MAC Temperature Rising: Lipsticks

This past Thursday, MAC released a new collection in stores called Temperature Rising, which is their major colour launch for Summer. It is inspired by "a sensual, seductive rooftop society [that] comes out to play... where a rare breed of seduction emerges from the sultry heat of the day.... Bathed in neon, high on glamour, the look of polished penthouse perfection shimmers against a glowing skyline... The scene sizzles with glistening bronzed perfection." Temperature Rising is comprised of two parts, Colour and Face, which consists of a total of 26 products across two displayers. This collection sees the release of four shades of lipstick, three of which are new and limited edition, and one of which is a re-promote. They come in special edition bronze rubberized packaging with matching secondary cardstock boxes. Each lipstick contains 3 grams of product and retails for $20. Due to the special edition packaging, these are not applicable for the Back to MAC recycling program.
Altered Beige, Sheer Seduction, Caliente, and Feel My Pulse

Altered Beige is a light warm pinked beige with a sheen in a Lustre finish. This is a re-promoted shade from 2008's Colour Forms collection. The texture is soft and creamy, but it has a tendency to settle into lip lines resulting in unevenness. It has medium pigmentation and semi-sheer to semi-opaque buildable colour pay-off. It is lighter and less pink than Pure Zen, similar to Japanese Maple, and more pinked than Creme d'Nude.

Sheer Seduction is a medium orange-copper with reddened copper shimmer in a Dazzle finish. This is a new and limited edition shade. The texture is slightly gritty due to the amount of shimmer, but it goes on smoothly and evenly. It has medium-high pigmentation and semi-opaque to opaque buildable colour pay-off. There are no exact dupes within MAC's permanent range since the Dazzle finish is limited edition, but in terms of colour, it is more orange than Strength, darker and more copper than Jist, and darker and more brown than Meltdown.

Caliente is a medium-dark plum-brown with red, copper, and magenta shimmer in a Dazzle finish. This is a new and limited edition shade. The texture is slightly gritty due to the amount of shimmer, but it goes on smoothly and evenly. It has medium-high pigmentation and semi-opaque to opaque buildable colour pay-off. There are no exact dupes within MAC's permanent range since the Dazzle finish is limited edition, but in terms of colour, it is more brown than Odyssey, darker than Sequin, and more plum than Fluid.

Feel My Pulse is a medium-dark vibrant magenta-purple in a Cremesheen finish. This is a new and limited edition shade. The texture is soft and creamy, and goes on smoothly and evenly. It has medium-high pigmentation and semi-opaque to opaque buildable colour pay-off. It is more pink and less frosted than Violetta (PRO), brighter and more magenta than Up the Amp, and darker and more purple than Love Forever! Pro Longwear Lipstick.

Surprisingly, the lipsticks were probably the least interesting products to me from this collection. While I love magenta/purple shades like Feel My Pulse, I also feel like MAC has come out with a lot of similar shades to this recently, or at least in the same family (e.g. Heroine from last month's Fashion Sets, Daddy's Little Girl from February's Archie's Girls, Strong Woman from January's Strength, Seductive Intent from last December's Taste Temptation, Outrageously Fun from last October's Glamour Daze, etc.) so it's not quite as exciting or unique now, though it looks lovely across all skintones. Altered Beige is very easily duped, and there are better textures with the same or similar colour within MAC's permanent range. For those who liked the Dazzle lipsticks when they were originally launched a few years ago, there are two more options to check out here, but for those who didn't like them to begin with, these won't change your mind. I'm personally not a huge fan of the Dazzle lipsticks because of the noticeable texture from the heavy shimmer, and as they wear on the lips, they leave traces of sparkle that can look patchy. That having been said, the look of the Dazzle finish is unique and fun, and if you can get past the texture, it's worth checking out if you like those types of shades.