NOTE: For official promo images and product description, CLICK HERE.
SOLAR BITS
From the Solar Field collection
I was eager to get some Style Warrior items as I had been really looking out for Solar Bits. I have Scatterrays and Black Ore from last year’s Solar Field collection. I loved how beautiful Black Ore was in a smokey eye look I made, so I vowed to get more Solar Bits, thus this product was the biggest draw of Style Warrior for me. I did check out the new solar bits, and I really fell in love with Bronzescape, a clean yellow brown with gold pearl (I didn’t get it during the Solar Field launch). I also loved the newly-launched Solar Bits in Impassioned, a frosty cool taupe that would look amazing with my smokey and even neutral eyeshadows. I just compared Impassioned with the limited edition pigment in Coco, and they are pretty similar, except that Coco is a tad lighter and cooler. Also, Solar Bits is heavier than pigment, so on my lids, the latter doesn’t adhere that well unless I foil it. Solar Bits is the winner Style Warrior product for me. I love the metallic finish, the amazing pigment, gorgeous colors, and fantastic staying power. I will be coming up with a Solar Bits look in the following entries.
LIPSTICKS
Half of the colors from the lipstick collection were a bit blah to me, but the other half are must-haves in my book. Sunsational is a sheer frosted beige gold that I really didn’t care much for, and Tribalist is a creamy blackened berry shade that is too dark for my taste. Brave New Bronze is amazing, however. The MA at the counter said that it is identical to the permanent shade Brave. I have two Brave lipsticks as it is a gorgeous shade on my lips, but I don’t know if Brave New Bronze is actually a re-packaged Brave. Nonetheless, Brave New Bronze is a creamy mid-tone pink nude that looks amazing on the lips, especially on top of pink or nude lipglasses. If it is not completely identical to Brave, I might have to snag it. Purple Rite, described as mid-tone frosty orchid, is a definite must-have. It is the most gorgeous purple lipstick I’ve tried. It is not too pale as Fashion Mews or Lavender Whip, nor does it scream “Death by purple!” like Orchidazzle.
EYE SHADOWS
The mix of colors is diverse and the texture is silky and smooth, but nothing really jumped out to me as a to-die-for shade. Tempting is a permanent color and has been repromoted countless times. Soft Force is a frosty pale white gold that is another ubiquitous addition to the myriad of highlighter shades that MAC has produced. Night Manoeuvres is a deep charcoal brown with pearl. It’s not a very unique color, but would be a very good buy if you don’t have this color yet as I can think of many different ways to use this, and would look great for smokey looks. Bright Future is a frosty bright yellow gold. This is one of the prettiest yellows I’ve seen, nothing like the gritty, sheer and splotchy Going Bananas from the C-Shock collection. Bright Future is smooth and apply like butter on the skin. I skipped it though because - let’s face it, how often can one wear yellow shadow? I have a lot of Aromaleigh mineral shadow samples that I can use if I need yellow, or I can always use MAC’s Golden Lemon pigment. However, this is a pretty color for summer, and would go well with greens, oranges, and even neutrals.
Lastly, if there is one shadow from this collection that I want to get, it would be Vibrant Grape, a bright magenta purple. I love purples, and I feel this would look great with pinks and plums. I do have a lot of purples, though, not to mention my purple MAC pigments and mineral eyeshadows, so I also decided to skip this.
LIPGLASSES
I have a bajillion lipglasses, dazzleglasses and lustreglasses, so I knew that I would be totally skipping this collection’s offerings. Liberated is a sheer yellow gold with pearl that would look great with corals, golds and peaches. Gold Rebel is a sheer copper bronze with pearl, a great choice if you don’t have this kind of shade. Fierce & Fabulous is a bright magenta purple with pearl that would look amazing on top of Purple Rite lipstick. Style Warrior is a blackened bronze with pearl, which is again too dark for me.
BEAUTY POWDER BLUSHES
I made swatches of the beauty powder blushes and the bronzing powder, but I forgot to take pictures of them! Here’s an old swatch of Eversun from the previous beauty powder blush collection:
Eversun is a neutral peach bronze with gold pearl that I love to use sparingly to give that sunkissed look on my skin. This would look amazing on medium to tanned skin. On A Mission is a pearly mid-tone plum that looks pretty similar to Feeling in the picture above. If you don’t have plum shimmer blushes, On A Mission is a good pick.
BRONZING POWDERS
Refined Golden
Solar Riche
There are bronzing powders that are launched in this collection, one from the permanent collection and the other from the Solar Field collection. Refined Golden is a finely spun gold with soft pearl finish, while Solar Riche is a mid-tone deep orange brown with pearl. I have Refined Golden which came from the permanent collection, and I prefer this to Solar Riche as the latter is a tad too orange for my taste. Refined Golden gives a bronze gold sheen to the skin that would look great as a contour powder or to give the skin a sexy bronze sheen.
NAIL LACQUERS
The colors of the lacquers are pretty, but two are quite common shades and only one stood out for me.
Peaceable
Peaceable is a soft metallic peach with gold pearl that would look great anywhere, from the office to the dinner party. It’s just not the unique color that I’d been craving for.
Violet Fire
This is a bright creamy magenta purple that normally I would snag in a heartbeat as I love purple polish, but I have enough purple polish to last me years, I believe. If you like purples, this would be a great addition to your nail polish collection, and would look amazing on both the tips and toes.
Mercenary- now that’s more like it! This shade is definitely up my alley - a gorgeous frosty blackened bronze that is as eye-catching as it is subtle. Not too loud for the office, but not too blah-looking to blend into your keyboard. I would liken this to China Glaze’s Rodeo Diva collection’s Prize-Winning Mare, albeit the latter is a tad darker:
I just love Mercenary! I can’t wait to wear this on the toes, although it looks amazing on the tips as well.
The 242 is being promoted in this collection, most probably to pair it with Solar Bits. As I said in a previous entry, this is such a versatile little brush. It is best used when I foil my pigments or mineral eyeshadows, as it packs on color evenly with a beautiful finish with very little or no fall-out. You can also use the tip of the head to apply color on the lower lashline, or to “cut the crease”, so to speak.
All in all, Style Warrior has a little something for everyone, although admittedly, not everything worked for me. Personally, I believe the Solar Bits and Mercenary nail lacquer are the winners in this collection, with Brave New Bronze and Purple Rite lipsticks as close seconds. The beauty powder blushes are good buys too if you don’t have these shades yet, especially if you have medium to tanned skin. You can also find a good bronzer in either one of the bronzing powders. The 242 is also a good investment if you use loose pigments or emollient and concealer products. Check the items out at your local MAC counter or store. I believe you can find something interesting from this collection.
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