Riveting is MAC's rocker glam collection for Spring 2010. With heavy metal textures and vibrant loudmouth colours, Riveting is hardly a collection for the fading wallflower. For me, the most anticipated items of this collection have to be the matte nail polishes. It's honestly about time that a make-up powerhouse like MAC finally jumped the matte nail polish bandwagon (...or maybe it's a couple of seasons too late?!). Nail polishes in Studded Matte (think rocker glam silver sparkle but matte) and Wham, Bam Glam (a dark taupe) are definitely the most riveting pieces of this collection for me!

MAC Blush in Dirty Plum

I would have loved to have this blush on me for this shoot with Irem, but this sample came just a couple of days too late! Truth is, this is a lovely shade of plum, but hardly a shade of blush that most people can pull off in real life! Dirty Plum is a shade better suited to darker skin tones, unless of course your aim is to contour a la Grace Jones. :)

MAC's Riveting will be available as of February 18, 2010 at MAC stores and MAC counters.

I was away last week when MAC officially launched their Hello Kitty make-up collection (so this post is a little overdue!). The special limited edition collection consists of two lines: Hello Kitty Mild and Hello Kitty Wild.

I popped into my local MAC store earlier this week to try out some items from the collection first-hand. Of course, I couldn't leave the store empty-handed! I scooped up a gorgeous pigment in Deep Blue Green, glitter in Reflects Pink along with She Loves Candy lipglass (detailed reviews and photos to follow later this week). There were many other great pieces to this collection--all made more enticing with the Hello Kitty branding--but I did my best to restrain my inner kid-in-a-candy-store tendency!

I grew up with Hello Kitty stationery, so I admit I have a slight affinity for the cartoon kitten, even though I’m a grown woman! I love the idea of Hello Kitty marked MAC products, and think that MAC has truly done a wonderful job in combining the two worlds. It reminds me what make-up is all about – looking good, but having fun!

MAC does Hello Kitty. The cat’s definitely outta the bag on this one! More to come!

The heavy-hitters at MAC have done it again releasing a new line of face make-up products developed to meet the demands of both make-up artists and everyday customers. In this latest Studio Sculpt collection (available February 7th, 2009 at MAC stores and counters), a new range of cream foundations and concealers have been designed to give the skin a satiny finish with medium buildable coverage. According to Nick Gavrelis, VP of Global Development for MAC, Studio Sculpt "had to have the wear, flexibility and flawlessness that our makeup artists demanded, as well as the comfort, moisturization, smoothing and perfecting qualities that real women have been asking for."

I love how MAC offers the widest range of skin tone selection - they definitely can't be beat in that department. I'm especially looking forward to trying Studio Sculpt concealer, as I'm always on the hunt for the next latest and greatest product to hide my undereye circles (my current fave is Stila Perfecting Concealer)! Since Studio Sculpt is also cream-based, I'm curious to see if they'll work well as contouring products (hopefully the "sculpt" lives up to its name!)

Check back as I'll be sure to post a follow-up on my experience with Studio Sculpt within the coming weeks!

Launching this Thursday (February 5th, 2009) is MAC's latest release for lips: Creme Team. The collection builds on the success of MAC's lipstick formulation, Cremesheen, and combines more lipstick colours, lipliners and lip glasses to the mix! The collection's lipstick and lip gloss products glide on sheer to give a creamy and high shine factor to the lips. With the Cremesheen lipliners, you can easily fill in the whole lip area and use it as a base for lipstick application - and you won't have to worry about it being drying to the lips. (Sublime Culture lipliner is already part of my kit!)

I love the texture of the Cremesheen lipglasses: flat without sparkle and not overly sticky (as in past lip glass formulations!). I test ran Cremesheen Glass in Looks Like Sin, a neutral plum colour that worked great for both daytime (worn with liquid eyeliner) and night-time (when paired with a smoky eye).

NOTE: Be warned that if you try to apply the Cremesheen gloss as advertised, you'll likely encounter feathering gloss earlier than expected. The gloss actually goes on quite sheer so my attempts to build up the colour were futile...and messy! Save yourself the trouble and the wasted product - keep the gloss application to two coats max and you're ready to pucker up!

