MAC Cosmetics x Selena La Reina Collection Review August 11, 2020
When the promotional photos for the MAC Cosmetics x Selena La Reina Collection launched, I told myself that I was going to be “good” and that I’d only pick up a couple of items from the collection. Ultimately, I picked up everything except for the makeup bag and vibrant pink liquid lipstick. Keep reading for my MAC Cosmetics x Selena La Reina Collection Review.
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A Little Bit About Selena Quintanilla-Perez
For my American friends, the Queen of Tejano music, Selena Quintanilla-Perez needs no introduction. However, I realize that my European friends may be less familiar with the iconic, Mexican-American singer.
Selena was a popular Mexican-American singer who rose to fame in the 80s and 90s. Considered one of the most influential Latin artists of all time, Selena’s music and fashion inspired adoring fans. The talented singer was tragically murdered in 1995 at the age of 23.
MAC Cosmetics x Selena La Reina Packaging
Like many of MAC’s limited-edition collaborations, the packing of the Selena La Reina Packaging was well executed. Inspired by Selena’s famous bedazzled bustier, all of the items in this collection come in sleek black packaging with silver embellishments. Each of the lip products comes in a sleek black tube with Selena’s signature and a silver cap.
The two powder products, the Selena La Reina Extra Dimension Skin Finish and the Me Siento Muy Excited x8 Eyeshadow Palette come in black cardboard packaging with silver bedazzled detailing to match Selena Quintanilla’s famous black, bedazzled bustier. Additionally, both compacts come with a mirror and a plastic protective sheet featuring an iconic image of Selena.
MAC Cosmetics x Selena La Reina Price
Despite being a highly anticipated limited edition release, all of the items within the MAC Cosmetics x Selena La Reina collection priced similarly to MAC’s normal releases.
- Bullet Lipsticks: $20.00
- Lip Glass Glosses: $18.50
- Lip Liners: $19.00
- Retro Matte Liquid Lip Color: $23.00
- Me Siento Muy Excited Eyeshadow Palette: $35.00
- Selena La Reina Extra Dimension Skin Finish: $37.00
Is MAC Cosmetics Cruelty-Free & Vegan?
Sadly, MAC Cosmetics is no longer Cruelty-Free. In 2005, MAC Cosmetics began to sell its products in China. As such the brand lost its Cruelty-Free status due to the animal testing requirements for international brands selling in China. To learn more about what it means to be Cruelty-Free, please check out my Cruelty-Free 101 recap.
Additionally, the MAC Cosmetics x Selena La Reina Collection is not Vegan. The Bullet Lipsticks, Lip Glasses, Me Siento Muy Excited Palette, and Retro Matte Liquid Lip Color contain Carmine.
Does the MAC Cosmetics x Selena La Reina include any irritating ingredients?
Some items within the Selena La Reina collection contain Talc and Bismuth Oxychloride.
MAC Cosmetics x Selena La Reina Collection Swatches
As always, swatches are not a perfect indicator of quality. However, swatches can provide clues regarding a product’s pigmentation and ability to blend. Please see below for swatches of the Selena La Reina collection.
Don’t be fooled by the photo of the eyeshadows – these swatches applied quite patchily. In fact, the mattes felt densely packed and dry.
Meanwhile, the lip glosses felt sticky and almost gritty. The Retro Matte Liquid Lipsticks took a bit of time to dry down, but eventually dried down. However, it took a lot of building to reach full opacity.
Obviously, the bullet lipsticks and lip liners swatched the best. The colors applied opaque, felt comfortable, and applied without any tugging. Given MAC is known for its bullet lipsticks and liners, this comes to no surprise.
Application & Performance
Within the Selena La Reina Collection, the bullet lipsticks, lip liners, and lip glosses applied with ease. Each lippie and lip liner felt creamy without being too soft. Also, the pigmentation was built up easily. Although MAC Cosmetics’ iconic Lip Glass formula is sticky, the formula doesn’t tug on the lips as it is applied. The lip glasses easily build on top of other lippies without pulling away products. Instead, they enhance the appearance of the lips.
