Talk about sneaky! The beauty babes over at Mecca Maxima have been holding out on a pretty big secret for a while! Earlier this month Mecca announced that they would be launching an exciting new brand to add to their already giant offerings. This is no ordinary brand though; Its Mecca’s own in house brand aptly named; MECCA MAX.

A few years ago the Kit range disappeared quite quietly from stores and since then Mecca’s range was limited to a few, beautiful skincare items as well as limited makeup and accessories under the Mecca Cosmetica branding.

The launch of Mecca Max is something completely different though with its enormous range (seriously there are over 200 new products coming to shelves) as well as the more affordable price point.

Ive been lucky enough to get a little preview of some of the lines that will be on offer from the 1st of August and thought I would pop this post detailing my early impressions of the brand’s quality and affordability up nice and quick, as well as let you know about some of the ranges that Im excited to try out.

The Deets…

The entire MECCA MAX range has been broken up into a number of collections each containing numerous lines of products

FACE TO THE MAX

Photo credit – Mecca

The FACE TO THE MAX collection looks like it is the largest of the lot, containing all the base products you need at a price point more aligned with upper drugstore rather than high end products (think l’Oreal or Revlon)

Some of the products in the FACE TO THE MAX  include;

• Specialised primers ($20)
• BB creams ($26)
• Powder Foundation ($25)
• Long Wear Foundation ($32)
• Cream Concealer ($22)
• Powder Bronzers, blushes and highlighters ($22)
• llluminating Wands ($25)

EYES TO THE MAX

Every product that you can imagine that is used to define or enhance your eyes are included in the EYES TO THE MAX collection. Again prices are fairly reasonable and allow for consumers to purchase a range of products while not breaking the bank.

Photo credit – Mecca

 

The EYES TO THE MAX collection includes but is not limited to:

• Coloured eye primers (A$20)
• Eyeliner pencils ($13)
• Metallic cream to powder eyeshadow singles ($18)
• Powder/Cream shadow duos ($16)
• Six pan eyeshadow palettes (A$30)
• Ten pan eyeshadow palette ($45)
• Brow powder/cream duo ($20)
• Mascara duo ($38)

LIPS TO THE MAX

Of course there are lip products, in every shape, colour and form! Here are some of the many options;

Photo credit – Mecca

• High definition, sheer & matte formula lipsticks ($20)
• Lipgloss ($18)
• Lip toppers ($18)
• Liquid Lipsticks ($28)
• Lip Oils ($16)

SKIN TO THE MAX

This range contains skincare essentials, think micellar waters , cleansing wipes and setting sprays.

BRUSHES TO THE MAX

Photo credit – Mecca

 

Called POWER TOOLS, the entire range of MECCA MAX brushes feature slick black handles, ferules and bristles for an all over monochrome look.  Small brushes such as brow, liner and eye brushes range from $24 to $26, while medium to large brushes such as foundation brushes range from $30 to $35.

In addition to brushes MECCA MAX also have a range of sponges in a whole lots of shapes as well as a silicone blender

NAILS and LASHES TO THE MAX

Lets keep it short and sweet!

• Nail colours in a range of 15 bright hues all for $16.
• Lashes! in natural to dramatic styles on a clear band for $15 a pair

First Impressions/Review

As mentioned I was lucky enough to receive some pieces as PR samples and was super eager to try them out. What I was hoping for was something slightly “better” than drugstore quality considering that the pricepoint, while reasonable, is still on the higher end of drugstore prices.

The products I have been using the last few days were from a wide range of the collections and featured some products that I was mighty impressed with as well as some that were a little disappointing.

Eyephoria Vivid Impact Eye Palette.

This is one of the products I was most excited to try and test in terms of quality. The Eyephoria Vivid Eye Palette is, at the moment, the largest eye palette available from Mecca Max brand. The palette contains four warm brown based shades as well as four cooler plum based shades and two buff shades.

Upon swatching  for the first time the shadows felt a little stiff in the pan but my finger pads picked up a lot of product (maybe a little two much?) and deposited the shadows on the skin smoothly and evenly (see swatches below) Swatched like this there was a fair bit of fall out. However, applied with a brush there was little to no evidence of fall out.

Overall the shadow quality is better than most drugstore palettes Ive tried including those from Maybelline, L’Oreal and Revlon.

Shimmer Shot Highlighting Wand

Described as a  shot of liquified light, the Shimmer Shot Highlighting Wand sounds like my type of product. I had only ever used one type of highlighting “pen” like this before and enjoyed it. For me personally the packaging and delivery device are awesome, but the formula lacks a little bit of the punch that I prefer from a liquid highlight. Those with dry skin or who are after just  a touch of glimmer will probably love this. But if youre after a blinding highlight this is not for you.

Power Couple  Mascara 

The double ended mascara is my mascara dreams come true. The formula worked well for me: it was long wearing, without flakes or smudges and came off easily with micellar water. The extraordinary thing about the Power Couple Mascara however is obviously the brush(es) Two brushes in one tube; one is perfect to coat lashes, thicken and maximise and the other is amazing at getting in close to the lash line, picking up small, barely there lashes as well as giving a major boost to lower lashes. This is one of my favourite products from the collection! Look at that luxe packaging!

A lipster Liquid Lipstick

Think, the smoothness, opacity and long wear of high end liquid lipstick without the drying feel. I enjoyed this formula and shade much more than I had expected. My only criticism is that I would have loved the plain black packaging to have some sort of clear window or stripe/swatch of colour to show what colour the lipstick is.  Ill definitely be picking up some more of these.

Sunlit Skin Bronzer, Medium

Another thumbs up for the bronzer, this one is in the shade Medium. The quality of this is amazing. The powder is so so soft and buttery smooth. The colour sheers out well on the face and was not muddy or patchy on me at all. Of all the products, this one felt the most luxurious in terms of formula. After experiencing this product I am super keen to try out some of the other face products such as the blushes and powder highlights.

Power Pout High Definition lipstick, Freedom Fighter

The Power Pout lipstick won my heart before I even tried the lipstick. The packaging on this is awesome! With a click release the lipstick tube is a luxe looking gold and an outer tube featuring the MECCA MAX pink and orange red signature colours. The lipstick is smooth and super pigmented. Will definitely be trying out some of the matte shades.

 

Overall the products I tried impressed me in terms of quality and wear. Mecca have done an amazing job in not only the enormous range of products offered but the attention to detail in the product packaging and design. This new brand might fill that gap between drugstore and high end.

Are you lusting after anything from the MECCA MAX range?

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