Cremesheen lipsticks will remain part of the permanent collection, but Cremesheen lipglasses are only available until the end of March 2009.

MAC's latest Brunette, Blonde and Redhead collection is designed to simplify the colour co-ordination process and complement one of the most coveted female features - hair! The personalized colour palettes offer a range of products for eyes, lips and cheeks that are specifically "formulated to be coiffure-friendly".

It appears as though I'm a Brunette, Blonde and a Redhead, as I'm loving items from all three hair colours of the collection! Check back soon as I'll be posting my reviews of some of the gorgeous products that fall under this collection.

Available January 8th, 2009 at MAC stores and counters nationwide.

Dame Edna has come to MAC! If you're not familiar with the great Dame, the world-famous talk show host character is the invention of Australian comedian, Barry Humphries. Dame Edna rose to fame in the 1970s, but has been in showbiz for more than 50 years. No stranger to modesty, Dame Edna describes herself as"as the most popular and most gifted" person alive today. Her signature lilac hair and cat-eye sparkle accented glasses are as over-the-top as her personality! The colours and textures of this latest MAC collection are well-suited to the Great Dame.

My sample kit included the Possum Nose Pink Lipglass - a bright coral gloss with sparkle. Once applied on my lips, the gloss looked like a gorgeous candy pink colour. I actually found the colour very similar to a current staple in my own kit, MAC's Lipglass in Lychee Luxe (a coral shimmer gloss). The two colours were nearly identical, with Dame Edna's Possum Nose having more of a multidimensional sparkle. I love Possum Nose for evenings when I still want to maintain the coral colour of Lychee Luxe, but give an added punch!

Packaged in lilac containers, the Dame Edna collection is as fun as the personality that inspired it. The limited edition collection includes lipsticks, nail polishes, highlight powders and eyeshadow trios (that have the blues of the season!). In the words of the Great Dame: "Follow my beauty regime possums, and you'll never be cosmetically challenged!" Enjoy!

Available December 26th in MAC stores and counters.

Looking at the ad for MAC’s latest Chill collection takes me back to where MAC first started with its make-up artist roots. I love the creative energy of this collection! Yes, the look featured on the model is not an everyday look, but most looks on models aren’t meant to be wearable for us non-model people! Overall, the look is definitely eye-catching, as are the products within the collection.

I received a sample of Icescape, one the of the signature lip glasses of the collection. Icescape is a gorgeous baby pink colour with flecks of pearl. It makes a perfect combo when paired with a bold eye look. Try it with dramatic eyeliner or with a smoky eye, which is always a favourite look this time of the season.

Another goodie in the sample bag was Glitter Reflects Transparent Teal. Transparent Teal looks fabulous worn on its own or layered atop eyeshadow. When used with eyeshadow, it adds an instant pop to the area it's applied. It can be used atop your highlighting eyeshadow, on the inner corner of the eye or on the eyelid below the crease. Be sure to concentrate the glitter in one area - otherwise you may go from chill to ice princess! On its own, Transparent Teal creates a gorgeous highlighting effect with a subtle light blue sheen. I love adding a bit of it to my moisturizer and using it on the tops of the shoulders, the collarbone and the décolletage for an alluring effect. All you need is a tiny amount (the stuff is concentrated!) and voila - instant glam!

Along with Icescape and Transparent Teal, the new Chill collection offers a liquid liner, false lashes co-ordinating eyeshadows, more lip glosses and more glitter! Unfortunately, the products are limited edition, so grab it before it’s gone. MAC's Chill collection is definitely on my hot list this season!

All photos in this post courtesy of MAC Cosmetics

I’m pleased to announce a new segment of posts entitled “Product Preview” here on artistrhi the blog. In the past, most of the reviews have either been products purchased by (the serious make-up lover)in me or items that I've written about as a blogger for Make-up Junkie. Going forward, whenever you see the “Product Preview” title, you’ll get a sneak peek of new products that are soon to arrive on the market and that I’ve directly received advanced samples of!!! Oh the joys of blogging!

If you have a product submission for review, please feel free to contact me here.