by wearing the new MAC Artificially Wild Collection
Did you ever read Do Androids dream of electric Sheep? It’s the Phillip K. Dick story that inspired Bladerunner, and in it there are these ultra realistic android animals, like robotic dogs and cats, that some people have as pets because many of the real animals are driven extinct during a world war. only the mega rich can afford to have living, breathing pets. everyone else’s animals are artificially wild…
Which brings me to this: MAC Artificially Wild.
ADVERTISEMENT
Based on MAC’s promo pics for the 22-piece release, truth be told, I was kinda freaked out. The camo, the dark shadows under the model’s eyes — it seemed potentially drab and depressing, and I couldn’t see myself feeling good in a look like that.
But I liked the overall idea. Nudes, with a subversive, fight-the-power angle. instead of regular warm, buttery browns and beiges, there were dirty mauves, sooty greys, golden beige browns and a light sprinkling of khaki.
In the end, the call of the wild was too strong to resist. After playing with the products, I started to come around…
ADVERTISEMENT
Cats & makeup Sweatshirt ??
$42
Shop Now
It was kind of like when you see a dress that you’d never pick out for yourself on a hanger, but just for kicks, you try it on, and then you think, “OK. Yeah. I can work this.”
Cheek products for contouring
There are some amazing things here…like the cheek products, in particular. A couple of ’em contour and carve out cheekbones better than Michelangelo. I really like the Powder blush in Taupe, which transforms my chubby cherub cheeks into chiseled choppers capable of cutting concrete.
I think cream Colour Base in breaking Ground deserves mentioning. A purplish gray mauve, you can use it below your cheekbones to create well-placed shadows on your face. Chanel did something like it a while back with a powder blush called Notorious… breaking Ground is basically a cream version.
Artificial Earth
Stony
Eye shadow in Marsh
Eye shadow in natural Wilderness
Powder blush in next to Skin
Pink Cult
Taupe
Breaking Ground
Cream Colour Base in Au Nature
Icon
Lipstick in Shitake
Obviously Bare
Lipglass in De Nude
From the left, Eye shadows in artificial Earth, Stony, Marsh and natural Wilderness
Powder Blushes in Taupe, next to Skin and Pink Cult
Cream Colour Bases in breaking Ground and Au Nature
Lipsticks in icon and Shitake
Lipglasses in obviously Bare and De-Nude
Lipstick in Shitake
Lipglass in De-Nude
Lipstick in Icon
Wearing Lipglass in obviously Bare (lips), Powder blush in Taupe (below cheekbones to contour), Powder blush in Pink Cult (apples of cheeks) and Eye shadows in Stony, natural Wilderness, Marsh and artificial Earth
Shout-out to late ’90s lips
With the lip colors, there’s a lot of late ’90s throwback action happening (Cork Lip Pencil and Spite Lipglass? Hello, 1998!) and a lot of encore presentations. eight of the 12 pieces are re-promotes from the permanent line.
The grayish nudes, the deep frosted browns — I totally rocked these shades out in my last year of college. Now, I question them… I’m not exactly sure if the grayish shades qualify as “traditionally flattering” because of how ghastly they look on me now, but if you’re nostalgic for the era, why the heck not?
The Eye Shadows
Unfortunately, I’m not really feeling any of the four Eye Shadows… I usually have a hard time turning down nude shadows, but mauve artificial Earth, soft gray Stony and dirty olive Marsh seem underwhelming.
I do like using natural Wilderness, the golden mustard shade, as a transition shade, but I think that’s mostly because I’ve been lemming MAC Uninterrupted lately, and the two look kinda similar.
Where and when can you get Artificially Wild?
ADVERTISEMENT
The limited edition launch arrives September 4 at all North American MAC locations and online at maccosmetics.com (internationally, also in September, but check your local counter for exact dates).
The MAC Artificially Wild collection includes…
EYE SHADOW, $16 U.S./$19 CAD
Artificial Earth, a soft mauve nude with a Satin finish
Stony, a soft grey concrete with a Satin finish
Marsh, a soft dirty olive green with a Satin finish
Natural Wilderness, a dirty mustard golden nude with a Satin finish
CREAM COLOUR BASE, $21 U.S./$25 CAD
Shell, a soft pinkish beige with shimmer (repromote)
Breaking Ground, a light iridescent mauve
Au Nature, a dirty mustard olive
POWDER BLUSH, $22 U.S./$26 CAD
Taupe, a soft beige brown with a Matte finish
Next to Skin, a soft beige with a Matte finish
Pink Cult, a mid-tone dirty neutral pearl with a Matte finish
LIPSTICK, $16 U.S./$19 CAD
Siss, a muted golden beige with a Satin finish (repromote)
Yash, a deep neutral with a Matte finish (repromote)
Icon, a frosted netural beige with a Frost finish
Shitake, a deep brown glaze with a Glaze finish
Photo, a golden brown with a Satin finish (repromote)
LIPGLASS, $15 U.S./$18 CAD
Obviously Bare, a light creamy greyish nude
De-Nude, a dirty golden beige
Spite, a muted plummy taupe-brown (repromote)
Explicit, a golden bronze with icy silver shimmer (repromote)
LIP PENCIL, $16 U.S./$19 CAD
Oak, a soft beige brown (repromote)
Stone, a muted grey-ish taupe brown (repromote)
Cork, a muted golden brown (repromote)
Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,
Karen
