Because of my history as one of the chosen ones for the 2011 Bloggers Obsession collection, I’m asked about MAC Cosmetics often. Mainly it’s two questions. This post will aim to answer both of them, with a little help from an expert!

Question #1 – will they EVER bring back All Of My Purple Life?

Answer: I believe it’s still available in Canada, but as far as I know at present MAC has no plans to bring back AMPL. I wish I had better news for you and hopefully someday there will be a full Afrobella collection of cosmetics somewhere, somehow (hey, dream big)!

Question #2 – What’s the best permanent collection alternative to AMPL? OR What are the best lipsticks for dark skin? OR What are the best MAC lipsticks for my skin tone?

Answer: Good question! There are MAC lipsticks I find myself always going back to, and lipsticks I always find that makeup artists use on me. Still, I can’t claim to be a total MAC expert in the way that my blogging buddies Temptalia or Karen MBB are. I had to reach out to one of my favorite makeup artists, who I KNEW would be able to give me the answers I was looking for. And that person is Nicole Evans, an incredible makeup artist based in Los Angeles.

Every time I’m in L.A and need my face beat to perfection, she is the person I call. Nicole has done my makeup for high profile events like the Beautylish Beauty Social, the BET Awards, the Essence Black Women in Hollywood luncheon, my EDEN BodyWorks photo shoot, and the Oscars! I absolutely love working with her because her spirit is so soothing and calming, and you can truly see the pride in her work while she’s doing your makeup. Basking in Nicole’s presence makes me feel good and she ALWAYS makes me look beautiful.

From left to right that’s Krystle Rowry, me, Nicole and Luvvie right before the Academy Awards 2012!

Nicole has been working with MAC in Los Angeles for quite some time now, so I know she knows their makeup line inside and out. She works frequently with women of color and is a brown beauty herself – check out her Tumblr for dope makeup inspiration! I had to ask her for her top MAC lipstick color recommendations, and she broke it all the way down into color categories!

Here are the picks for the 25 BEST MAC lipsticks for dark skin and women of color.

Reds:

Ruby Woo

Lady Danger

Viva Glam

Hot Tahiti

Plums/Purples:

Rebel

Cyber

Dark Side

Odyssey

Model Behaviour

Smoked Purple

Violetta

Oranges:

So Chaud

Morange

Chili

Sweet Venom

Pretty Boy

Pinks:

Impassioned

Girl About Town

Lovelorn

Corals:

Full Speed

See Sheer

On Hold

Vegas Volt

Nudes/Neutrals:

To The Future

Peachstock

Jubilee

Freckletone

Touch

And those are Nicole’s picks as a professional makeup artist. Click here to hire her for your makeup needs, and click here to follow her on Twitter and Facebook.

So what do you think? Do you see any MAC lipstick shades you’re dying to try? Or do you think we should’ve added **insert MAC lipstick color here** to the list? Tell me!