In comparison, the Liquid Lipsticks were not as easy to apply. The formula feels dry and thick on the lips. As such, it doesn’t feel pleasant applying the colors. Moreover, the beautiful red liquid lipstick arrived damaged, so it is impossible to apply Selena’s iconic red lip color without making a huge mess.
Likewise, the eyeshadow palette left a lot to be desired. Overall, the matte formula felt as dry as the Sahara desert. Additionally, the vibrant pink and red shades took a TON of work to build up without looking patchy. For better, less expensive red and pink shadows check out my Huda Beauty Palette Ranking or ColourPop Monochromatic Palette Ranking. Even the matte brown shades were difficult to work with on the eyelids.
In fact, within the palette, the two shimmer shades were the only saving grace. However, even those shadows were not ideal. Formula-wise, the shimmers felt soft, crumbly, and produced a ton of fallout.
Finally, the Extra Dimension Skin Finish looked beautiful, both in the pan and on the cheekbones. Although the formula looks quite deep in the pan, this shade will work on fair skin tones like mine. It is easy to apply with a light hand.
What is the wear-time for this Collection?
Across the board, I didn’t find anything unusual about the wear-time of the products within the Selena La Reina Collection. The bullet lipsticks, lip liners, and glosses wear comfortably throughout the day. Without eating, they’ll fade gracefully. However, eating will wear away the products faster.
In contrast, the liquid lipsticks had zero staying power. Although they were just as dry as old school matte liquid lipstick, these shades lacked longevity. Also, they wore away patchily. My lips looked like two uneven, patchy raisins within a few hours of application.
The palette and the Extra Dimension Skin Finish lasted for a standard amount of time for powder products – roughly 10 hours or so. However, I always apply my eyeshadow over a primer.
Where is the Collection sold?
The MAC Cosmetics x Selena La Reina Collection was not released worldwide but was exclusive to the Americas. Within the US, the collection was sold at MAC, Belk, Dillards, Nordstrom, Saks, and Ulta Beauty.
Most of this collection has sold out online; however, certain retailers are likely to still carry stock of this collection in-store. As states ease out of lockdown, I anticipate that this collection will pop up in physical retail locations across the country.
Final Thoughts on the MAC Cosmetics x Selena La Reina Collection
All in all, the MAC Cosmetics x Selena La Reina Collection is a classically beautiful and timeless collection. However, beyond the packaging and color selection, this collection left a lot to be desired.
As usual, MAC’s classic lipsticks, lip liners, and glosses shone. In comparison, the Retro Matte Liquid Lipsticks were uncomfortable, poor quality, and too expensive. Additionally, despite the basic warm-berry color story of the palette, the eyeshadow performance was lackluster. Not worthy of MAC’s price tag.
If you can find elements of this collection in stores or online, skip the power products and the liquid lipsticks entirely. Only the lipsticks and lip liners are worth the investment.
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How do you feel about my MAC Cosmetics x Selena La Reina Collection review? Did you pick up anything in this collection? Please let me know in the comments below.
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oliveunicorn says
August 11, 2020 at 6:39 amThe colors look pretty and do kind of fit Selena. Sad that they weren’t the best . But I do love Selena’s music💕
The Newbury Girl says
August 11, 2020 at 10:16 pmI was so sad, but the lipsticks are so beautiful. I love her music, too! ❤️ she is truly an incredible artist.
jennifertarheelreader says
August 11, 2020 at 10:43 amAs always, the most thoughtful and thorough reviews of makeup I’ve seen, LP. These products are beautiful- the colors, especially. I’m most drawn to the lipsticks because I love a MAC lip pie and I’m happy to know those held up. As much as I love glosses and liquids, I can’t stand a gritty one. I stopped buying MAC a while ago, even as much as I loved the lipsticks, and I think it was around the time they stopped being cruelty free, which I had forgotten was THAT long ago. I’m getting old, LP! I love the idea of this collection in tribute to Selena most of all and I’m grateful for your thoughts. ❤️
The Newbury Girl says
August 11, 2020 at 10:17 pmThank you so much, I was bummed about the shadows but loved the lippies! So sad that MAC isn’t Cruelty-Free anymore BUT China may be changing their animal testing policies this year! 💜
jennifertarheelreader says
August 12, 2020 at 9:03 pmThat’s great to hear!
