The MAC x Steve J. & Yoni P. Collection: Sporty Fun That Doesn’t Take Itself Too Seriously

Doesn’t Steve J. & Yoni P. sound like the name of a singer-songwriter duo? Like, you’d turn on the radio to Alice@93.7 and hear a guitar ? and a mournful tambourine in a song about finding long lost millennial love on Tinder?

LOL! No, they aren’t a musical group. They’re actually Korean fashion designers, and even though my idea of cutting edge fashion is a new pair of black leggings, I think the packaging for the new limited edition MAC x Steve J. & Yoni P. collection says a lot about their sense of style.

It tells me that they probably like yellow and pale pink! And it also makes me wonder who the cartoony lady with red lips and Cleopatra-style eye makeup is.

I like the style. It’s sporty and fun and doesn’t take itself too seriously.

The collection, which comes out June 1st and will be available wherever MAC is sold, includes four lipsticks, two powder blushes, a potted eye gloss, a black mascara, two powder eyeshadow duos, a six-pan lip and cheek cream palette, a makeup bag and two brushes.

Oh, and you know how MAC’s LE stuff with special packaging often costs more than their permanent collection products? Not the case here, because the lipsticks, blushes and mascara in the launch are the same prices as MAC’s perm products.

My favorite item in the collection

Even though its name sounds like a frightening Netflix documentary about serial killers, I REALLY love Matte Lipstick in A Killing Smile ($17).

It’s a bright pinkish red matte ? that looks almost vintage, like something Revlon would’ve done back in the day. When I wear it, I feel like a ’50s starlet on the red carpet.

Thanks to a freckle on my upper lip, I can tell when a lipstick is full coverage. If the lipstick conceals the freckle, that’s how I can tell, and A Killing Smile does.

Glamorous but not garish, it’s a bright matte, yes, but it isn’t drying, and it doesn’t catch on any lip flakes or dry spots.

There are three other lipsticks in the collection, too. There’s Candy Yum Yum, which you can get in the permanent line any old time, but this version seems a little drier…and the other two colors are nude peach Spotlight Me and orange-red Yoni Crush. Both have MAC’s Amplified Creme formula, which isn’t the same as the regular MAC Amplified formula.

MAC Amplified vs. MAC Amplified Creme

MAC has many different lipstick formulas and finishes, with two of the most pigmented ones being the Mattes and Amplifieds. The Amplifieds are full coverage, just like the Mattes, but they have a satiny finish with a hint of shine.

Like the Mattes and Amplifieds, the Amplified Cremes are also pigmented, but instead of a satin finish, they have an even shinier finish and a slightly thinner consistency, so they tend to migrate beyond your natural lip line if you rub your lips together a lot (which I do).

Anyway! Just some MAC lipstick fun facts.

I think the peachy nude applies a little patchy, but the orange-red is smooth and opaque.

I was looking forward to the $22 Studio Eye Gloss because I love a glossy eye, and this one has white pearl, which I thought could look super cool, but I can’t see the pearl, and I really wanted to. I kept putting more and more on my lids to get it show up, but it just got too goopy at a point. It makes my lids feel heavy, and every time I blink my eyes open at half speed. It’s not my fave.

Midnight Fever is lovely

Of the two eyeshadow duos — and I can’t believe I’m saying this, because the one with the brown has Soba in it, which is one of my favorite MAC browns of all time — I like the glittery one more.

The glittery duo, $22 Eye Shadow X 2 in Midnight Fever, has two Dazzleshadows — a purple and a gray — and small, dainty glitter that sparkles beautifully. And yay! — the glitter doesn’t irritate my eyes.

The Dazzleshadows are pressed glitters that come in a sheer base, but these two have more pigmented bases than usual, which you might think would make them harder to blend out, particularly because they’re dark colors, but that hasn’t been the case for me.

I haven’t had any trouble easing out the edges, but the glitter does get around if you blend too aggressively.

If you want to talk more about how to do the Dazzleshadows, ask me in the comments.

Some thoughts on the rest of the collection

MAC Eye Shadow X 2 in Touch Me Baby ($22) — Otherwise known as “The duo with Soba and the sparkly pink shadow!” The Soba in this duo is kind of weird… It’s shinier, more gray and less gold than the Soba in the permanent line, and it makes me hope that the permanent Soba hasn’t been reformulated, because that would break my ? heart.

Zoom Lash Mascara in Zoom Black ($18) — This is a fairly basic black good for separation and curl. Less so for volume.

The Powder Blushes in Peony Petal, and Sugar or Syrup ($23 each) — Between bluish pink Peony Petal and yellowish pink Sugar or Syrup, Peony Petal is the harder one to work with. Quite literally, it’s harder, because the pan feels harder than usual for a MAC blush. It’s also harder to blend than Sugar or Syrup, which feels softer in the pan.

Lip & Cheek Palette X 6/Yoni Attraction ($40) — These six creams work better for me as lip products than cream blushes because they break up almost immediately on top of foundation.

The makeup bag and brushes — The $35 makeup bag is deep (about 3.5 inches), which makes it quite useful. It has lots of room. As for the 159 cheek brush ($35) and 217 duo blending brush ($25), both of them have stiff bristles and a different shape than the full-size versions in the permanent line. These brush heads are thinner, flatter and less dense.

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen