October 8, 2008

Manish Arora for MAC Review and Swatches

Well…you either loved Manish Arora for MAC or you hated it, there wasn’t any in between that I’ve seen around the Internet this week!

I happen to fall into the absolutely in love, thrilled to pieces, simply adore this collection category!

This is the type of collection that sits up and screams my name with it’s bold shades of shadow, outrageous colors of blush, and vibrant glosses and lipsticks! Love, love, love!

If you hate it, I truly can’t begin to understand why but I absolutely love it and slap a big Muse Approval on it!

The packaging is truly beautiful on this collection with it’s Indian inspired swirls, hearts, and sparkle. It has a certain Hindi feel to it that’s masked in the colors and design! MAC went with a subtle neon orange for the blush compacts, a gold and pink for the palette with jewel encrusted hearts on the top, a darker hue of orange for the lipstick tubes, and yellow for the lipglasses. The designs are all etched and printed on without any stickers to peel off a la Fafi! Thank god for that! I simply love the beautiful golden swirls topped with multi-colored hearts! I’m particularly partial to the compact with it’s little jeweled hearts. It’s difficult to pick what my favorite items are in this collection as everything is beyond beautiful.

I highly recommend this collection for darker skin tones as the shades are so intense and vibrant they are sure to flatter a deeper tone!

The blushes in the collection are Pink Swoon and Devil. Out of the two Devil is absolutely, positively my favorite! Devil is a fiery, bold orange that gives me cheeks a nice pop of peachy color that can be worn sheer or built up for a deeper finish. Although some may be scared of such a vibrant orange shade, the Muse is no stranger to such a color. Devil is comparable to other pieces in my collection such as NARS Blush in Taos and Shu Uemura Blush in P Orange 58D (I’m working with Shu to get those crazy numbers and letters turned into names! Sheesh!).

NARS, MAC, and Shu Blushes

Pink Swoon was surprisingly low key after the shock of Devil! I haven’t yet tried it but I’m preparing myself to be disappointed as it’s a very true pink that swatched quite sheer however after a few strokes I did manage to build the color up so I’m keeping hope alive that it’ll be equally easy to get the desired intensity on my cheeks!

When presented with the lipsticks from Manish Arora of course the first one to catch my eye was Kiss Manish! Ahhhhhhhhh it’s perfection! The second I seen it I could only think one thing, Pink Grapefruit Lipglass! This was the ideal color to pair up with my very favorite lipglass color! Kiss Manish is a beautifully deep coral shade with touches of peach and orange. If you’re looking for an interesting alternative you might want to try Avon Lipstick in Rose Charm as I thought the finish was a good dupe although Kiss Manish is a bit deeper.

Avon Rose Charm vs MAC Kiss Manish

The second lipstick released, Girl About Town, is a deep fuchsia which is quite wearable when compared to other fuchsias I’ve run across from MAC. I actually like the way this looks on and when paired with Pink Manish Lipglass you get a rather nice look!

It’s probably obvious that out of the two MAC Lipglasses released with Manish Arora, Shine Manish is my favorite. This is a marriage most wonderful when paired up with MAC Lipstick in Kiss Manish! The color is slightly lighter than kiss Manish but manages to keep that intense fiery orange color that made Kiss Manish such a hit for me!

MAC Lipglass in Pink Manish is a true pink that’s not quite fuchsia in my opinion. It has a small dose of sheer shimmer and pairs up beautiful well with Girl About Town!

And finally the Pi�ce de R�sistance, the MAC Manish Arora Palette! This shouldn’t be appealing to me as it contains quite a few matte shades however I forgive MAC for the matte since they also included some rather nice shimmery shades as well! I likely have almost all these shades already but I’m a sucker for beautiful compacts!

Shades included are:

  • Nylon (Why is Nylon looking more beautiful in this palette?)
  • Going Bananas (Released with C-Shock)
  • Bitter
  • Playful
  • Electric Eel
  • Deep Truth

The colors are much more vibrant than these swatches you see! I was just being overprotective with my palette and not pressing hard!

Overall, the collection was a winner for me! I’m particularly pleased with MAC Lipstick in Kiss Manish, MAC Blush in Devil, MAC Lipglass in Shine Manish, and the beautiful palette!

Call me a fan girl, call me a groupie, but I personally think MAC did a nice job with this collection and it’s Muse Approved for purchase!

Please keep in mind this may be sold out online but as I mentioned in a prior post it officially sells at MAC North Robertson and MAC Soho tomorrow morning as of 11AM so call early to reserve! I got a bit busy today and didn’t get a chance to call about shipping so I’ll try to do so tomorrow and let you know!

I don’t yet have face of the day looks using any of this but will group some together shortly so you can see the collection at work!

The Muse is a happy camper now that she has Manish Arora in her possession!

Love it?

Hauled any of it for yourself?

What did you get?

Skipping?

Tell the Muse!



MAC Colour Forms Review and Swatches

MAC Neo Sci-Fi Review

MAC DressCamp Review

MAC Heatherette Review

26 Comments

About the Muse

Isabella MuseIsabella is just an average everyday geeky girl who doesn’t blend her eyeshadow correctly, wears too much blush, and hopes she never finds her holy grail products because she likes the thrill of the chase so much. Her mission is to bring you super honest reviews on makeup, skincare, fragrance and all things beauty. She’s in no way an expert on the topic and she sure as hell isn’t a super model. But she’s passionate about makeup and is seeking like-minded individuals that like pina coladas, getting caught in the rain, and ones that enjoy spending hundreds of dollars at Sephora without feeling buyer’s remorse. If you’re that person feel free to reach out and leave a comment or follow me on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and Bloglovin‘.

