MAC Vibe Tribe Collection (Summer 2016)

MAC's 'vibe tribe' collection for summer 2016 includes a wide range of lipsticks, blushes, bronzers, patent polish lip pencils, highlighters are more... however it created some controversy surrounding cultural appropriation, regarding native american culture. I am not personally offended by the packing patterns or the concept of the 'vibe tribe', but I can see how it would be so. I purchased a few products from the collection for the product itself and not the packaging - I would have also done so if they were in normal mac packaging. In Australia, if MAC were to release a collection like this but instead including Indigenous dot painting patterns, or anything else affiliated with Aboriginal culture, it would spark an enormous amount of outrage here - and I can totally relate to this. As a whole I am disappointed at the lack of cultural sensitivity of MAC cosmetics, and thought that being such a big brand, they would have thought this one through a little more.

But enough about the packing... onto the products themselves! I picked up the 'gleamtones' powder in 'Dunes at Dusk', and the lipsticks 'Hot Chocolate' and 'Arrowhead'.

'Hot Chocolate' (satin) is described by MAC as a 'dirty plum', but on my fair skin tone, it turned out quite vampy - but I'm not complaining. It was almost like Kat Von D's liquid lipstick in 'Lolita' and MAC's 'velvet teddy' had a baby on my lips, with a slightly more purple tone. This lipstick looks stunning on those with deeper skin tones than mine (which is probably 99.99% of the population), especially olive skin tones.

'Arrowhead' reminds me of another lipstick by MAC - 'honeylove', except arrowhead is slightly lighter in shade. I like pairing these two lipsticks together - with honeylove all over the lips, and arrowhead in the center. Arrowhead is a matte formula (just like honeylove), and is a lovely nude colour for fairer skintones. It is described by MAC as a 'bare nude' - but personally I find that it has a slightly pink, but mostly beige undertone, with a lot of white mixed in.

The infamous highlighter of the collection, 'Dunes at Dusk' is a lovely swirl of a lavender, light pink, champagne, and a bronze. I personally used this as a blush-topper type product, and played around with specifically the lavender shade (similar to the new skin frost by Jeffree Star - lavender snow). I found this product unique in colour, but not overly pigmented, which is not uncommon for MAC limited edition compacts, which are often pressed harder into the pan.

Overall I think the 'Vibe Trivbe' collection was successful in terms of product range, shade range, and wearability. Despite a taste of cultural appropriation, I also think the packaging is worth the purchase.