The Ellie Goulding for MAC Collaboration is something I’ve been eagerly anticipating for months ever since sneak peek photos surfaced. I ordered almost everything sight unseen from Nordstrom thanks to the great swatches and reviews from other bloggers and am beyond thrilled with all the colors. They are perfectly natural and glowy without being too light or sheer – the Cremesheen Lipsticks in Only You and Without Your Love are the kind of colors I want to wear everyday. I was worried they might be too pale (like Creme Cup) but they are surprisingly wearable on my super pigmented lips. All the items are limited-edition so I suggest ordering soon if you’re interested. I picked up all the new color items and Revved Patentpolish (repromoted color that I didn’t have). I skipped Innocent Patentpolish since I already have it (and find it too pale, swatched here).
What I hauled:
- Cremesheen Lipstick in Only You and Without Your Love $18
- Plushglass in Explosion and Goodness Gracious $21
- Patentpolish Lip Pencil in Revved $21
- Halcyon Days Face Kit Eye and Cheek Palette $44
- Halcyon Nights Face Kit Eye and Cheek Palette $44
- I’ll Hold My Breath Powder Duo $28
Up first are the lips. Patentpolish Lip Pencil in Revved is a sheer peachy pink with a tiny bit of shimmer. It has a glossy finish. On me it’s very peachy, if you want something similar but more pink, try Kittenish (it’s a lovely pink).
I think the highlight of the collection are the two Cremesheen Lipsticks. Without Your Love is a lighter neutral pink (what I wanted Tom Ford Blushed Nude and MAC Creme Cup to be). It’s surprisingly wearable even though it’s on the lighter side. It’s super creamy and feels moisturizing but MAC lipsticks tend to dry my lips. I’ve found adding a bit of balm underneath or primer helps. I’m still obsessed with the MAC Prep + Prime Lips – if you haven’t tried it, I highly recommend you do. Only You is deeper and warmer but still neutral. I do think they are different enough to justify both, I can’t pick one favorite over the other.
The Plushglasses are both semi-sheer on the lips. They have a plumping ingredient that makes the lips tingle. Fortunately they don’t cause an allergic reaction on my lips (they are super sensitive) but I’m not a fan of the numbing sensation they give. I swatched a number of comparisons and alternatives which I’ll have uploaded later this afternoon in case you have sensitive lips and can’t wear them. Given the sheerness I think I could have passed on both of these.
The Halcyon Days and Halcyon Nights Face Kits are very glowy neutrals. They are double-tiered compacts and the top portion slides out to reveal a face product underneath. There is a decent amount of product in each of the compacts – I would have liked to see the top tier flip up and a pan of product that spans the entire size of the compact in the bottom simply because it would be easier to dip a brush inside.
Halcyon Days is a face kit with a Blot Powder and four Cream Color Bases in Wish I Stayed, Tint, Every Time You Go and Root. I have and adore Tint and Root as creamy cheek bases to layer powder blush on top of. The other two shades are new and pretty on the cheeks. I find them too emollient for the eyes although they can work if you layer powder shadows on top.
Halcyon Nights has a Cream Color Base called This Love which looks bronze but goes on a champagne shimmer on me. There are four eyeshadows called Starry Eyed, You My Everything, Saddle and Hanging On. The four eye shades create the perfect glowy warm eye look.
I’ll Hold My Breath Bronzer Blush Duo is a lovely duo that adds warmth and life to the face naturally. The bronzer is slightly shimmer for a very natural warm glow. The blush is a coral pink that has a slight sheen but looks more satiny. I’ve added swatch comparisons to other colors.
Swatched below:
NARS Bronzer Powder in Laguna
MAC Bronzer in Refined Golden
MAC Bronzer in Bronze
MAC Blush in Hipness
Bottom line – the Ellie Goulding for MAC Collection is perfect for the no-makeup makeup look to add a gorgeous natural glow of color to the face. It has a lovely resort feel and I love that everything is slightly warm to give life to the complexion. Highlights for me are the Only You and Without Your Love Cremesheen Lipsticks, I’ll Hold My Breath Duo and Halcyon Nights Palette. The Halcyon Days Palette is nice to have if you like creamy tints (I really like the Cream Color Bases) but the pans are pretty tiny so using a face or cheek brush is going to be hard (I have to use fingers). I could have passed on Revved Up Patentpolish Lip Pencil – it’s pretty and a nice formula, I just prefer the lipsticks. Out of everything I hauled the only two items I am iffy about are the Plushglasses – I just don’t like the way they feel on the lips although the colors are really pretty.
I think MAC is killing it this holiday season. The All I Want Mariah Carey Lipstick and Berry Black Friday Patentpolish are both amazing. I just picked up 6 shades of the new Huggable Lipglass (on the swatching agenda). Also the Faerie Whispers Collection just launched online and the Foiled Shadows are calling my name.
You can find the Ellie Goulding x MAC Collection at all MAC counters now. All items are limited-edition. Online at MAC, Nordstrom, Macy’s, Bloomingdale’s. Did you pick up anything from the collection?
