Rihanna’s MAC makeup collection debuts to mixed reviews

Earlier this year MAC and Rihanna released a lipstick called RiRi Woo that was extremely popular and sold out in weeks. After the success of the lipstick MAC ordered a Rihanna collection. Being a huge fan of MAC I decided to check the new RiRi Collection out.

At 12 p.m., I was one of thousands of eager customers who went online to order the make-up when it was released. All purchasers were first put into waiting rooms and then connected to a page where, one by one, we were allowed to view and buy Rihanna’s products. At 12:58 p.m. I was able to see the collection.

The collection includes two eyeshadow palettes, mascara, eyeliner, brow pencils, eyelashes, four lipsticks, a lip gloss, two blushes, two brushes and a multi-purpose powder. Out of the entire set, the only items that are limited edition are the lipsticks, lip gloss and one of the blushes. Everything else you can get in MAC’s normal line for much less. While the brushes don’t exist in MAC’s regular line, the quality isn’t exceptional. This has upset some people who feel that they are paying for Rihanna’s name, not for items that are of exceptional quality or available for a limited time only

The lipsticks and lip glosses are the best part of the collection. The most coveted red lipstick shade is RiRi Woo. I definitely think it is a gorgeous color. RiRi Woo is a bright, confident red that looks good on all skin tones. The lip gloss is also available in the RiRi Woo color and it is gorgeous.

The other lipsticks, however, are questionable. On different skin tones they look completely different and most of the time, in an unflattering way. The lipsticks are made to look good if Rihanna were to wear them, so unless you look like Rihanna, the colors will probably not appear the same on you.

There is a neutral color called Nude that definitely flatters medium to dark skin tones. On lighter skin tones it appears to be an intense brown color that is not universally flattering. The next color is a frosty orange called Who’s That Chick. This looks good on light to medium skin tones and looks a little like a lip gloss because of its sheen. On darker skin tones the orange pigment comes out more and on some people it looks very unflattering.

The last lipstick is called Talk That Talk. In the tube it looks to be an almost black-purple but on different people the color changes. On light skin tones the lipstick appears as that black-purple but on darker skin tones it becomes a very rich red-purple hybrid. This color has been sought after because of how it looks different on every skin type. This is the lipstick I bought and I was disappointed. When I swatched the lipstick it came out as a very nice red-purple but when I put it on it was very drying and it went on patchy. It felt like putting on chalk. Then once I got it even, I had put on so much it looked almost black. I was very disappointed.

You can get over half of the collection from MAC if you buy them without Rihanna’s name attached, but the only thing that is guaranteed to look good on everyone is RiRi Woo.

MAC and Rihanna have partnered to do several collections in the coming months, so hopefully the other collections have more limited edition items.