The gold that graces each product in MAC’s new 14-piece Prabal Gurung collection doesn’t just make the packaging gorgeous. It fashions a world! It creates an experience! These pieces look so fancy that they could pass for pendants hanging from a famous rapper’s gold chains.
They could also probably pass for real gold bars.
No, seriously. These little bricks are heavy! — so heavy, in fact, that if I were to drop one on my foot, I’d probably need stitches.
Or, to put it another way, if I were to put all of them in a purse and swing it around, it would make one hell of a fine medieval weapon.
That the pieces could potentially double as weaponry is just one of many things I like about this new collaboration between MAC and fashion designer Prabal Gurung…who, I should say, was probably aiming more for elegance, sophistication and grace than hip-hop jewelry.
The embossed compacts have a classic heft and a commanding voice that says “opulence,” while the marriage of the matte makeup in the collection and shiny gold is sure to make many packaging paramours geek-out.
Before that, though, they’ll have to prepare themselves to pay a pretty penny, because MAC also upped the prices of these pieces to reflect luxury, ala Aerin and Tom Ford.
The price increase is extra painful when you consider the Bronzing Power. It contains the same amount of product (0.35 ounces) as the Bronzing Powder in the permanent line, but instead of costing $25…it’s $70.
Holy sh*t! I mean, yeah, it’s silky, soft and smooth, but that’s a difference of 180%.
If you can get over that initial sticker shock, I do think the collection has some beauties, especially if you like makeup that’s understated and elegant.
The vibe reminds me of Aerin (especially the grays, neutrals and soft pinks), like Aerin makeup seen through a MAC lens, or almost like Brooke Shields, Part Deux.
If that speaks to your soul, keep an eye out for the Eye Shadow Duo in Cinder (the light gray shade is divine!) and the Lipglass in Light English Red, a neutral, long-lasting pinkish beige that should go well with most anything.
This is the kind of collection that looks forward to weekends in the Hamptons, with pigments on the sheer side and sheens instead of shimmers.
It seems like MAC is courting a very specific demographic here — perhaps a more mature gal who still loves her MAC, but is more interested in subtle complexities than potent pigments and bright colors.
The limited edition 14-piece Prabal Gurung collection arrives online November 20 and in North American stores and counters November 26 through December 24 (and internationally at select MAC locations, except China, this December).
The MAC Prabal Gurung collection includes…
LIPSTICKS, $30 US/$36 CDN each
- Lustre Lipstick in Light English Red, a sheer beige nude
- Matte Lipstick in Carmine Rouge a clean true red
- Satin Lipstick in Ultramarine Pink, a mid-tone dirty violet
LIPGLASS, $30 US/$36 CDN each
- Light English Red, a sheer beige nude
- Carmine Rouge, a clean true red
- Ultramarine Pink, a mid-tone dirty violet
EYE SHADOW DUO, $40 US/$48 CDN each
- Satin Ochre, a soft pale white gold with a Frost finish paired with a coral orange with a Matte finish
- Terre, a shimmering neutral beige with a Veluxe Pearl finish paired with a mid-toned warm brown with a Satin finish
- Cinder, a smoky cool gray with a Lustre finish paired with a dark charcoal with a Matte finish
KOHL POWER EYE PENCIL, $20 US/$24 CDN
- Feline, a rich black
CHROMAGRAPHIC PENCIL, $20 US/$24 CDN
- NW25/NC30
CREAM COLOUR BASE, $70 US/$84 CDN
- Coral Lumineux, a vivid coral creme
BRONZING POWDER, $70 US/$84 CDN
- Matte Bronze, a bare-shouldered bronze
BRUSH, $70 US/$84 CDN
- MAC + Prabal Gurung Square Handled Buffer
Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,
Karen
Loving the packaging on this one! I see myself picking up the Cinder duo and pinky beige lippy! Love your look for the fall!
My first thoughts were holy moly thats gorgeous and that Mac finally has a collection where I actually almost love everything in there!2nd thoughts after looking at the prices are ….not THAT gorgeous and maybe I don’t actually love anything there lolll
That coral color base looks gorgeous but these prices are just way too high for Mac.
I really, really dig the gold packaging!
The packaging and colors totally remind me of Aerin and Estee Lauder! They look lovely but that price tag is too rich for my blood.
I love the pretty packaging and some of these pieces I may actually flirt with buying. I hope this isn’t a dumb question though, but what would you use the chromagraphic pencil for???
I don’t think that’s a dumb question! 🙂 Most people use it on the lower waterline to highlight and make the eyes appear brighter! Although I have heard of MAC artists that use it as a concealer to shape brows or cover tiny blemishes.
