I saw Strength today and I've been putting all my reporting effort into talking about Apres Chic, but I did want to pop in for some quickie impressions here.
First off, let me say that Absolute Power, the "rich red", is ah-maaaa-zing!
I'd throw my Marilyn reds in the trash to get this one, if that's what it took. It's so bright and rich and vibrant. I'd call it my Holy Grail cherry red. If all I had was Scarlet Ibis, Runaway Red and Absolute Power, I would have all the best reds I could possibly need. As much as the other new lipsticks are gorgeous in this collection, Absolute Power is my #1 top pick, and that's saying a lot. This is the BU worthy color of the collection.
Taupe Shape is everything I hoped it would be. Strada never worked for me, but this one gives me instant hollow cheekbones to the Nth degree. Not weird looking at all and very foolproof to apply. Also works great on the eyes! It's strictly a contour color, though. If you want to add a pop of color above, Poised is very impressive. Not powdery or chalky at all and the color is very subtle and nude but still shows up well on me. It's got a canceling effect and a brightening effect at the same time. I never buy these colors because they either don't show up on me or look powdery and accentuates peach fuzz. This one I will buy eagerly though! Both of these blushes have a beautiful natural skin effect to them, just a little under a glow, but not matte either. Winners!!!
Firm Form feels really good on - it's got a little waxier feeling than the other MAC "good mattes", but it goes on perfectly smoothly and stays on. The gold highlight is subtle but not invisible. The whole effect is slightly warm toned - you can wear this with a bare face just fine. I also tried lining the outline of my lips in Night Moth and that gave a really good, volume effect, without turning the lipstick shade red.
Strong Woman is a little weird. At first it doesn't seem so original and it looks slightly dull in tone. Then, in a little better light, you see the hidden richness in the color. It's not quite as dark as Heroine and it's not quite as in your face bright, but there's something about it that made me like it and not want to pass on it (I love purples, but I'm not 100% team purple - I skip them if they seem to red or too plum, usually).This Strong Woman vs. Heroine is kind of like comparing Quick Sizzle to Pink Pigeon, one is a little richer and more sophisticated and "adult", while the other is wilder and more fun times. The closest lipstick I own to Strong Woman is Bust Out, but obviously the textures are very different. Bust Out has a bit more red too, but both of them have about the same degree of brightness (light reflectivity). If I had to pick only one, I'd probably go with the Seductive Intent mattene, because that one's bluer and more brilliantly bright and a touch more fun. Strong Woman does blot down into a really beautiful effect, so there's that!
Lastly, the All Woman quad is filled with good stuff. The white vxp is an amazing highlight for right under the brow or in the tear ducts - a top shelf pure white. Black Magique is rich and smooth and dark (but still slightly warm), much better than the usual carbon. Brains & Brawn and All Woman are both really effective greyed out neutrals that aren't so cool as to clash with the warm tones around my eyes, but still read nice and cool on my skin. Cool eye shadows are very often tricky for me, so these are worth the money - they're balanced really well to give just the right effect. I didn't try the other quad on my eyes, but I'd say that's the one for truly cool-toned ladies and for the very pale. Some very soft pretty colors in that one. Neutrals seem so boring, but these are about as unboring as a standard neutral shadow can get. Very good quality in these quads.
