I’ve gotta say, getting my hands on the new M.A.C. Cosmetics Limited Edition Selena makeup collection is definitely an accomplishment and a trophy for what I had to DO to get it! I knew it would be on everyone’s most wanted list, (kind of like how the Kylie Lip Kits were) but I never imagined the process to get them would be so difficult…and that I would continue fighting until I got what I wanted. I’m not a famous Youtuber, so I obviously wasn’t one of the fortunate ones to be sent a pretty Selena box filled with fresh flowers and free makeup before the collection was released. They are very lucky…because let’s just say I’ve never been in a situation where I stayed up all night trying to get some makeup…until now.

NIGHTMARE MAC SELENA ORDERING PROCESS: 

It was announced the Selena Collection would be released online at the Mac Cosmetics website October 1. I was all ready and excited at 12am waiting for the release….and waiting…. until they announced  that it wouldn’t be released until ‘early morning EST.’ Ummm……I’m in PST….which means I would need to be up all night because they didn’t release an actual TIME.

Instagram was definitely my friend that night, reading everyones comments on the latest Selena photo on MACs Instagram. It’s funny because all other photos on MACs website has less than 100 comments, but on that particular Selena photo it gained over 5,000 comments! I stumbled across a few comments stating that they contacted MACs customer service line and they said it would be released around 8am EST. Which means 5am my time.

I was literally up ALL night refreshing the page, just in case it came out any earlier. At around 5am I refreshed the page and noticed the lipsticks were available to purchase….but not the bronzer/blush duo which I wanted as well. I refreshed a couple more times to see if more items would come up, because I was expecting to order everything all at once. When I saw nothing else popped up I quickly put a lipstick in my cart just in case it sold out. As I was checking out the MAC site literally crashed. It was extremely slow, and took over 10 minutes for me to finally check out. Thankfully I was able to get a lipstick.

I was up for another hour seeing if the bronzer would come up and it never did. At around 9am I visited MACs site again and saw the bronzer, but it was sold out.  I saw the brush on the site so I put it in my cart and tried to check out. The site crashed AGAIN and was extremely slow….it wouldn’t let me check out at all. When the site came up again my brushes were kicked out of my cart and sold out. I decided to get an eyeshadow because I wanted something, anything else. For the next three hours…yes, three hours…I tried to purchase the eyeshadow but the site was crashing and saying ‘Gateway error.’ I kept refreshing, and waiting, refreshing, waiting to purchase this eyeshadow until finally around 1pm I was able to check out and purchase and eyeshadow.

After the purchase a survey box popped up on the MAC website, asking for my opinion on my transaction. Being the raccoon eyed, moody, angry girl I was at that moment, I lashed out at MAC and told them it was a horrible buying experience and I would never buy from them again. NEVER thinking I would receive a response from them…..

MAC posted on their Instagram apologizing for the craziness of the launch. There were thousands of people so angry and a lot of people didn’t get their hands on anything. They stated that other websites would have the collection on October 3, like Nordstrom and Saks. I hadn’t got my bronzer yet, so yes….on October 3 I was up trying to get my hands on it! Nordstrom stated they would release the collection at 12am…and there I was refreshing their page like no other…until 12:17am they finally released the collection and I purchased the bronzer with no problem! The next morning I read several IG comments that Nordstrom was canceling orders….That freaked me out and I hoped my order wouldn’t get canceled! Thankfully it didn’t and I received a shipping email a couple days later.

Unfortunately, Nordstrom and MACS shipping is so slow, and I didn’t even receive my products until October 7th and 10th (also three different packages, btw)! I knew I did not want to wait in a long ass line when the collection hit stores October 6th, which was the reason for my online scavenger. I might as well have though, since I found out the bronzer didn’t even sell out at my local MAC until the 7th (they had double batch in stock)!! *crying face*

About a week after this whole nightmare transaction, MAC actually responded to my rant email and apologized. They made amends and offered me a free MAC product of my choice up to $35. I thought that was very generous of them, and surprised they actually responded to me. I’m not sure if they did that with everyone who emailed, but I mean….we deserve it! No sleep for two days was tiring, man! But I did also apologize to them for lashing out in my original email, when I know it may have been out of their control as well. Just knowing that MAC cares about their customers to that extent is heartwarming! So many other companies would have ignored feedback like that, so to know MAC actually cares is pretty cool of them 🙂

MAC SELENA RESTOCK DATE:

MAC just announced they will be restocking the Selena Collection in MAC stores, retail partner stores (Nordstrom, Macys, Saks, Belk, etc.), and online which will be available in January 2017 (I know thats forever, but at least they are supplying more of this limited edition)! MAC said they will be properly restocking the collection and be prepared for future launches (AKA they will give us specific time availability before relaunch date). They also announced that its the most sought after collection in MAC HISTORY!!!!  Selena fans did this, and the passion and love for her is absolutely amazing!!!! Dealing with the nightmare of an order was because we were making MAC history! I guess after this whole ordeal……ANYTHING FOR SELINAAASSSSS!!!!

