MAC Holiday 2010: Tartan Tale

I'm really sorry this post came so late.  I just realized I'd already uploaded the photos some time ago but never got around to do a blog post.  I've added a few swatches and comparisons with other products I own so if you missed out on this collection, hopefully you could still get hold of some possible dupes or alternatives.

Pearlglide Intense Eye Liner (1.2g, 0.04 US oz) is a pencil eyeliner that glides on every so smoothly with microglitter.  The color I'd gotten is Petrol Blue which is a dark navy blue with microglitter of a slightly lighter shade.  Color applies opaque and intense as the name suggests.  It wears well and I didn't experience much smudging, fading or creasing.  That said, I did use it on top of primer.  I wouldn't recommend using it on the tightline or waterline though because of the glitter particles.

From the swatch above, the dark blue (no name was printed on the product) from the Maybelline EyeStudio Vivid & Smooth Liner pencil is a lighter shade but looks more of the color of the glitter in Petrol Blue and applies just as smooth.  Revlon's Midnight Blue has less of a purple undertone to it and is a matte alternative.  If you have the MAC Superslick Liquid Eye Liner in Signature Blue (previously from the Fabulous Feline collection and has since been made permanent), it is a decent liquid alternative but I personally find the formula to peel/flake on me.

Of all the eyeshadow palettes that was part of the Tartan Tale collection, I felt that the 6 Twists of Tartan Eye Shadows (0.88g, 0.03 US oz per shadow) was the most unique and had more color variation.  I didn't feel like getting more neutral or earth tone palettes especially since the Urban Decay Naked Palette pretty much covers that area for me.  It also comes with a super mini 213SE brush.

• Lady's Prance (Matte) is a matte creamy beige shade that looks pretty close to my skintone (NC25).  The color payoff may not look as good swatched because of the actual shade that it is but I think it would make a nice brow bone highlight when paired with dramatic eye makeup.
• Rolled Gold (Lustre) is my fave color of all in this palette and has the best pigmentation of the 6 colors in this set.  It has a nice light shimmery finish and is sort of an antique gold shade.
• High Spirits (Frost) is a bright green shade and for a frost finish eyeshadow, it surprisingly gives off a pretty decent color payoff.
• Vainglorious (Frost) is a cranberry maroon shade that came out with the Venomous Villain collection.  This is another frost finish eyeshadow in the set and has decent pigmentation.
• Set To Dance (Matte) is a matte navy blue that unfortunately has a slightly chalky texture swatched.
• Bows & Curtseys (Satin) looks like a beautiful dark forest green in the pan but swatched to look like a dirty gray shade with barely any hints of green in it.

Honestly, I don't really have any comparable colors to the ones in this palette but I wasn't entirely impressed with the palette in general to begin with.

Since I had quite a number of pink blush colors, I decided to pick the peach blush palette, A Triumphant Blush Face Kit which includes:

• a Powder Blush in Melba (3.8g, 0.13 US oz) - Which is one of the blush shades from the permanent line that I've been meaning to try out for awhile and was happy to try it out here.  It's a peachy coral matte shade with excellent pigmentation, a smooth texture and looks like a natural subtle flush.
• a Sheertone Shimmer Blush in Peachtwist (3.7g, 0.13 US oz)  - This is an interesting shade for a blush which I believe would suit darker skin tones better to give it that glow.  It's a beautiful bronzed peach with shimmer and has a nice satin-metallic finish.  Personally, I see this more of a lid color than a cheek color.
• a Beauty Powder in Smooth Harmony (6.1g, 0.2 US oz) - This is suprisingly orange.  It reminds me of an oompa loompa (or Snooki?).  I've not tried it out yet but I think I could make it work just to give a sort of tan glow all over.

Here are a few comparison swatches for Melba and Peachtwist:

Although L'Oreal's Luminous (sorry, I wrongly labelled the photo) Peach looks a tiny bit like Smooth Harmony but it's not as orange.  It is a lot more beige though compared to Melba though.  elf's Studio Powder Blush in Candid Coral is a lot lighter when compared to Peachtwist but has the same gold shimmer to it and I find to be more wearable.  I suppose Candid Coral would be the alternative for Peachtwist for lighter skin tones.  I would have to say the closest to Melba is Estee Lauder's Tender Blush in Rosette and even so, I had to layer Rosette quite a bit to get to the same color intensity as Melba.  The texture is also different where Melba is softer while Rosette is harder.

The last thing I picked up was the Powder Blush in Her Blooming Cheek (6g, 0.21 US oz) which is a bright hot blue based fuschia pink that I believe is similar to the blush from the Riveting collection that was launched prior to this one.  This has to be the brightest blush I have in my collection and I love it!  As daunting as it looks in the pan, this is a beautiful cheek color with a nice satin finish.  It can be applied lightly with a stippling brush like the MAC 187/188 or Sigma F50 for a sheer out effect or with a denser brush for doll like cheeks.

I was also given a couple of gift pouches from the collection: