Hey, Sailor! Come here often!?

Exclamations abound in MAC’s latest limited edition summer release, a fairly sizable collection of 38 pieces for lips, eyes, faces, cheeks and bodies that sails into port (and onto North American MAC counters) May 24.

The crew, a rabble of ragtag repromoted products and first-time sailors, also features two maritime makeup bags — the $35 Gone Sailing Makeup Bag Set and $45 Gone Sailing Tote, both of which also drop anchor on May 24.

The crew’s fancy limited edition uniforms must cost more than MAC’s standard threads, because the products are priced slightly higher than normal.

The blue and white striped pieces are easy to spot from shore, and all of the packaging feels very crisp and clean to me. I like.

You can really see the striped pattern in the High-Light Powder pan; the pattern reminds me of a sailboat’s sails.

If the name of the collection sounds familiar (“Hey, Sailor!”), it was also the name of a Lustreglass from 2008’s Naughty Nauticals, another maritime MAC summer collection, and that’s not the only thing recycled here.

The pigment in Naval Blue also set sail in spring’s Chenman collection, and the Refined Golden Bronzer also went MAC To The Beach in 2010 (In Hey, Sailor!, I think the Refined Golden Bronzer appears more matte and less sparkly than it did when it went MAC To The Beach). Then, it was a
Surf Baby the following year.

Orange Tempera Lipglass also sailed with 2011′s Fall Colour Collection, and the Beach Body Oil (To The Beach) served alongside the Refined Golden Bronzer in 2010 when MAC went To The Beach.

That’s a lot of sailing! And a lot of exclamation marks, too. The ship is rife with ‘em, yargh! Hey, Sailor! Salute! (a neutral peach lipstick) when a superior officer enters the bridge. While you’re at it, Throw Me a Line! (a bright red lip pencil), and Launch Away! (a peach blush). Give me full power and every exclamation mark ye got!!!!!

The first time I heard about this collection, because of the name, I thought it might be related to the cool-toned Naughty Nauticals release, but now I don’t think that’s the case at all.

From the 23 pieces I’ve seen, Hey Sailor! features far fewer cool-toned blues, purples and pinks. The collection seems warmer to me, more like a traditional summer release, with its golds, corals, peach and tan. Of course, MAC had to add a twist with the kelly green and navy blue, which seem to give the release a preppier vibe. This sailor guy/girl probably wears J. Crew and Ralph Lauren more often than Roxy and O’Neil.

Here’s the shipping manifest some product pictures and swatches, as well as some action shots of the crew.

Eye Shadows, $16 each

Eye Shadows from the left: Barefoot, Jaunty, Feeling Fresh

Pigments, $21 each

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Just a few shots of the new MAC Hey, Sailor! collection for ya before I head on out to the dentist (WAH!). The collection arrives at MAC counters and maccosmetics.com on May 24. Reviews/swatches coming in two shakes of a husky tabby tail.

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

Okay, so maybe C-Thru isn’t going to win a flashy dance-off with MAC’s louder Lipglasses, but ya know, for some reason, it always keeps me coming back for more.

Why? Because it just works. Whenever I want a little sparkle and shine, BAM! There’s C-Thru. Whenever I want a gloss to give my lips some warmth and shimmer, KAPOW! Hi, C-Thru.

A shimmery, sheer peachy beige/nude, C-Thru goes with just about everything, and I think it’s great for a toned down lip look.

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I wish I could go back in time to the exact moment I purchased my first green eyeshadow from MAC, the now discontinued MAC Sprout, and hand myself a pan (from the future!) of MAC Fresh Flare Pro Longwear Eye Shadow ($20) instead.

Ah, MAC Sprout… I think I liked the color more than the execution. Gritty and difficult to blend, it was one of the hardest eyeshadows I’ve ever used.

Fresh Flare, on the other hand, an intensely pigmented kelly green with golden undertones, might as well be called a dairy product because it blends like butter on toast. Smooth, super pigmented, easy to blend, and I barely detect any fallout from it at all.

If you’ve been feeling green (in a good way) but don’t know where to start, take a quick look at Fresh Flare.

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Viva Glam V Lipglass ($14.50) is a great gateway gloss for makeup newcomers, and it’s probably the color I recommend the most to new/shy makeup wearers, especially teens and girls just getting into makeup for the first time.

I know that if I was a young girl looking for a mom-approved gloss, (my mom never liked me wearing crazy colors), neutral shimmery pink Viva Glam V definitely would have made the cut.

And I swear that it makes my lips look fuller, even though it’s technically not a plumping gloss.

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