Up in Smoke This Set Goes

MAC Fabulousness / Smoky Eye Palette ($39.50 for 0.14 oz.) contains five eyeshadows: Taupeless (lavender pink), Satin Taupe (taupe with silver shimmer), Love Spice (mid-tone rosy pink with pearl), Spellcaster (matte aubergine), and Black Slip (rich blackened plum with pearl).

For reference, MAC eyeshadow quads ($38.00) typically contain 0.19 to 0.20 oz. (about 0.05 oz. per eyeshadow). Last year’s holiday eyeshadow palettes contained 0.21 oz. (and retailed for $38.00). The prior year’s holiday palettes contained 0.19 oz. (and retailed for $36.00). You used to get six shades, but with this year’s design, you’re getting five.

Taupeless is a light pink with silvery-white sparkle. It has a lustre finish, so it is a bit sheerer and has lots of sparkle. I did experience a fair amount of fall out with this shade. This shade has been released before. Chanel Harmonie du Soir is a bit warmer, less sparkly. MAC Love Power is similar but less sparkly. MAC Young Venus is cooler-toned. theBalm Safe Bet Annette is slightly warmer.

Satin Taupe is a medium brown with subtle warm orange undertones and a gray-ish tinge. It doesn’t look like the permanent Satin Taupe at all. It had decent color payoff but it was a little dry. Guerlain Turandot is darker. Dior Fairy Golds is also darker.

Love Spice is a rosy-toned medium brown with a champagne shimmer-sheen. The color payoff was so-so, and the texture was a little dry. Giorgio Armani Champagne is similar but browner. Cle de Peau #207 is similar but grayer and sparkly. MAC Pink Frontier is a touch lighter. MAC Jete is darker. MAC desert is a bit grayer. MAC Earthly is grayer. Here’s a swatch of the permanent Satin Taupe.

Spellcaster is a matte, dark purple with subtle red undertones. It was dry, stiff, and was a pain-in-the-behind to blend. It’s an eyeshadow that you have to grab a lot of, place it, go back for more, place it, and then try to blend those together. Normally, I’d take some product, apply it to the middle of the area I wanted it to be, then I’d take the brush back and forth to blend it out. It just doesn’t work with the texture of this shade. NARS High Society is lighter. MAC Dynamic Duo #4 has a similar shade that was better pigmented. Urban Decay Rockstar is a little lighter and shimmery.

Black Slip is a red-toned brown with hints of burgundy and bronze shimmer. It had good pigmentation, and it was the best performer out of the five. The texture was a lot softer and more blendable. Urban Decay Rapture is lighter. Illamasqua Queen of the Night is not as frosted. MAC Winterized is grayer, less red-toned.

Taupeless had some significant fall out while I wore it, which wasn’t a total surprise, because it had a sparkly, kind of gritty/chunky texture that is common to lustres (which I rarely have good experiences with).  Satin Taupe is unrecognizable in this palette–I’m left wondering if this is even meant to be one and the same as the permanent version.  If not, they really should have named it something else.  Black Slip was the best eyeshadow, but I would say that it is a good but not great eyeshadow.   Spellcaster works really well with the rest of the colors in the palette, but it is difficult to blend and was noticeably faded after eight hours of wear, even over a primer.  I couldn’t get all of these shades to show up without a primer underneath; Black Slip and Spellcaster were the only ones that showed up decently without a primer.

The Glossover

	Fabulousness Smoky C
	Not as bad as the Neutral Eye Palette, but it's not a particularly good palette. It's not where I would spend my holiday money.
	Product 7/10 Pigmentation 7/10 Texture 8/10 Longevity 7.5/10 Application 3.5/5
	Where to Buy
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MAC Fabulousness / Smoky Eye Palette