I’m so grateful MAC even listened to the fans and came out with this successful collection. I’ve never done this with any other demanding launches, but since I’ve been a huge fan of Selena Quintanilla since I was a little girl, it felt right in my heart to have a couple products from the collection. I grew up watching the Selena movie, my parents listening to her music, and my sister and I always singing and dancing to her songs. It’s more than just ‘makeup’ – it’s a great feeling to have her family, friends, and fans come together to celebrate her life and legacy with the collection.

MAKEUP:

I didn’t get the whole collection (um, thats like over $200) – I only got a couple things that I know I would actually use. First off, I never buy MAC makeup, I don’t wear MAC makeup. I have some of their lipsticks that I wear occasionally, but I don’t own any face products. So this is definitely a first impression on the quality of the makeup (especially the bronzer/blush!) Second, I know I wouldn’t use the eyeliner, mascara, or lip gloss, etc. I wouldn’t want to have makeup to just sit there and be unused. I know its a special collection, but for me personally I don’t believe its necessary to have everything. The few products I have feel special enough!

The three items I decided to get was ‘Como La Flor‘ Lipstick, ‘Is It the Beat‘ eyeshadow, and ‘Techno Cumbia‘ blush/bronzer duo. And let me just say, I love how the names of the products are titles of her songs!!!!

Can we take second to admire how cute this packaging is though?! Purple was Selena’s favorite color, hence the purple packaging. It has her signature ‘Selena’ logo on it and definitely very sleek and Selena-ish.

COMO LA FLOR LIPSTICK REVIEW:

As you guys might have noticed lately from my Youtube videos, I’ve been obsessed with red lipstick. It’s so classy and girly and I’ve been on that red lipstick fringe!!! Red lipstick was also Selena’s signature go-to look, and ‘Como La Flor‘ was the perfect choice if I had to pick only one of the three lipstick colors. It’s not a matte red, it does have the amplified look with a slight sheen to it. As stated on the MAC website, it says its a Cherry Red and its an absolutely beautiful color!

I’ve always liked MAC lipsticks, and this one isn’t any different. It glides on very smoothly for an easy application. It doesn’t dry out my lips and I just love the way it looks! These are the only ‘regular’ lipsticks I would ever use (you know, since liquid lipsticks have taken over these days) because they are just buttery and smooth and always have gorgeous colors! I definitely am thinking about getting the ‘Dreaming of You‘ darker red color from the collection as well!

Please note, I didn’t apply a lipliner in the photo, hence the kind of sloppy look haha. But come on, I’m just showing you the color against my skin tone!

IS IT THE BEAT EYESHADOW REVIEW:

I don’t like having a bunch of single eyeshadows everywhere (I would rather just use actual palettes), so I decided to just get one eyeshadow that I could use for eyeliner. Lately I’ve been using just a black matte eyeshadow as a wing for eyeliner. I thought ‘Is It the Beat‘ would be perfect to use as an eyeliner and be travel friendly, instead of bringing a whole entire palette just for one black eyeshadow. Is It The Beat isn’t extremely black (has kind of a grey tone to it), but its dark enough to use as eyeliner.

I felt it glided on very smoothly as an eyeliner, and it lasted all day on my top lid. I like that I can also use it for a smokey eye look. I noticed this eyeshadow was one of the least demanded ones from the collection, but I love it and for me it’s way more usable than any of the other colors!

TECHNO CUMBIA BLUSH BRONZER DUO REVIEW:

The product I was most excited for! I just love the compacts, and this Selena compact was just adorable! Techno Cumbia is mostly a bronzer with about 25% of it a blush on the bottom. I love how the bronzer has Selena’s name engraved – but it made me not want to even use it, honestly! I did use it a couple times and her name hasn’t been distorted yet, but I’m not looking forward to when it does!

A little goes a long way with the bronzer! It can be very dark, but once blended it can be more subtle. I’m not the biggest fan of the color, it’s kind of pinkish/orangey. It’s not bad, but I know there are other bronzers I like better than this one. After a 12 hour day the bronzer will still on my cheeks, but I did have one patch of bronzer that was missing…12 hours is quite a long day though haha…

The blush is a gorgeous pink rose color, and it blended well with the bronzer. I like the compact a lot, but I know I wouldn’t be reaching for it often to actually use…(but maybe its because I don’t want Selena’s name to fade away, lol)

 

OVERALL THOUGHTS:

So, what are my overall thoughts on the MAC Selena Collection? Is it worth it? I think the collection is amazing to represent Selena, to remember her by, and something her fans can come together with. MAC is pretty amazing for allowing this to be possible, and the products are good quality. I believe its worth it to have a couple items from the collection – it’s a nice keepsake as a Selena fan. You probably don’t need the whole collection, but it still feels nice to have a couple products 🙂

Let me know what you guys think of the Selena collection! What did you have to go through to get your hands on it? Tell your story here!