MAC for Beth Ditto for Summer 2012

Here’s a look at some of the products from the MAC Beth Ditto Collection for Summer 2012, a collaboration with the flamboyant plus-size singer.

The centrepiece of the collection is MAC Powder to the People (S$65), a pink-based powder studded with electric blue, milk chocolate and tan dots surrounding a canary yellow spot in the middle.

The blue and darker brown dots are quite pigmented – one swipe and the colours are picked up immediately. The other two dots are sheerer.

The base is a pretty mauve pink that’s in-between the two pairs of dots in colour payoff and easily layered for depth. Unfortunately, it will be difficult to aim a brush solely at the pink portion of the powder. I’d love for this to be a blush single shade. Perhaps when the polka dots are used up…?

I am scratching my head wondering what this is for exactly – while the colours will work for the eyes (I haven’t been told they aren’t eye-safe), the packaging and name indicate that it’s a cheek/face powder.

I swatched across all the shades and the ensuing result is a neutral brown that borders on muddy. If I pick up too much of the blue, the mix will turn grey – not the best cheek or powder hue! You can adjust the shade depending on which dot(s) you concentrate your brush on/swipe your brush over. I found that the best way to keep it from going too grey is to concentrate on the middle, just skirting the edges of the dots and swirling the brush tip to blend the colours.

This is a cute albeit an indubitably tricky palette to work with. It’s quite dear too and I feel it’s a MAC collector piece more than anything else. If you have a penchant for or an aversion to scents in makeup, do note that this powder has the violet fragrance of the popular Guerlain Metéorites.

The Shade & Smoke Shadow/Liners (S$42) are eyeshadows and eyeliners in one convenient retractable tube. Having used many MAC Shadesticks and a few MAC Greasepaint Sticks, the packaging feels a tad plasticky cheap, compared to those. Pictured are Drag, Strip (smoky navy/pastel blue), Little Miss Moffet (black/white) and Beth Mask (reddish bronze/golden peach).

The colour combinations aren’t very appealing to me (where are the duo-chromes and complex shimmer that work beautifully in pencil form?) but they are good for makeup-on-the-go. The complementary shades can work on their own, side by side or blended together – these duos are nifty eye products to own, if you like quick but polished eye looks. Another plus point is that they’re quite smudge-proof. They do take a little while to apply but go onto the skin quite easily once the nibs are warmed up.

The Pro Longwear Lipcreme lipsticks (S$32) are really the stars of this collection for me. Pictured are Dear Diary (a bright pink that’s reminiscent of MAC Pink Poodle which I love), Booyah!!! (an-almost neon orange) and You’re Perfect Already (a neutral pink nude). The last is my favourite – with its balance of pink and beige tones, it’s truly a perfect nude for me.

Creamy and pigmented, these go on evenly and have a lush texture. They also have a lovely lustre to them. Despite their name, they aren’t super lasting but stay on long enough and don’t slip off as easily as the MAC Lustre formula. I’m looking forward to checking out the other two lipsticks in this collection: Love Long Distance (a light mauve) and Heart Hangover (a deep purple).

Here’s a look at the other items in the collection.

Already retailing at Tangs Orchard, MAC for Beth Ditto will be available at selected MAC locations in June.

Image source: MAC Cosmetics Singapore