MAC Fabulousness / Smoky Eye Palette

MAC Fabulousness / Smoky Eye Palette

MAC Fabulousness / Smoky Eye Palette

MAC Fabulousness / Smoky Eye Palette

MAC Taupeless Eyeshadow

MAC Satin Taupe Eyeshadow

MAC Love Spice Eyeshadow

MAC Spellcaster Eyeshadow

MAC Black Slip Eyeshadow

Satin Taupe (inner lid), Taupeless (inner tearduct), Love Spice (middle of lid), Black Slip (outer lid), Spellcaster (crease), Feminine Edge Fluidline (lower lash line)

MAC Me Over: Evil Eye Eyeshadow Quad

MAC Evil Eye Eyeshadow Quad ($38.00 for 0.19 oz.) is a limited edition set of four shades of rather cool-toned colors. It features Palace Pedigreed (deep berry with soft pink), Spellcaster (blackened violet), Evil Eye (deep yellow grey), and Moody (blackened green).

• Palace Pedigreed is a blackened burgundy with a barely-there sheen. This has a satin finish. This shade was in the Palace Pedigreed Eyeshadow Quad from Fabulous Felines, and while the pigmentation wasn’t great then, it’s even worse now. It’s dry, sheer, and applies unevenly because of how dry and stiff the texture is. Make Up For Ever #131 is much more red-based. Bare Escentuals Passion is more similar but still has a stronger red-base. Le Metier de Beaute is richer and more red-based. MAC Fig. 1 is similar but possibly darker.
• Spellcaster is a dark, dark purple with cool undertones. This has a matte finish. Similarly, this shade is dry, stiff, and terribly sheer. Lancome Zip Me Up is the only shade that seems to come close, and though it’s not great, it looks so much better in comparison.
• Evil Eye is a murky gray with a green tinge. It’s splotchy, sheer, and dry. This has a matte finish. Make Up For Ever #84 is similar in color but has gold shimmer and a frosted finish. Make Up For Ever #47 is greener and less gray (same with MAC Femme Noir.
• Moody is a purple-tinged gray with soft sheen. This has a veluxe pearl finish. It’s the most pigmented shade of the four, and though it’s better than the other three, it does feel a bit dry for a veluxe pearl. It doesn’t have the same dense, buttery texture come to veluxe pearls and the payoff is still a touch sheer. It is reminiscent of MAC Hint of Sapphire. Inglot #434 is similar but purpler.

This is quite possibly the most disappointing eyeshadow quad I’ve ever had the displeasure of trying by MAC. I think the only MAC product I’ve been more disappointed by were their Suite Array duos from years ago. Even the Big Bounce Eyeshadows, despite not meeting claims, were a product that worked well as a base. At $38, this kind of quality is a slap in the face to a buyer. Three of the four shades have barely-there pigmentation, and those same three have dry, stiff textures that make application frustrating–it doesn’t get better with a brush or on eyes. I appreciate matte and satin finish eyeshadows, but these mattes are exactly why many opt for shimmers and the like.

Side note: I triple-checked the press release, and Moody is described as both a veluxe pearl (and it is listed last on the back of the quad) but it’s certainly not a blackened green–while Evil Eye is that. I think there is a mix-up here, but I can’t confirm it until the work week starts. Since you can’t buy them separately, the determination shouldn’t affect purchasing decisions.

The Glossover

	MAC Evil Eye Eyeshadow Quad Review, Photos, Swatches F
	There is nothing that warrants paying $38 for this product. The only way I was able to achieve any color for swatching was by scraping off the product. The textures are so dry and stiff, it renders these eyeshadows extremely difficult to use.
	Product 5/10 Pigmentation 4/10 Texture 3/10 Longevity 9/10 Application 2/5
	Where to Buy
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MAC Evil Eye Eyeshadow Quad

MAC Evil Eye Eyeshadow Quad

MAC Evil Eye Eyeshadow Quad

MAC Evil Eye Eyeshadow Quad

MAC Palace Pedigreed Eyeshadow

MAC Spellcaster Eyeshadow

MAC Evil Eye Eyeshadow

MAC Moody Eyeshadow

MAC Palace Pedigreed Eyeshadow

MAC Spellcaster Eyeshadow

MAC Evil Eye Eyeshadow

MAC Moody Eyeshadow