February 1, 2011

MAC Wonder Woman Review, Swatches, Photos, Overview

Phew!

I feel like I’ve been out of touch for years since starting the round up of MAC Wonder Woman reviews. This is just a brief overview including links to everything I reviewed from the collection plus my final thoughts, overall impressions, and basic babble.

Packaging

Some of you are incredibly excited and some not so much. I find I’m stuck in the middle somewhere. I don’t know what I expected or wanted from the packaging but I do think MAC kept to a comic book theme and successfully created packaging around that theme. No, it’s not particularly cute or adorable but I don’t think you can rightfully deny it does have the Wonder Woman vibe running through it. I don’t dislike it nor do I love it, I’m still of the mentality that it is what it is.

Pricing

Rants about inflated pricing have risen up here and there and I do not think they are justified. In some case you’re getting over double the amount of product for a few extra dollars so proceeding to slam MAC for raising prices, well, I just don’t think it’s fair. Why MAC choose to make items larger is beyond me but I do dig the entire “wonder” size product. Granted most of hardcore collector’s of makeup do not need that much more extra product but I kinda think it adds something special to the launch. MSF, Blush, Mascara, Eyeliner, and Lipglasses are all extra large sizes.

Color Selection

Quite a few shades here have been available in the past or already available from Pro or the general catalog which does disappoint plus none of the shades are particularly special outside of a very few select items that wow’ed me. You may personally beg to differ and feel the shades are amazing, personally I don’t feel that way. I also feel like none of the shades are really themed around Wonder Woman as in do you think she’d wear some of these colors but than again I can’t really say what shades I’d pick out for her either as she seems like a rather no nonsense kinda makeup girl eh?

Products Worth the Haul

If I had to pick the products I most liked and items I think are worth grabbing up they would be:

  • Valiant Eye Quad
  • Defiance Eye Quad
  • Both Powder Blush Duos in Amazon Princess and Mighty Aphrodite (particularly Mighty Aphrodite which is a must have in my humblest)
  • Both MSF in Pink Power and Golden Lariat (If you have to choose go with Pink Power for creamier skin and Golden Lariat for darker tones)

If you’re really cutting the budget close or none of the items or packaging appeal to you I’d definitely, at the very least, get Mighty Aphrodite, it’s truly a gorgeous shade.

The lipsticks and lipglasses didn’t have any shades that I felt were essential must have shades. Opulash is great to pick up if you haven’t already purchased it prior and the pigments are just a bust in my humblest, don’t waste your cash on something you can’t use on your eyes (three are not eye safe).

Overall….

Overall, Wonder Woman was interesting to play with but not one of MAC’s greatest collections. Collectors and fans will easily adore it and possibly have to have every single piece however casual makeup users will probably be a bit more picky about what they do and do not indulge in.

Some items are special enough to warrant a purchase where as most didn’t have me salivating.

I look forward to hearing your thoughts once you have product in your hands! MAC Wonder Woman is available now online at www.maccosmetics.com and pre-booking all over the place if you’re wanting to head in store for your goodies!

Here’s the round up of my reviews, swatches, and photos!

25 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

  • courtney

    honestly looks like they spent too much time on the packaging and not enough time on the actual products. They look OK but there is nothing I’d ever consider purchasing. Good reviews though! thanks!

    If anything I’d go for the glosses

    • the Muse

      hi courtney. the colors are uneventful 🙁 Some shades are ok but most are mediocre. Kinda sad.

      • anonymous

        Could we just call this the Toddlers & Tiaras collection? Cause what we all REALLY needed was a comic book hero with measurements that make Barbie feel inadequate, dressed in an outfit to make Vegas strippers feel inadequate.

        just sayin.

        • the Muse

          Def not taking it THAT seriously rose 🙂 sorry but can’t see the harm in Wonder Woman nor the comparison to a Vegas stripper. I watched reruns when I was a kid and actually wanted to be her..

          • anonymous

            well, she is wearing a tiara! (bet her mom had her brows waxed & made him this angry)

            seriously though, I get that wonder woman is retro, but jeez. considering how sexualized kids have been in the media lately, it just puts me off at the combo of major breast and minor clothing. more in terms of timing than other things maybe but couldnt they have done catwoman or something who wore a little more clothing or made the packaging a little more like the VV type stuff so it said nostaligia not “that eight yo needs blue shadow, fire engine lips and implants”

            disclaimer: anyone under 13 wearing this collection should be carrying magic lasso in public for safety reasons

            collection packaging just seems to pull up every bit of mom in my gut. guess you can see I was very strongly affected by your T&T story.

            but hey, I always wanted to be lois lane. granted not because she was exactly an amazing heroine but christopher reeve… (still get sad when I think he’s gone, he was the ultimate hero il Aragorn, maybe even still

          • the Muse

            lol sorry rose I’m not a mum so I’m not really taking Wonder Woman that seriously tbh. MAC isn’t trying to reach out to kids with this collection and def geared it towards women in their early or late twenties and even older in most cases as some of them remember watching Linda Carter. I can’t really compare this to the waxing a five year old’s brows as that was def way crazy.

            Aw yes, agreed on one quite did Superman like Chris Reeves, bless!

          • anonymous

            I didn’t really mind WW til I saw the packaging but IMO it seems more towards young girls than memorabilia. just an opinion.

            superman was awesome not just cool but the whole protective/romantic MAN. aragorn’s the first role since to capture hero so perfectly. so I totally get nostalgia– I still rewatch it and even though the special effects could be better, I can’t see anyone but reeves as superman. 🙂

            maybe it was the crayola looking liner that put me off lol I don’t mind the prices or anything, it’s just the packating is kind of overkill IMO and I really just don’t see many women old enough to feel nostalic being able to pull off the WW look? wasn’t really chosen as something that could reproduce her look and be work friendly! might have been ok and even fun as a halloween release.

