MAC Venomous Villains Collection Pt. I — Cruella De Vil And Dr. Facilier

All the most exciting activities require at least two players, right? Would you rather play solitaire or chat with friends over a heated round of poker? Dribble a basketball by yourself or find a fierce pick-up game? Sway your hips in a darkly lit corner of the club or glide onto the dance floor with a cologne-covered, firm-chested salsa partner? The folks at MAC Cosmetics know that one is the loneliest number — which is why they’ve invited collaborations with some of the most exciting fashion and jewelry designers, animation houses, illustrators, and toy manufacturers. This year alone, they’ve released limited-edition collections created alongside the likes of Liberty of London and Alice + Olivia.

But MAC’s most exciting collaboration in years (and yes, I’m even counting the Hello Kitty and Barbie collections) is its new Venomous Villains collection, which pays homage to the scheming, conniving, spell-casting, envious, greedy scoundrels in some of Disney’s most beloved animated films. In particular, this limited-edition collection nods to Cruella De Vil, the puppy-squashing ice queen of Walt Disney’s 101 Dalmatians); the mirror-loving, poisoned apple-dispensing Evil Queen of Snow White And The Seven Dwarfs fame; the manipulative, top hat-wearing Dr. Facilier of The Princess And The Frog; and Maleficent of Sleeping Beauty, the horned evil fairy who cursed Aurora to die when she touches a spinning wheel’s spindle before her sixteenth birthday. I love most of the villains chosen, though I do admit I would’ve preferred a classic evil genius like Ursula from The Little Mermaid over Dr. Facilier. But Cruella and Maleficent were particularly fun choices for me.

The collection’s packaging is exquisite — the character depictions are completely true to their original incarnations, and yet they feel modern, with clean lines and vivid colors updating each figure emblazoned across lip gloss an lipstick tubes or stamped on clear eyeshadow lid cases. You literally feel like a giddy child as you twist open every lipstick tube or snap open every beauty powder compact — it’s the kind of enthusiasm a five-year-old feels when he opens his new pencil case or lunchbox for the very first time.

In terms of the color collections themselves, each of the four mini collections inside the Venomous Villains umbrella feature hues that correspond with the fairy tale in question. The best part: having experimented with the products in all the collections, it’s hard for me to pick one favorite. If the lipsticks in one collection had me salivating like forbidden pieces of fruit, the eye shadows in another called for me to go up a mysterious staircase, and the pigments in another made me want to harmonize with a trumpet-playing gator. Bottom line: every story has its very own happy ending.

Today, we’ll focus on the Cruella de Vil and Dr. Facilier color collections. Below, you’ll find in-depth descriptions of each collection and the products therein, images of all the pieces in these collections, swatches, and much more.  Being bad never looked this good!

Keep reading after the jump to check out these collections!

CRUELLA DE VIL

When it comes to Disney villains, few managed to make evil as stylish as Cruella De Vil of One Hundred And One Dalmatians — she’s got the timeless LBD, she mastered the two-toned hairdo before any pop starlets  dared to accomplish such a feat, and she draped herself in more fur than Rachel Zoe and the Olsen twins combined (though, of course, the latter are way more merciful about how they obtain their fur jackets and stoles). From her elbow-length gloves to her perfectly contoured high cheekbones and her red pout, Cruella was the original Devil in Prada.

The MAC Venomous Villains’ Cruella De Vil collection, then, celebrates Cruella’s impeccable sense of style — hey, her morals were questionable, but no one can take away her gumption!

Check out all the products in the collection, as well as swatches of them, below.

LIPSTICK:

The two lipsticks in the collection speak to the two sides of Cruella — Innocence, Beware! is a creamy nude pink that rally does bring to mind cherubs and precious little children with ribbons in their hair, that sense of purity and universal love that Cruella must have once possessed as a young girl; while the Heartless shade alludes to the corrupt, jaded, greedy adult version of Cruella who, of course, is perpetually found donning a red pout.

Both shades are delicious, though I have a soft spot for the candy apple red color of the Heartless lipstick. But really, this is a power duo, a lipstick yin and yang, that works best when examined in unison — which is all to say, you should invest in both.

Check out a swatch of the Heartless lipstick shade:

And here’s a swatch of the Innocence, Beware! lipstick shade:

Here are the Innocence, Beware! and Heartless shades next to one another:

MAC Venomous Villains Cruella De Vil Lipsticks, $15.50 each. Available at MACcosmetics.com

LIPGLASS:

These two lip gloss shades can be worn solo, adding a sheer layer of color to lips, or they can be worn atop the lipstick shades in the collection to give them a bit more sparkle and pop. Again, of course, we have a red shade — in this case, Devilishly Stylish, which reminds me of a cherry Now & Later candy, and which features pink pearl particles. And, in addition, there’s a much more natural, luminous, pale yellow gold shade named Wicked Ways.

Take a closer look at the Wicked Ways (top) and Devilishly Stylish (bottom) Lipglass shades:

MAC Venomous Villains Cruella De Vil Lipglass, $15.50 each. Available at MACcosmetics.com

EYE SHADOW:

These three eye shadow shades mirror the colors in Cruella’s luxurious wardrobe. Carbon, a dusky, matte black, corresponds to her form-fitting, V-necked dress. Sweet Joy, a parchment paper-worthy, creamy pale yellow color like the maize-tinged camel shade of Cruella’s signature fur coat. And last, there’s De-Vil, a reddish copper color with a smooth but shimmering finish, like the eyeshadow hue Cruella might have worn (whenever she didn’t opt for her signature pale green shadow).

