MAC Alluring Aquatic: Lipsticks

Today, MAC will be releasing their first major summer colour collection, Alluring Aquatic, in stores. It is inspired by "mythological sirens of the deep" and 1940s "aquamusicals" (such as those featuring Esther Williams). The entire collection features a total of 32 products, of which 29 are new and limited edition, and three are permanent at all locations. Alluring Aquatic will see the launch of six new and limited edition shades of lipstick. They come in special edition metallic teal tubes that are "elegantly accented with sheer water droplets," as well as 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. 
Siren Song, Pet Me, Please, Enchanted One, Mystical, and Goddess of the Sea
Siren Song, Pet Me, Please, Enchanted One, Mystical, and Goddess of the Sea

Siren Song is a pale champagne beige with champagne pearl in a Lustre finish. This is a new and limited edition shade. 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 more golden than Frou, much less pink and warmer than Pretty Please, and sheerer than Tanarama.
Pet Me, Please is a light peachy beige with mauve pearl in a Frost finish. This is a new and limited edition shade. It has a soft and creamy texture, and goes on smoothly and evenly. It has medium pigmentation and semi-sheer to semi-opaque buildable colour pay-off. It is more pink than Gel, lighter and cooler than Fabby, and lighter than Sandy B.
Enchanted One is a light-medium warm peachy beige 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 peach than Honeylove, less brown than Cherish, and darker than Peachstock (PRO).

Mystical is a medium-dark warm rose 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 more pink than Twig and Fast Play, and darker and less pink than Cosmo.

Goddess of the Sea is a medium-dark cool purple berry 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 more purple than Captive, darker and more pink than Up The Amp, and darker and more purple than Plumful.

The Alluring Aquatic collection as a whole is more about dramatic eyes and clean illuminated skin, so the lipstick shades released with this launch are meant to compliment them rather than be the focus, which is what is usually expected of summer collections. For those who expected bright, in-your-face shades that are usually associated with this time of year (see: Playland), you won't find that with Alluring Aquatic. The brightest we get here is Goddess of the Sea, which is somewhere between a purple and a berry and slightly darker than orchid, as if Up The Amp and Captive had a baby. It works well on all skintones and undertones; it will appear darker on fairer skintones and brighter on darker skintones. Enchanted One is a fantastic matte warm nude shade that will work on almost all skintones; fans of Honeylove, Velvet Teddy, and Peachstock will swoon over it.

Mystical is a nice everyday shade that adds just enough colour without being too bright but is more of a pop than a my-lips-but-better shade; it will appear more coral on fairer skintones and more of a rose pink on darker skintones. For those who like more metallic, frosted finishes to their lipstick, Siren Song and Pet Me, Please may appease you if you like lighter shades that look more like a glaze of colour on the lips; they are both on the sheerer side so your natural lip colour will show through. My only issue with these kinds of shades is that they don't have a long wear-time and they tend to emphasize lip texture so they fade unevenly on the lips. All in all, though, there's actually a nicely varied range of lipsticks in terms of colour and texture with this launch despite the lack of the typical summer brights. All in all, I would say my biggest must-have from these is Goddess of the Sea — it looks flattering on nearly everyone and there's nothing really similar to it in MAC's permanent range.