To The... Forest.

You might have noticed that I get a bit feverish with excitement when MAC Cosmetics (just to clarify: MAC Cosmetics is incorrect, as "MAC" stands for "Makeup Art Cosmetics". Really, Makeup Art Cosmetics Cosmetics? I didn't think so. Sort it out) release new collections. There was one earlier this year, All Ages, All Races, All Sexes, that I was particularly obsessed with (read about it here if you must) - I ended up purchasing the "Personal Style" beauty powder which I rarely use but love like my own child all the same, and "Equality" lipstick which I use even less. I don't know, I just think that when I wear skin-coloured lipstick I look a little bit like an horrific porn star.

Then there was Viva Glam Gaga, which I'm still obsessed with. It helps that it looks perfect on me, and that Lady Gaga's signature is printed onto the lipstick tube.

There have definitely been releases since then (Give Me Liberty of London springs to mind) but nothing has quite captured the imaginations of MAC's devoted fanbase like To The Beach. It's summer elsewhere in the world, you see, so this is their tribute to sun.

Amber (who you can follow on Twitter here) recently twitpic'd a photo of some good-looking girls with particularly pretty cheeks. When, upon inquiry, she told me it was MAC's new "Marine Life" highlighting powder, I nearly died from excitement, then went and bought it the following day. It was $68, which I'm fairly sure is more than I've ever spent on a single makeup product in my life (except maybe Bliss' Triple Oxygen Instant Energising Mask, which retails for USD52 and as such blows "Marine Life" right out of the ... sea) and while it really pains me to say this...

I don't love it.

I bought it, and became increasingly more excited about wearing it clubbing on my first foray into Hamilton's nightlife since Boxing Day (did I ever tell you guys about Boxing Day, and how I came out of it with a new appreciation for that-song-I-famously-hate, "Whatcha Say"?), which finally rolled around last Saturday. Upon application though, I became bitterly disappointed. What the hell is this neon coral-coloured shit? It looked pink on Amber's twitpic, PINK! Pink, and flattering, and pretty, and everything else I wanted in a blush. Why is this happening to me, when I don't have enough time to wash my face and start again?! I managed to tone it down with some MAC Studio Fix (Fix is right, guys!), but I still spent my night fretting about my coral-coloured cheeks. Here's a particularly awful picture from the night (which doesn't really showcase my cheeks, but is hideous all the same) - courtesy Shannon Rolfe Photography.

Actually, I think it showcases my cheeks pretty fucking well, now that I look at it again. My eye makeup looks like it might have been applied by a four-year-old with spastic cerebral palsy (ha! I can say things like that without feeling guilty because I have it too!), but that's another story altogether.

Anyway, all in all, I am not that impressed with MAC's "Marine Life", and this has put me off purchasing the other To The Beach products that I had in mind - "Temperature Rising" lipliner, "Flurry of Fun" lipglass, and "Beachbound" lipstick. It sounds drastic, but I actually feel a little bit betrayed by MAC right now. Boo.

Another thing: I feel like I never write about makeup anymore. Is this the case? And yes, I do realise it could be said I don't write about anything anymore, but we've discussed that and I promised I would write some stuff while I'm in Hamilton.

Okay? Good. Peace and love.