Lips: MAC's Lipstick in "Romantic Breakdown" (LE) [MAC x Bao Bao Wan 2015] + Comparisons

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Yes! The last review for this collection and I have 40 minutes to write it, if I want to get in just over six hours of sleep!!!

"Romantic Breakdown" is the last of the four limited edition lipsticks in the MAC x Bao Bao Wan collection, and it is the only lipstick in the lustre finish. I used to really enjoy the lustre finish by MAC - you can see my review of "Hug Me" here, the first lustre I ever reviewed. A lot has changed since then, though, as I discovered the amplified finish and MAC made their matte finish more comfortable on the lips. The lustre finish - and the cremesheen finish, while we're on the subject - have taken a backseat since then.

Don't misunderstand me, though. Lustres still have their place, and that place becomes evident with colors like "Romantic Breakdown."

Lips: MAC's Lipstick in "Forbidden Sunrise" (LE) [MAC x Bao Bao Wan 2015)

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I figured, why not just finish with the matte lipsticks? "Forbidden Sunrise" is the third and last of the matte lipsticks from MAC's Bao Bao Wan collection, the lustre being left to review.

I'm sure I've mentioned before that I don't like orange lipstick, as flattering as it is on me, but something about "Forbidden Sunrise" really caught my interest when information and swatches became available on the color. It seemed to be a brighter, lighter orange without being pastel, and I couldn't help but think how radiating it would be in the sunlight...in the summer...when everything is brighter and lighter and not so damn depressingly gray.

New Hell City problems.

Anyway, while "Burmese Kiss" fell into the 'favorite color of lipstick' category, and "Lavender Jade" fell into the 'unique color of lipstick' category, "Forbidden Sunrise" ended up being my favorite from this collection. Yes, an orange lipstick was my favorite.

First browns, now this! Just wait - I promise you by the end of July it will get even worse.

Lips: MAC's Lipstick in "Lavender Jade" (LE) [MAC x Bao Bao Wan 2015] + A Comparison

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Next, I've decided to review "Lavender Jade."

Purple used to be my favorite color. I guess I'm glad it isn't anymore, because there is just something about limited edition purples from MAC that make them highly coveted - these lavenders especially.

"Lavender Jade" is the reason I classify the Bao Bao Wan release as one of the most chaotic, frustrating releases I've ever experienced from MAC. This particular color was gone in an instant at nearly every retailer. By chance I happened to read that a Nordstrom in California was taking preorders over the phone and I thought I'd try my luck. Somehow it all worked out and I ended up with my tube of "Lavender Jade."

One of the big questions surrounding this color that I also felt compelled to ask was how closely it compared to the only other MAC lavender that I own, "Dodgy Girl" from the Osbourne collection last year. For some "Lavender Jade" seemed more of a true lavender, while for others it was simply "Dodgy Girl" in different packaging. In the end I decided I would purchase the color and figure out for myself what the outcome would be. In the worst case scenario, I would end up with a backup to "Dodgy Girl," which is the only of its color that I own from MAC.

Lips: MAC's Lipstick in "Burmese Kiss" (LE) [MAC x Bao Bao Wan 2015] + Comparisons

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More often than not I find myself deciding what I should be doing, or arguing over whether I should be doing something or not when I have a list of other things to do. Right now, I should be packing for my flight on Wednesday, but truth be told I've been doing nothing. So I'm going to try now. I'm going to try to write as many of the reviews for this collection  as I can tonight.

I want to get this collection out of the way and move on to the next, which is already just as irrelevant but eh, it's either do it or don't. I don't want to fall into the latter anymore.

I have all four of the limited edition lipsticks from MAC's collaboration with Bao Bao Wan, and I decided to start with my review on "Burmese Kiss," which was the color I wanted the most.

MAC's Bao Bao Wan Sneak Peek

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It feels like forever since I last wrote about a MAC collection. Trust me - they've been coming out and I've still been purchasing things here and there from them - I just haven't been on top of my reviews. To be honest, this Sneak Peek post really feels like a waste of time, because the products I purchased from MAC's Bao Bao Wan collection - the collection's lipsticks - are mostly sold out, both online and at MAC counters.

MAC has this obsession with making limited edition products extremely limited, and I have to say the company's collaboration with jewelry designer Bao Bao Wan was perhaps the most limited collection I've personally experienced to date. First the online release was pushed back, then it magically launched online for retailers that were supposedly not receiving the collection, then people were able to order products before they officially launched at one of said online retailers, then MAC released the collection one day earlier than officially announced on its own site...people were placing phone [pre]orders at counters, counters were sold out before the doors opened, shipments were never received...have I traumatized you yet?

It was insane. The true center of all this chaos was one particular lipstick, "Lavender Jade," which I somehow managed to purchase [over the phone from a store across the country]. It shouldn't come as much of a surprise, then, that I don't have the lipstick yet to share with you. I wouldn't even be surprised if it never made it here, LOL.

Anyway, what I do have to share quickly with you today are the collection's other three limited edition lipsticks: "Forbidden Sunrise," "Burmese Kiss," and "Romantic Breakdown." Let's sit back and enjoy those, then, right?