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Comments

  • Askmewhats

    Muse! I am staring at my computer screen right now! the packaging is SUPER pretty and I would go gaga if the collection did come to shores! thanks for sharing !!!

  • Sneha

    This looks so exciting! I’ll have to run to the mall ASAP to check out these colors.

  • Stephy

    Thanks for the review Musey! I THINK I’d skip this… cuz I have never been a lipstick/lip-gloss/blush girl… i’m more of an eye shadow girl… but the colour in this palette doesnt look TOO appealing to me for whatever reason… haha… PLUS I just splurged into getting myself the NARS best palette which i am just DEEPLY IN LOVE with its silky-smooth texture!!! BUT i think i’d probably think about the MAC palette again after seeing FOTDs with them… especially urs!! 🙂

  • Anonymous

    Hi Muse my name is Carla and sorry to right under anonymous name I just don’t know how to make an acount
    anyway I realy like the manish collection but waitin’ for red she said lippies and shades
    and I know it’s outta topic but haven’t you tried dior eyeshadow in petal shine? I know you love dior as well 🙂
    waitin’ for your reviews about dior holiday collection I’m lemmin’ the black diamond powder:)

  • the Muse

    hi nikki!

    You’re most welcome! I love the packaging!!!!!!! I hope it comes over your way as it’s gorgeous!

  • the Muse

    hi there Sneha!

    It’s only available in two locations within the US as far as I know 🙂 just in case you can’t find it…phew!

    I hope you find it as it’s lovely!

    Thanks for the comment!
    Hugs!

  • the Muse

    hi Stephy!

    You’re most welcome love! I can totally understand why you aren’t loving it. I think it’s NOT for everyone. You kinda either love or hate it 😛

    I admit that the palette isn’t anything to get to WOW’ed over but I loved the design which suckered me into purchasing it hehe!

    Oh my god, jealous, is it good?!?!? I want to get my hands on that palette it looks divine!

    aw shucks..I feel all important that you like my fotds 😉

    I’ll def be doing some shortly!

    Hugs!

  • the Muse

    hello carla!

    That’s quite ok! Just sign your name “carla” next time you comment and I’ll know who you are 🙂

    Oh I can’t wait for the red she said lippies..they look fab don’t they?

    I have not tried petal shine as of yet but it quite reminded me of the palette I got Spring which is probably why I avoided it 🙂

    Did you see my Spring post?
    https://www.musingsofamuse.com/2008/01/diors-spring-collection-2008-1st.html

    I simply adore Dior 🙂 I’ll be on the look out for Petal Shine next time I’m at the counter. If you think it’s lovely, chances are so will I!

    Dior Holiday didn’t catch my eye that much but I’m with you on the powder! I’ll def be picking up the powder..it looks beautiful!

    I can’t wait to see it in person!!!!!

    Thanks for the comment, hope we talk again soon!

    hugs!

  • Laura

    I actually cried because i couldn’t afford anything from this collection.
    It’s all so gorgeous.

  • Abbey

    hi muse
    none of this is even sold out on the uk website!! i got the palette and the shine manish lipglass…which looks gorgeous paired with spaced out blush from neo sci-fi! i love love love the packaging its so bright and nice!!! im not quite sure what to do with the green or yellow in the palette though, any ideas?

  • abbey

    ooo i take the sold out bit back…a few bits have sold out but its been up a week already! lol

  • the Muse

    aww I’m sorry Laura! BUT you have Dame Edna to look forward too soon 😉 so start saving your monies 🙂

  • the Muse

    hi abbey!
    I’m not surprised it was sold out so quickly!

    Ooo nice combo! I’ll have to try spaced out blush and shine manish together 🙂

    one option is to use the yellow as a base and work the green into the v of your eye and blend towards the crease.

    Another option is to use the yellow as an all over color wash and proceed to use the green on the v and a bit of the blue on top 🙂

    or you can create a subtle yellow look by using the creamy color (nylon) as an all over color wash and topping with a bit of the yellow 🙂

    I’ll be doing some looks soon, hopefully they’ll help give you a few ideas!

    Enjoy your goodies!!!!! I’m glad you got this as it was fab!

  • Dao

    I want Pink Manish! Anyways, it’s sold out online after merely a day 🙁 This collection is much better than Ungaro and I wish I could get both but I can’t. Oh well, it’s not like we don’t have any more LEs or anything 🙂

  • the Muse

    hey dao

    how are you!?

    Don’t feel badly b/c Dame Edna will be out soon 🙂 that looks like something great to have 😉

    did you see the images yet!?

    Tis exciting my dear!

  • Phyrra

    I wasn’t crazy about this collection. It didn’t excite me. I think because I’m more excited for fall and this looks more like a summer collection.

  • the Muse

    it does kinda have a summer flavor to it 🙂 I think I was suckered in with the packaging 🙂

  • Aline

    the swatches look very cool… im hella excited about the glosses…

    id love to see a picture of you with devil on your cheeks though! that blush, eventhough the color scares me, is really intriguing =)

  • the Muse

    hi aline sorry for the delayed reply!

    the glosses are divine 🙂

    You got it 🙂 FOTD coming soon!

  • Ray

    I love this collection.

    But f.y.i. it isn’t “Hindi” but indian. Hindi is a language.

  • Liz

    I would pay you $100 ea blush or lipstick even if they are used.. 🙂 ill even pay for empty ones:) please let me know & thank you for considering.