Now, time to admire the  eye shadow hues. Pictured below, from top to bottom, you’ll find swatches of Sweet Joy, De-Vil, and Carbon:

MAC Venomous Villains Cruella De Vil Eye Shadows, $15.50 each. Available at MACcosmetics.com

BEAUTY POWDER:

Since Cruella has such extraordinarily high cheekbones, she would want to accentuate them as much s possible, and the cool, rosy nude color in the Her Own Devices Beauty Powder would allow her to do precisely that.

Check out the nude sheen of the Her Own Devices Beauty Powder:

MAC Venomous Villains Cruella De Vil Beauty Powder, $25. Available at MACcosmetics.com

POWDER BLUSH:

What would a malevolent yet luxury-loving nemesis be without her blush? The Darkly My Dear Powder Blush shade is a dirty, chestnut-favored rosy color that adds a bit of drama to the visage.

Here’s a swatch of the Powder Blush in Darkly My Dear:

MAC Venomous Villains Cruella De Vil Powder Blush, $19.50. Available at MACcosmetics.com

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DR. FACILIER

Since most of the villains immortalized in the MAC Venomous Villains collection were first illustrated before 1950, the powers that be chose to add a more contemporary villain. Enter Dr. Facilier, the voodoo master in The Princess and The Frog who transforms Prince Naveen into a frog and plots to become the wealthiest, most powerful man in time. His scheming face, with its protruding square jawline, slim black mustache, and gapped teeth, is emblazoned on most of these cosmetics’ packaging. The colors in the collection even reference his signature outfit: the black top hat with the magenta-tinged red band and the skull and crossbones design, a midriff-baring purple vest with hot pink undertones, a maroonish purple and black tailcoat, dark brown pants with a red cummerbund, and white spats over dark brown shoes. And, of course, the sights and locales captured in the film (from the French Quarter to the bayou) are also commemorated via the color choices.

Below, you’ll find a breakdown of all the products in the collection, along with swatches of each.

MAGICALLY COOL LIQUID POWDER:

In this movie’s version of New Orleans, magic abounds — and where there’s magic, there’s sparkle, whether in the form of fairy dust, in the visions captured in the crystal sphere of psychics, or in the twilight haze of forest landscapes. Both of the Magically Cool Liquid Powder choices are saturated with a soft shimmer. There’s Truth & Light, a sheer powder that looks like a luminous veil on skin, reflecting gold and pearly white tones, and Cajun, a sheer bronze that adds a golden tan finish to skin.

Here are two shots that capture the luminous finish you’ll get from the Magically Cool Liquid Powder in Truth & Light:

Next, here’s a look at what the Magically Cool Liquid Powder in Cajun looks like on skin:

MAC Cosmetics Venomous Villains Dr. Facilier Magically Cool Liquid Powders, $29.50 each. Available at MACcosmetics.com

LIPGELEE:

The Lipgelée in Resort Life captures the warmth of the bayou when it’s basking in golden light (such as in that final scene when Mama Odie declares the frog couple “frog and wife” and their kiss transforms them into Princess Tiana and Prince Naveen). The color is a magical gold pearl color with a sticky but manageable texture and tons of galaxy-worthy, magical glimmer.

Admire what the Lipgelée Resort Life color looks like:

Here’s another shot of the shimmering Resort Life hue:

MAC Venomous Villains Dr. Facilier Lipgelée, $15.50. Available at MACcosmetics.com

PIGMENT:

The pigment shades selected for the Dr. Facilier collection draw inspiration fro his trademark getup (the pimp-like purple suit and the reddish magenta band along his skull-and-crossbones adorned top hat), as well as the soft golden yellow color we see in so many of the film’s moments (such as on the snake wrapped around Mama Odie’s neck).

The three pigments available are: Melon, a soft golden peach with a champagne rose tint that’s saturated with golden pearl particles; Brash & Bold, an adventurous bright magenta shade that still manages to steer towards the red spectrum as opposed to leaning too far into purple territory; and Brash & Bold, a bruised purple plum shade (think old-school versions of the Grimace) with a dusty texture and a hint of bewitching sparkle.

Below, you’ll find swatches of (from left to right) Brash & Bold, Push The Edge, and Melon:

Here’s another shot of the pigments from a slightly different angle:

And here’s a final shot capturing what the three pigment shades look like on the skin:

MAC Venomous Villains Dr. Facilier Pigments, $19.50 each. Available at MACcosmetics.com

GREASEPAINT STICK:

There are references to voodoo and black magic throughout The Princess and The Frog, so some thick Greasepaint Sticks to give eyes a sinister feel make perfect sense in this scenario. The Greasepaint Sticks are available in two colors: Slick Black, a sooty, carbon black; and French Quarter, a tarnished-looking asphalt black with brassy olive undertones and golden pearlescent particles.

MAC Venomous Villains Dr. Facilier Greasepaint Sticks, $17.50 each. Available at MACcosmetics.com