          • the Muse

            hey rose. younger girls yes but not kids. Perhaps 20 something or late teenagers…? Anyone under should def not be wearing makeup anywhere, parents should really enforce it or at least allow product that is geared towards their tweens or teens. I see so many 12 year old kids sporting hardcore makeup lately it’s insane. I consider myself quite liberal but makeup at such a young age is hardly appropriate, perhaps a little lip balm or gloss but not hard eyeliner and eyeshadow 😛

            aw I loved the special effects it’s such an ode to 80’s bad ;-D Aragorn was a great character and beautifully cast, so weird we are discussing this it was on cable late one night last week and I happened to skim it, memoriesssssssssssssss lol!

            mmm I dunno some of it can be work friendly. The pink can be pulled off easily for work. It’s really delicate and pretty. I guess it depends but some of the shades def are not work friendly 😛

          • sigh

            wish I could agree but honestly think this is mainly geared to the 8-12 audience & that’s what irks me. just think it’s an odd theme since I just can’t imagine most women over 15 donning the blue shadow/thick blackliner/purple mascara/glitter/red lips look. even though the included other shades it is focused about a look only a 12 yo would love.

            i admit snooki might be excited at the full-on WW look but…

            I think jr high is a reasonable starting place for MU, before that not so much.

            i do love cheesy 80s effects too, are we old? :-/ aragorn is hot & it’s really not so much the look as the attitude. what woman doesn’t want a hero who will put his life on the line to protect her & has no ego trip? & Viggo pulled it off so well (ditto for History of Violence & eastern promises–which is getting a sequel!!!). looking forward to a more aragornlike good guy in snow white. not so sure about kstew as SW, I’m thinking more like the girl from bridge to terabithia sort of innocent & helpless looking.

          • the Muse

            gosh I really have to disagree rose. if you think this is geared towards that age group how did you feel about Hello Kitty? Etc……I’m in my 30’s and just really find the joy in collections like this ;-D I totally embrace blue eyeshadow, etc…! why not ;-D I also do a fair bit of shimmer and glitter!

            Mmm depends I guess. I didn’t start wearing makeup until late in High school and that was really minimal, blush and maybe gloss.

            Ha…I’m never too old, speak for yourself chica ;-D I embrace my inner kid daily ;-D!!!!!!!!!!!!! Awww you’re such a romantic ;D!

          • sigh

            didn’t mind hello kitty (didn’t appeal to me but clearly nostalgic or at least “fun” more than sexy) didn’t mind villans either. I think I just didn’t like the way they did this one. it would have made more sense to me as a halloween launch for women to wear or even use on their daughters for a costume and be empowered ya, just don’t want to see heavy blue shadow & crimson lips on the kids. for me personally the way it was done tipped the joe camel line, but clearly not for all. I do hope they dont take out ads on the disney channel tho or I’ll have to boycott 😛

          • the Muse

            rose did you see the Hello Kitty MAC video? that was beyond sexual girl ;-D oh gosh I doubt mac would ever do an ad on disney ;-D that’s not how they roll hun!

  • Kristen

    Yeah I don’t understand the rant about the prices either. Have you seen the lipglass? lol that thing is HUGE!

  • SARA

    I want Defiance and the nude lipstick and gloss. BUT……if i didn’t life would go on. Not overly impressed. This doesn’t even touch the hello kitty collection they did.

    • the Muse

      ha sara I think it’s safe to say your life won’t end without ’em ;D! hehe!

  • Anna

    Wow i’m surprised that so many ladies are concerned about wonder woman being a bad role model for young girls. Im a 38 yr old woman with a 4 year old daughter. I loved Wonder Woman as a child. In the 70’s, women like Pincess Leia, the Bionic Woman and Wonder Woman helped little girls realize that girls could be just as strong as boys and could be super heroes too. In my opinion she’s wearing a bathing suit- certainly popular icons today have been more suggestive and worn so much less. My daughter even has a Wonder Woman Costume. Maybe its a generation thing,.. And for the record I dont really like this collection, although I do like the art- but if the colors dont inspire me, then no sense in buying one more pretty package.

    • the Muse

      anna I feel the same way always felt WW was such an empowering hero for girls!

      • sigh

        I totally agree on Leia– awesome hero. and really it’s not all wonder woman, more MAC’s wonder woman (on the packaging). not all wonder woman pics seem that graphic. I do agree completely on good role models. like Joan Jett. I don’t give a damn about my bad reputaiton. ok well, maybe that’s for girls our age? o:-)

        I know when I was finally reading twilight I was kind of omg. she’s like creepy tossing away her life for this vampire hero? granted he had some merit as a hero who had some restraint with much younger women but… (and girls out there, when a man says he will fight for you til the last breath leaves your body? get a restraining order ASAP! eek!)

  • Nagini

    I really like the packaging, but I don’t like the products and there’s nothing that I really need.

    • the Muse

      nagini I don’t think you’ll expire if you don’t indulge ;-D none of the shades are particularly wow apsiring aside from a product or two.

  • pamela

    as always, Muse, you have worked fabulously hard reviewing products for all of us and all of your hard work is much appreciated! Me thanks you muchness! i totally get the packaging concept now and really like the colorful comic book theme…but not much of the collection! I did order 2 Marquise d’ lippies because I missed out on it when it was out the last time, tho. oh yeah, by the way, YOU ROCK!!!

    • the Muse

      aw thanks pamela I can totally use the comment today ;-D hugs! HUGZZZZZZZ! I’m glad you hauled hard on the Marquise ;-D good on you!