Haul & Swatches: MAC Temperature Rising (Nudes)

I've been buying lots of beauty items lately. I think I go through phases and this is definitely my makeup phase, so I have tonnes of haul posts to get through. I was struggling for money last month when I bought these MAC items, so I didn't get them the second they came out (like I usually would) and only ordered when there was 10% off at Debenhams. I'd wanted a powder blush too which had gone out of stock, but otherwise was very lucky that the few colours that were left, were the things I wanted. Sadly for me, the 'Pink Buttercream' Pearlmatte Face Powder from Baking Beauties I bought, couldn't be sent as they ran out. I'm telling myself I didn't need another too-pretty-to-use powder, but I am a little miffed I didn't get it.
The two items I got were from Temperature Rising which was split into a colour range and bronzing pieces. The lip products I went for (did you really have to ask?) were of course nudes! I felt slightly...not guilty, but sneaky ordering a gloss and lipstick that I probably own a million variations of and that weren't exactly unique. However I knew I'd regret not getting them and "if it ain't broke..." right? As they came in special packaging they were even more pricey than usual, so I was glad of the 10% off.
The boxes are a deep brown/bronze and while I hate that MAC now charge more for special packaging, it's nice to get something other than the standard black every once in a while and the outside colour certainly was a good indication of what was inside and an overall representation of Temperature Rising. The products themselves are in that slightly fuzzy feeling, rubberised material, again in a bronzed, deep brown. It can pick up makeup covered finger marks pretty easily and they can sometimes be hard to remove, so make sure to apply with clean hands. I wanted to show the boxes and products with and without the flash because you can properly see the two-tone of the bronze.
To others, I probably picked the least exciting and least unique colours of the bunch, but I just totally fell for them. Altered Beige is a creamy yellow beige in a lustre finish. My hesitation with this one was that it looked so sheer in the online swatches I'd seen. I wanted the pretty colour in the tube, but felt it would probably just leave a slight sheen or shimmer to the lips instead. However, I find it actually provides a pretty decent coverage and is oh so pretty. It lightens the lips without making them fake-pale and without making me look deathly or colourless. Despite the lustre finish, it actually applies reasonably opaque on me and it's become my current favourite lipstick! So much so, that I took these images very quickly when the package arrived, tearing into them immediately and making the lipstick my 'lipstick of the week'! Mum and I had gone out that day and when I reapplied my lippie at lunch, she said "isn't that the lipstick you just opened this morning? You're using it already?" Erm yeah!
I really enjoyed wearing it on the lipstick challenge a few weeks ago and although I wasn't too adventurous with it, I felt I didn't need to be because it was so pretty on it's own. I think I'm remembering what I wore correctly and that the second image shows it with the gloss, the first is the lipstick alone (can't recall which liner) and the last image it looks slightly more taupe because I paired it with MAC's Test Pattern liner and possibly a gloss too which I can't remember.
The gloss is Liquid Passion, a creamy nude and unlike the other glosses in this collection was without shimmer. Do I really need another creamy nude gloss? Probably not, but hey ho, it's pretty. It's more orange toned than the lipstick, so adds a little depth and colour when worn with the lipstick. It can look a little streaky, so you have to be careful not to apply too much.
I found my photos of the lipstick looked quite pink toned, but the swatch didn't show up as such. Other swatches I've seen online looked pink, but MAC describes it as a yellow-beige, so it shouldn't be.
Look at what perfect pals they are together!
I took a photo of my MAC lip storage box the other week and am getting scarily close to filling it. This was before these two products were added and I may have a couple of lipsticks that had been sitting in handbags, not pictured. It means I only have literally a few spaces left. I would like to say once it's filled, that's it, no more MAC lipsticks or glosses, but doubt I have that much willpower. If only I could actually wear something enough to use it up!  How do you store your lip products? This is as close to OCD as I get by the way!  Did you get anything recently from MAC or anywhere else?