Suddenly living near a MAC Counter is taking its toll on my purse.
I mentioned in my last Toledo Haul I felt the need to also own the red blush. The third one, the peachy one, was completely disappointing in pigmentation and was not allowed to come home with me.
I’m sorry to blab about a MAC LE from last month when everyone is already three LEs farther. But I’m super not interested in all that super duper limited stuff and the Toledo LE was right there and I really like the packaging.
So what I got was the ombre blush in Kindergarten Red, the lipstick in Victoriana and the Pro Longwear Lip Pencil in Trust in Red (regular lineup, not part of the LE). I guess you could say I’m having a red phase.
Here’s Kindergarten Red in all its glory! While the outer carton packaging had red going around, separating it from Azalea Blossom with its black packaging, the actual blush packagings are identical on the outside. On the inside Kindergarten Red goes from very pale pink to a mid tone red.
Swatches. First the pale pink, barely visible, but there. Then the red from the bottom. Last swatch is once swirled through. The combined color can be easily influenced lighter or darker depending on where you pick up the most powder. The whole blush is softer than the other two, making it easier to pick up color. Of course that means I have to be more careful in application. The top stripe also makes for a good non-shimmery highlighter.
Victoriana lipstick. The packaging feels satiny.
Swatch of Victoriana. The finish is matte. It’s not retro matte like Ruby Woo, but matte enough. The usual warnings about matte lipstick apply here: lips must be prepped, lipstick is drying etc etc. Wear time is good, but not perfect. (To be honest, the L’Oreal ones last a little bit better.) Application is very easy, it glides on nicely and takes a second to set, so I can correct mistakes. That makes it a lot easier to apply than Ruby Woo.
The color of Victoriana is a red with blue undertones.
Color comparison swatch left to right: L’Oreal Blake’s Red, Victoriana and the lip liner Trust in Red. Both Blake and Trust are more pinky than Victoriana. I don’t have Ruby Woo, but I swatched it in the store and Victoriana has more blue than Ruby Woo. (The reason I’m mentioning that one so often is that I meant to buy Ruby Woo, but changed my mind while swatching.)
The Pro Longwear Lip Pencil in Trust in Red is pretty much the same color as the Kiko lip pencil in Fire Red. I got the MAC one in hopes of it bleeding less than the Kiko one. I’ll have to do some more testing but I do think it works. Trust in Red is a red pencil with strong blue undertones. That means I still need a true red one.
So I went on a berry spending ban only to end up with tons of reds. Oh dear.