Ditto to this. I use mine on the lower waterline all the time (I do it before mascara, otherwise it ends up on the lashes). Also, I run it along the lower part of my brow and then blend it in with a pencil brush for added definition.
The bronzer looks like a great colour! And as much as I feel sorry for you all with prices this high, I have to laugh as well– $36 is what us Aussies pay for lipsticks in the regular line-up. The bronzing powder, however, is totally extreme.
At $70, it applies itself right?
I’m just not as impressed as I’d hoped to be
the price is ridiculous and I don’t even think the colors all that great I’m going to pass on this collection.
i like the looks of that ccb, but at $70…. not gonna happen. very sad but can’t have everything you want, right. 🙁
The packaging reminds me of products my grandma used to have, and even if I always admired her style, I am not quite that mature yet.
Ooooh, so many pretties! The packaging is soooo lux. I love love love the look of Coral Lumineux.
Beautiful packaging,
Coral Lumineux could be a dupe for Chanel Presage, which I love, but with its high price, I’m not so sure if I’m willing to buy it. 🙁
Will probably just get Carmine Rouge from this collection. Absolutely love the packaging, though. Thanks for sharing!
Hi Alyssa,
Coral Lumineux has a glossy finish, which is probably different from Chanel Presage. I have a couple of those Chanel cream blushes and on me they always seem to dry down to a matte finish. Anywho, glad you are liking the packaging. It’s gorgeous, right?!
That coral color base looks gorgeous, and the packaging is so luxurious. But the prices are ridiculously high.
I think the only thing I would ever splurge on from this would be the lipsticks and lipglasses… Seeing as I already buy similarly priced lipsticks (NARS Audacious, YSL, Hourglass).
Got my eyes on Light English Red and Ultramarine Pink lipsticks and lipglasses! Or… one lipstick and the Cinder duo 😀
Hi Estefania,
So, I was really surprised to like Cinder so much (I’m all about that light gray!). It has this sort of hazy quality that makes it really easy to do smokey eyes, and the light gray has these tiny little silver sparkles. I rarely get moved by cool gray shadows because I find them difficult to wear (warm skin and all), but this one’s super pretty.
On a somewhat random MAC related note, thanks for the inspiration re: Chili and Vintage Selection. I’m gonna try something similar, so thank you!
I feel ya. The only grays I usually wear are in the taupe/mauve family (LORAC Chrome is one of my favorites!), but Cinder is just calling my name! That hazy charcoal looks pretty cool, too.
Ah! Let me know if you like the combo! Vintage Selection is probably my favorite paint pot!
Why must the ccb be so gorgeous? I’ll have to find a dupe asap!
Pretty packages, but the price is too expensive.
I’m brazilian and I’m used too overprices, but seriously, $70?
What to say about a lipstick that usually is $15, in limited edition is $17.50 and then suddenly jumps to $36? The Brooke Shields’s lipstick is $22….Imagine this in Brazil where a regular lipstick is nearly $30!
Hi Cecilia,
The price hike is quite shocking. Especially the bronzer, yikes!
I take it you’re going to pass on this collection?
Sad, sad, sad… One of the few collections I was ACTUALLY looking forward to and then they throw in the price curveball. Too bad maybe if they had gone in at $50 I might have been able to justify this splurge. The bronzer looks dupeable and so does the blush, but the packaging makes me hear angels choir!
Hi Yari,
The packaging is doing a lot for me, too. I love it when MAC does luxurious stuff like this.
Maybe consider one of the lipsticks or the glosses? That way you can still get a li’l thrill.
I like anything that shiny, MAC and Limited edition, and I think that this is going to justify my splurge on this collection! 😛
Gee, I really like the look of that lipstick but the price! Ouch!
It is not easy to determine what demographic MAC is going after with this one. But Dear Daughter who is too busy at college has written to me that she does not have time to keep up with MAC!
So I have soldiered on in her stead and said not to worry:
MAC is trying to be Chanel.
Chanel is trying to be Dior.
And Dior is rummaging through their looks from the past.
Maybe next year these companies will return to their true identities!
I like this entire look on you and, in my cool-blonde opinion, gals with warm skin can wear gray eye shadows in just about any shade but that dark, murky tone which is not easy for anyone.
I love, love, love that lipstick, and flirted with actually going to the MAC counter and buying it despite my current rule of using up my many, many lippies before buying more — and then I nearly choked at the price. Yikes!
I like Cinder but I’m not sure I love it.
I was excited for this collection but looking at the colours, I don’t find them all that appealing. I may sit it out and let other fans get the goods. Not to mention the price is a bit much.
I love the lip colors and the coral cream brush. The packaging is pretty. But I’m not paying those prices.