What I'm Not Buying: MAC x Mariah Carey My Mimi Extra Dimension Skinfinish

Photo: Temptalia

MAC recently launched a collection with Mariah Carey that includes lipsticks, lip pencils, lip gloss, blush, eyeshadow quads, and an Extra Dimension Skinfinsih—called My Mimi—that seems to be inspired off of the Mariah Carey cartoon in the Heartbreaker music video.

(I was surprised and a little embarrassed that I was able to pull that reference easily from my pre-teen, TRL-watching memory.)

Though I won't be buying anything from the Mariah Carey collection, this post is specifically about My Mimi. 

I won't be buying. 

I would assume this is the standout product from the collection; the showstopper. The design aesthetic is not for me, though I assume many people—especially Mariah Carey fans—would be thrilled to have a piece of memorabilia like this. 

But that is just what this product is: memorabilia. 

And every time I saw promotional images of the collection, I rolled my eyes as soon as I saw My Mimi. 

Let me explain. 

In every MAC collection, there tends to be at least one piece that is considered to be a collectible. As I've mentioned many times, I don't personally collect makeup, but I know that many people do. My mother collected vintage perfume bottles as a teenager, and I used to love looking at them when I was a child. As an adult, I still appreciate the beauty of a perfume bottle, and instead of throwing away my perfume bottles after I finish them, I keep them in a collection. I don't go out of my way to buy a perfume with a pretty bottle as I personally find that wasteful, but I can appreciate the artistry of bottles that contain my favorite scents. 

I know people who collect movies, video games, plants, books, records, Starbucks "You Are Here" mugs, etc. So I don't take issue whatsoever with people who collect makeup. I also don't take issue with brands making collectible products and appreciate when brands have a quality product that also has beautiful packaging. 

But, and I know I've said this before, the last time I can really remember a MAC collection having incredible collectible packaging was the Manish Aurora collection:

Photo: Temptalia 

Photo: A Beautiful Sentiment 

But this is the packaging for My Mimi:

It's just a regular clear plastic case. 

And I get that the powder itself is the special packaging. And I get that the reason it's has a clear lid is so that the powder is visible. I get it. But still, this powder with a regular clear plastic case is $45.50. 

And that's really where I have a problem with this product. MAC Extra Dimension Skinfinishes are typically $33. And as Temptalia mentions in her review of this product, MAC traditionally charges around $1 to $4 more for a collaboration product. But not more than $10.  

So, for My Mimi to be so much more than a traditional limited edition collaboration product, I would expect that in addition to the creative product design there would also be stellar packaging. I would especially expect that since if this product is ever used, the product design will be ruined. And that begs the question of if this is even a product that is ever supposed to be used. And if it's not, why make it a highlighter?

That I can remember, I have only ever purchased one beauty-related product because of special packaging. And it was the Sephora and Disney Cinderella compact mirror:

I found this mirror to be absolutely beautiful, and I just wanted to treasure the way it looked. But this isn't a highlighter or a face powder, and I probably wouldn't have purchased it if it was. This is a compact mirror. So even though I purchased it for the way it looks, it is still entirely functional to me. And I feel that this is the approach MAC should have taken with My Mimi. 

I've spent the majority of this post talking about the product's packaging because I feel as though that was MAC's full intention of the item. But let's talk about the actual quality. From what I have read, My Mimi is full of glitter particles and is patchy when applied to the skin. I have also read that the formula is not as strong in performance as a typical MAC Extra Dimension Skinfinish. This again begs the question (or perhaps answers it) of if MAC expected people to actually use this product. It seems like the answer is no. 

And that is really, really disappointing because the tone of My Mimi looks as though it was made for medium to deep skin tones. I always get excited when I see brands create products that will not only work for medium and deep skin tones, but are specifically formulated and targeted toward those skin tones. Most products will either only work for light skin tones or are created to work for light skin tones with the "added benefit" of also working for darker skin tones. It's time that some great, in-demand products are released that work primarily for deeper skin tones. My Mimi looks as though it would be beautiful on deeper skin, so I am disappointed that MAC used this opportunity to make an expensive product that probably isn't even supposed to be used practically on the skin. 

From my own collection, the closest product I have that will work for my skin tone is Becca Opal:

Photo: Temptalia

For deeper skin tones, I think Becca's highlighter in Topaz:

And blush in Blushed Copper:

Would be lovely substitutes for the tone of My Mimi. And at $38 and $34 respectively for gorgeous, high-quality products, I think these are a much better option. 

I assume that the majority of people who have or will buy My Mimi are buying it for the product design and collectibility. And there's nothing wrong with that. But I do think it's crappy that MAC has charged so much for a product with basic packaging and subpar performance. Yes, it has a "cool" design, but that's it. And nearly $50 is a lot to pay for that. I'm not personally a fan of the design and am not interested in adding a glitter-filled underperforming product to my collection, so this is an easy pass for me.