[sample/affiliate] I imagine that the Year of The Rat threw up some issues for beauty brands bringing out Chinese New Year products. If you’re born in a Rat year, lucky you – diligence, positivity, industriousness and intuition are some of your great qualities. Whether you want a rat depicted on your highlighter is another thing altogether. MAC has gone towards a moon-stuck glow with dragons and chrysanthemum-ish designs in pastel brights in a collection that’s one of the best in a while, visually. I love highly decorative cosmetic items and this is as far from the current trend for minimalism as you can get and it’s all the better for it.
Starting with the Extra Dimension Skin Finish in Double Gleam, £30, in a champagne shade that shifts to silver. It’s just stunning – by my desk right now and I keep looking at the detail which is so precise and beautifully executed. I will confess that I haven’t swatched it yet – I can’t quite bring myself to run my brush over it and ruin the precision but we all know what a Skin Finish luminosity looks like.
If you think you recognise that lipstick shade, you do! It’s Ruby Woo, £19, one of four shades of lipstick in metal casings.
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Pretty, right? Actually, one of the things I’ve noticed about Lunar Illusions is that some of it is metal casing and some is plastic for no particular reason. The blush, coming up next and in the main picture, is also housed in a sturdy metal palette and yet the eyeshadow palette is not.
This colour-way, called Dynastic Fantastic, puts a spring in my step – a pop of pink or peach or a peachy-pink blend; however you choose to use it, this is a boost of freshness for cheeks. It’s £28 which is less than I thought it might be given the elaborate packaging.
There are four shades of Lipglass, £17, (including Ruby Woo) and I have Magically Delightful in a shimmery coral shade.
It wasn’t until I started swatching the Now & Zen x 9 Palette, £28, that I realised it’s in perfect synergy with the exterior packaging colours. I like these little dots of colour – less of a commitment than a full size palette and a very easy wear.
The addition of that light, icy blue (Tilt) is what brings this together and makes it a little bit different.
No idea why but the Lipglass swatch has come out looking redder than it really is but it is a strong shade holding its own next to Ruby Woo. The blush shades, as you can see, are also quite powerful so a little goes a long way. The Lunar Illusions collection is HERE, non affiliate HERE.
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