Castles and Hurricanes says
August 11, 2020 at 3:18 pmThat’s disappointing that the liquid lipsticks and eye shadows did not apply as well. The colors look pretty though, and it’s really cool that they did a collection on Selena.
The Newbury Girl says
August 11, 2020 at 10:18 pmReally loved the inspo, but was sad that some products were duds.
Mimi says
August 11, 2020 at 4:04 pmI wonder who the European friends you had to explain who she was are? Ahahah the palette looks pretty but those with more than 4 shades never perform well. I love the lipsticks though the packaging is gorgeous!
The Newbury Girl says
August 11, 2020 at 10:19 pm😂😂😂 I wonder if you’d understand some of her music due to the similarities between Spanish & Italian lol! And yes the lipsticks were so lovely. I will say that I LOVED the x9 Jasmine Palette from the Aladdin collection a while back! 💜
Mimi says
August 11, 2020 at 10:56 pmPretty sure that was made with existing shades wasn’t it? I might be completely wrong tbh
The Newbury Girl says
August 11, 2020 at 10:59 pmI’m honestly not sure but even if they weren’t existing shades, they weren’t groundbreaking – just like effortless, pretty glam!
Mimi says
August 11, 2020 at 11:05 pmDon’t get me wrong I like Mac eyeshadows I just thing usually limited edition palettes aren’t that great when they have more than four shades
PoojaG says
August 11, 2020 at 11:19 pmIt’s disappointing that such beautiful products were not very good quality. It’s even sadder that they are not cruelty free or vegan anymore.
The Newbury Girl says
August 15, 2020 at 5:30 pmWith China changing its animal testing policies, hopefully, MAC will once again fall into the Cruelty-Free family given that they only test to sell in that market. They have such a great recycling program, so its truly a shame!
PoojaG says
August 15, 2020 at 11:09 pmI really hope that they do become cruelty free again because they have some really great products and like you said they have a great recycling program too.
Simone | Beautymone says
August 12, 2020 at 11:49 amI have to say that I’m so so so disappointed by this collection! Packaging-wise it looks amazing, the quality seems to be less desiring. Selena deserved something better than this tbh. Thankfully the lipsticks were the OG MAC formula, which is always good. The good old lipglasses are still a pass lol.
The Newbury Girl says
August 12, 2020 at 1:37 pmAhahahah this was my first time trying the lip glass formula – I don’t hate the formula but it’s just not my ideal formula lol.
And def agree – the collection wasn’t on par with Selena’s beauty & talent! The bullet lippies are stunning tho! ❤️
mylilsliceoflife says
August 14, 2020 at 12:50 pmSuch a beautiful women and amazing singer I can’t believe MAC would do such p!55 poor job of cosmetics sporting her name and signature. It sounds like the quality is definitely not worth the price points.
The Newbury Girl says
August 15, 2020 at 5:29 pmI was truly bummed – I feel like not a lot of people who reviewed the collection brought up these issues. Not sure if it was because of the ties to Selena, but was bummed that the quality wasn’t on par with her talent.
mylilsliceoflife says
August 15, 2020 at 5:58 pmThat’s just really too bad. 😢
gabbyabigailll says
August 15, 2020 at 9:23 amAw, no! I was definitely looking forward to reading about this collection because hello, QUEEN Selena. And the packaging is so stunning. But, I still think it’s completely rad that they did a collection on Selena. This was such a thorough review, LP! Like always, you totally outdid yourself!
–
Gabby
The Newbury Girl says
August 15, 2020 at 5:28 pmI was so bummed about the performance, too. Def not on par with Selena’s incredible talent. At least the bullet lippies were the saving grace!
Chocoviv says
August 17, 2020 at 2:44 pmGreat review!
A Woman's Confidence says
August 22, 2020 at 6:29 pmI’ve got to say, I’m not familiar with Selena! It’s so that she was murdered so young though, that’s crazy. The packaging for this collection is so stunning, but it’s a shame that it didn’t perform very well. Besides the iconic matte bullet lipsticks and Pro Longwear Paint Pot, I generally never feel impressed by MAC. It’s a shame that the eyeshadow palette was so patchy, what a let down!