Crikey, It’s The MAC Give Me Liberty Of London Collection!

See my British slang at work there with the “crikey” bit? Okay, so my repertoire when it comes to British slang is pretty paltry but fortunately for all of you, I’m fluent in makeup talk. So, gals, allow me to introduce you to the latest MAC Cosmetics collaboration: a collection of color cosmetics, makeup bags, and scarves adorned with the colorful prints we’ve come to associate with Liberty of London.

With a rich heritage that spans over a century, British retailer Liberty of London has charmed consumers with its country-chic-meets-mod-era floral prints and even attracted the attention of fashion influencers like Carla Sozzani of high-end Milanese retail space 10 Corso Como and Kate Moss, both of whom collaborated with the company on limited-edition collections. Just last month, Liberty of London launched a limited-edition line of flatware, linens, stationery, and home trinkets for Target. And now, of course, the brand has entered the makeup hall of fame by collaborating with one of the foremost cosmetics brands in terms of innovation and edginess.

As you can see from the pictures here, MAC’s Give Me Liberty of London collection features an array of products packaged in intricately illustrated compacts and tubes that bring to life the company’s clean, classic aesthetic. The eye shadow pots, for instance, feature a single pansy blossom atop the clear lid. The beauty powder compacts, meanwhile, feature kaleidoscopic black-and-white drawings of dense, floral landscapes. These mainly monochromatic illustrations are brought to life with calculated pops of colors: two blue-purple canaries at the outer edges of the compact, drawn so as to face one another, two orange marigold flowers positioned right below each bird’s beak, and two lobed green leaves right below the circle’s center, slanted so as to create an inverted “V” shape.

As for the color schemes, think fresh and dewy pink, lilac, peach, and mauve lip colors, shimmering powders in pearly pinks or golden peach tones, and eye shadows in muted floral hues. Check out the entire collection, as well as swatches of some of the products, below.

LIPSTICK

MAC’s Give Me Liberty of London collection features four lipstick shades that capture the predominant color trends for spring 2010. There’s: Peachstock, a neutral peach with a satin finish; Ever Hip, a creamy light coral hue; Blooming Lovely, a gray-ish lilac; and Petals & Peacocks, a bright magenta pink.

I tried out the Petals & Peacocks shade and fell in love with the pink shade, which is made ultra unique thanks to the cool blue undertones and the luscious sheen (it’s not a shimmering or glittery hue but rather a lustrous creamy magenta). When I rock this lipstick color, I feel Katy Perry-esque chic.

Check out what the Petals & Peacocks color looks like:

MAC Liberty of London Lipstick, $14. Available at MACcosmetics.com

LIPGLASS

Again, the lip gloss shades in this collection touch upon the main color trends of the season. Frankly Fresh takes a minimalist approach to lip color with a soft pink beige color. A Different Groove nods to the “new neutrals” phenomenon with its purple-tinged brown shade. English Accents keeps your pout pretty in a bluish pink hue. And Perennially High Style celebrates this spring’s coral craze with its pink coral shade.

I checked out the Lipglass in Perennially High Style, and I was immediately drawn to the lovely sheer quality of the gloss (it’s a welcome relief from all the glosses saturated with pearly shimmer), which gives the product a fresh, almost icy effect that makes me think of a fruit sorbet scoop. As for the hue itself, it’s a canteloupe-y color, but it has enough of a pink quotient to avoid appearing tooo orange (’cause, if you’re gonna go orange, you can’t be non-commital about it!)

Check out what the Perennially High Style Lipglass looks like on skin:

 MAC Liberty of London Tinted Lipglass, $14. Visit MACcosmetics.com

BEAUTY POWDER

Two Beauty Powders are available in this collection: Summer Rose, a pearlescent violet pink, and Shell Pearl, a pale peach with a golden shimmer. Aside from the Petals & Peacocks lipstick, the Shell Pearl Beauty Powder is my favorite offering in the collection. It makes my skin look sun-kissed but in the faintest, most natural way, like I’ve spent the morning in the park and got the slightest tad of sun through the canopy of tree branches.

Check this photo out to get an idea of what the Shell Pearl Beauty Powder looks like on my skin:

MAC Liberty of London Beauty Powder, $25. Available at MACcosmetics.com

POWDER BLUSH

The powder blush options in this collection fall on opposite sides of the color spectrum: there’s Dirty Plum, a matte dark plum shade, and Prim & Proper, a subdued bronzed nude hue. I’ve tried a gazillion shades of bronzer over the year, but what I like about the Prim & Proper Powder Blush is how subtle it is. You can sweep some onto your cheeks and temples, and along the bridge of your nose, and brighten up your face without looking like you’ve done a thing.

Here’s what the Prim & Proper Blush Powder looks like:

MAC Liberty of London Powder Blush, $18.50. Available at MACcosmetics.com

EYE SHADOW

Though I was really excited to try out one of the five eye shadow shades in the collection, the one I actually did try didn’t exactly floor me. The collection consists of muted shades ranging from a deep, dark teal-tinged blue (Birds & Berries) to a mossy green gray hue (Bough Grey), a frosty reddish purple (Dame’s Desire), a matte coral (Free to Be), and a matte light pink shade (Give Me Liberty of London). In particular, I tried the Give Me Liberty of London eye shadow, and I gotta say it fell short of expectations. The color reads like a ballerina pink inside its packaging but, when you dust in onto skin, it’s an extremely muted shade that’s disturbingly reminiscent of blackboard chalk. Sure, you can apply it to lids to brighten up the face a bit, but I’d hardly have it be the key element of my makeup look.

Check out a swatch of the Give Me Liberty of London eye shadow:

MAC Liberty of London Eye Shadow, $14.50. Available at MACcosmetics.com

NAIL LACQUER

Two nail lacquers are included in the Liberty of London collection: Blue India, a teal-ish blue shade; and Vestral White, a creamy milky white hue. I haven’t tried either of these, but the Blue India nail lacquer looks fantastic, and the packaging is beyond cute.

MAC Liberty of London Nail Lacquer, $12. Available at MACcosmetics.com