Reviews: Selena Quintanilla Collection by MAC

A few months ago, I, like Selena fans everywhere, went absolutlely crazy when I heard that MAC was going to release a Selena inspired collection. Like, I almost couldn't breathe; I was that excited. And, like Selena fans everywhere, I was super disappointed when the whole collection sold out in approximately five minutes. Luckily, MAC recently restocked the collection, and I was able to pick up a couple of things (honestly, I wanted to get everything, but, alas, I do not have an unlimited makeup budget).

If you don't know, Selena Quintanilla was a Tejano singer--actually, she was the Queen of Tejano music--who was popular in the 80s and 90s. She was a groundbreaking musician. She was one of the first Latino singers to gain mainstream popularity in the US and to have a successful crossover career as an English language singer. Not to mention that she was basically the first woman to become a popular Tejano singer (previously, Tejano music was dominated by men). Selena was tragically murdered in 1995 at the age of 23.

If you're interested in the Selena Collection (and you should be because Selena Quintanilla was a lovely and amazing human being), quite a few items from the collection are still available on MAC's website. However, you should hurry because Selena has a ton of fans, and I have a feeling that this collection is going to sell out pretty quickly.

The whole collection contains:

• Three unique Selena lipsticks (Dreaming of You, Como La Flor, and Amor Prohibido)
• One unique Selena lipglass (Bidi Bidi Bom Bom)
• Five unique Selena single eyeshadows (Missing My Baby, Fotos y Recuerdos, No Me Queda Mas, Selena, and Is It The Beat?) 
• One contour powder & blush combo (Techno Cumbia) with Selena packaging
• A 129 brush with Selena packaging 
• Liquid Eyeliner with Selena packaging 
• Opulash Mascara with Selena packaging 

I think this is a really good range of products. If you want to get something from the collection, I can almost guarentee that you'll find something you like and would use. There's definitely something for everyone.

Plus, the packaging for the collection is really cute. Apparently, purple was Selena's favorite color, so all the packaging is matte purple. Also, everything has Selena's signature on it, which I think is a really nice homage.

Anyway, I wanted to buy everything, but I ended up picking up all the lipsticks from the collection (Dreaming of You, Como La Flor, and Amor Prohibido) and one of the eyeshadows (No Me Queda Mas).

As always, MAC's lipsticks are perfection. They're creamy, they're pigmented, they're longlasting, the whole shebang. If you're a lipstick lover and you've never tried MAC lipsticks, you need to pick one up today yesterday. That's how good they are. Anyway, there are three lipsticks in the Selena collection (Dreaming of You, Como La Flor, and Amor Prohibido). They're $18 a piece, which is $1 than MAC's standard lipsticks. I'm guessing the packaging accounts for the extra cost.

Dreaming of You is a gorgeous, dark red with a purple undertone with a matte finish (it reminds me of the Amuse Bouche lipstick in Licorice by Bite Beauty). Obviously, it's not a super new or unique shade, but it's still a pretty color and it's almost universally flattering. I really think this shade would look good on all virtually all skin tones. On someone as pale as me, it's definitely, a bold, vampy lip color. Plus, the song that this color is based on is equally gorgeous and wonderful.

Como La Flor is a bright, orange toned red with an amplified finish. Like Dreaming of You, it's not a super unique shade. You could definitely find dupes for this color, but, if you don't have anything like this in your collection, I recommend picking it up. However, it is a bit more sheer than Dreaming of You, so you might have to apply two layers. Again, I think this color would suit most skin tones. And, of course, Como La Flor, is one of Selena's most popular songs.

Amor Prohibido is a sheer, pinkish brown nude lipstick with a glaze finish. As I said, it's sheer, but you can build it up to be more opaque. Again, I think this would be a flattering color on a lot of different skin tones. For me, I think it's going to be the perfect lipstick to wear to work (I recently got a new job at a publishing company in Manhattan). Plus, Amor Prohibido is one of my favorite Selena songs ever.

I only picked up one single eyeshadow from the collection. I've had mixed experiences with MAC eyeshadows in the past. Some of them are fantastic and some are extremely disappointing (I'm looking at you, Paradisco). In a lot of cases, you can find comparable eyeshadows from drugstore brands. That being said, I wanted to get at least one shadow from the collection, so I picked up No Me Queda Mas. All of the shadows from the collection are $17 (the normal price for MAC shadows is $16, unless you get the refill pan, which is $6).

 

No Me Queda Mas is a warm toned, medium-brown shadow with a matte finish. For me, it's the perfect transition shade. You could use it in any number of eye looks. This shadow is also very pigmented and creamy. Like everything in this collection, it's very dupable, but if you don't have anything like it in your collection, it's certainly worth buying.

So, to sum it up, the Selena collection is absolutely wonderful, and I'm so happy that MAC decided to celebrate Selena Quintanilla, who was and continues to be such an inspiring woman.