MAC Alluring Aquatics Cremesheen Lipstick in Goddess of the Sea

I'm going to be completely transparent here for a moment in saying that up until as recently as last summer I would totally stalk MAC's new collections as they released - but they'res been a disconnect recently where I'm really not too over the moon about them. The quality was definitely still there, but I feel like they weren't putting out those "wait in line for the mall to open in your sweatpants and glasses" collections like they used to. It gave me time to focus on what is permanently available by MAC and to especially built my palettes but I honestly missed the rush of the new collections.

I think Alluring Aquatics is bringing that excitement back - and I hope it's here to stay. I had to have this lipstick and it's the only thing I hauled from the collection thusfar - mostly because I knew it would sell out - but given my budget, everything else that I like is on a "if its still there when I can afford it, it was meant to be" basis. Other items that sparked my interest in the collection were Aphrodite's Shell, Sea Me Hear Me, Mystical and Sea Worship, but we'll see how many of those will be sold out by the time I'm able to get them.

Goddess of the Sea, however, was the one I knew I needed before it sold out!

The packaging for this collection is literally flawless. I very rarely care about limited edition packaging, but when I do, it has to be dramatic. This falls into that category. The color is beautiful - a metallic pale teal - but the real showstopper here are the "water droplets" when I saw my first review of these, I thought the blogger had sprayed them with water to give them this look. MAC gets serious credit for making these so pretty and unique! I wore this to work as soon as I purchased it yesterday and every single time I took it out to reapply, all of my colleagues wanted to look at it. I hate paying a higher price for limited edition packaging, but this was one of the few cases where I really didn't mind at all!

Goddess of the Sea is a Cremesheen finish and MAC describes the color as "dark vibrant violet".  We all know by now, I'm a sucker for a purple lipstick, so I don't 100% agree with the color description - I find it to be more of a muted violet with a touch of a plummy brown tone to it. Most similar in my collection might be Revlon Berry Haute, but it is definitely not a dupe. This color is unique enough to be purchased because of the shade and not only because of the stunning packaging...which, lets be real - I would have been tempted.

I feel like MAC's Cremesheen formula has improved in the last few years - if I were to compare the formula of this shade, Outrageously Fun and Lavender Whip (Baking Beauties version) to older Cremesheens in my collection like Creme Cup and Shy Girl, there definitely is a different feel. The newer Cremesheen shades that I have tend to have a more lip hugging feel to them than before where I felt that they just sat on top of the lips. I also don't feel like the formula dries out my lips as badly as before. I thought it maybe was a darker color difference in the formula, but Lavender Whip isn't really a dark shade. I used to avoid Cremesheens because of how the formula wore on me, but if they keep up with how they've been feeling lately, I may be adding some more to my collection. 

As far as wear time, this shade was pretty average for a Creme finish on my lips - three to four hours before the glossiness faded. However, this shade does stain a bit - in the best way possible. When applied to exfoliated and moisturized lips in the "apply, blot, reapply" manner, the stain will really last you a good amount of time. Due to the glossiness though, it could benefit from a lip liner or concealer barrier (especially if you intend on eating an apple on your lunch break!) to keep it from migrating outside of the lip lines. My only issue was needing to have my lips in better shape when wearing this shade. Simply because it is a deeper shade, I noticed that when it stained my lips when they were dehydrated and in need of balm, it stained in a bit of a patchy manner. Not a deal breaker, but it's the nature of the color family. Darker shades tend to show imperfections on the lips when they begin to stain.

Overall, thank goodness I was able to get my hands on this one! Between the packaging being so stunning and the color being more unique than I anticipated, I was already quite pleased - but when you enter the improvements in the Cremesheen formula, I'm a bit over the moon about it! 

I'll definitely update within the coming weeks if I'm able to haul anything else from the collection, because in all honesty...

MAC. IS. BACK.