Girl About Town.

All Fired Up is a medium-dark cool pinked red in a Retro Matte finish. This is a permanent shade. It has a drier texture, but goes on smoothly and evenly. It has high pigmentation and opaque colour pay-off. It is cooler and more pink than Relentlessly Red, more pink than Ruby Woo, and more red and more matte than Fusion Pink.

Perfect Score is a medium-deep slightly cool crimson red in a Matte finish. This is a new and limited edition shade. It has a soft, creamy texture, and goes on smoothly and evenly. It has high pigmentation and opaque colour pay-off. It is cooler than Viva Glam I, darker than Russian Red, and lighter than Diva.

Bowl Me Over is a dark warm burgundy brown in a Retro Matte finish. This is a new and limited edition shade. It has a soft, creamy texture, and goes on smoothly and evenly. It has high pigmentation and opaque colour pay-off. It is more red than Viva Glam III, warmer and more brown than Sin, and more muted and more brown than Studded Kiss.

Of the five lipsticks launched with It's A Strike! (not including the two online exclusive shades), only two are actually new while the other three are permanent shades that are being re-promoted with this collection. While I do think that Honeylove, Flat Out Fabulous, and All Fired Up complement the colour story of It's A Strike! (and they are some of MAC's bestselling shades), I do wish that MAC had taken the opportunity to come out with new Retro Matte shades or even re-promoted Retro Matte shades that were never added to the permanent range but would also go well with this collection (e.g. Pander Me, Fashion Revival, Styled in Sepia, etc.). However, the two new and limited shades, Perfect Score and Bowl Me Over, really are universally flattering, and are also gorgeously appropriate for fall. Plus, the ultra-matte finishes capture the "retro chic" vibe of this collection really well. That having been said, there are lots of dupes of both of these shades, even within MAC's permanent range, and I wouldn't say either of them are particularly unique. However, ff you don't already have something similar to those shades in your stash, they are well worth checking out.