MAC Colour Added Eyeshadow Quad Review, Photos, Swatches
MAC Colour Added Eyeshadow Quad
MAC Shop MAC, Cook MAC: Colour Added Eyeshadow Quad
MAC Colour Added Eyeshadow Quad ($38.00 for 0.19. oz.) includes these shades: Laundry Daze (light yellow), Colour Added (bright yellow), Pre-packaged (muted turquoise), and Self-Serve (deep grey).
- Laundry Daze is a pale white-yellow with this faint hint of green. There’s just something slightly green in it, but it doesn’t cast or really look green. Whatever it is, it actually works really well with the rest of the shades because it coordinates and blends into them. This shade has a satin finish and has good color payoff. It’s, perhaps, a much, much lighter version of Dior Garden Pastels. I couldn’t think of any other potential dupes.
- Colour Added is a brightened yellow with a kiss of chartreuse. It had excellent color payoff and felt very smooth. It has a veluxe pearl finish. NARS Rated R is greener. MAC Double Feature 2 is noticeably greener but not as green as Rated R. MAC Bitter is closer but a touch greener. MAC Three Ring Yellow is pretty close.
- Pre-packaged is a darkened navy blue with a hint of teal. It has a veluxe pearl finish. The color payoff is good, and the texture is soft and smooth. Bare Escentuals Water is a bit like it, but tealer and more matte in finish. Guerlain Les Gris has a similar blue but a little muted.
- Self-Serve is a medium-dark gray-brown with a subtle pearled sheen. It has a satin finish. The color payoff is horrendous–it’s like a trick eyeshadow! The swatch I managed to capture is a layered swatch; that’s the color built up as much as I could muster. The texture is dry, stiff, and loathes to be blended. Guerlain Les Gris has a similar grayish-brown kind of shade with better color payoff, though it has more of a matte finish. MAC Scene is a bit similar but less brown. MAC Moody is darker and browner but seems to be kind of what they were going for.
Everything was looking SO promising until I swatched Self-Serve, and then the eyeshadow loving part of me died a little inside. I was like, “What? How could you be such a tease?” Of course, a mere swatch on the arm only tells a partial story, so I went to test it in a look. It doesn’t apply much better over bare skin with a brush, but it is slightly better. It definitely needs a primer to yield truer color payoff, but here’s the rub: it’s just as dry, stiff, and difficult to blend applied as it was swatched. This lack of blendability made it a really frustrating shade to work with.
I was loving the quad until I tried Self-Serve. It has potential, and depending on your level of patience and whether or not you have similar shades to the other three eyeshadows, it may or may not be worth it. The quality of the other three is much, much higher; the two veluxe pearls feel soft, smooth, and deliver so much color. If we ignore Self-Serve, the quad would have received an overall rating of an A. Unfortunately, Self-Serve is not just a little bad but really bad, which resulted in scores of 1, 4, 1, 9, and 1.5. (Packaging is a single score that isn’t averaged across the four shades since it’s not impacted by the individual shade’s performance.)
MAC Colour Added Eyeshadow Quad Review, Photos, Swatches
MAC Colour Added Eyeshadow Quad
MAC Colour Added Eyeshadow Quad
MAC Colour Added Eyeshadow Quad
MAC Laundry Daze Eyeshadow
MAC Laundry Daze Eyeshadow
MAC Colour Added Eyeshadow
MAC Colour Added Eyeshadow
MAC Pre-packaged Eyeshadow
MAC Pre-packaged Eyeshadow
MAC Self-Serve Eyeshadow
MAC Self-Serve Eyeshadow
MAC Colour Added Eyeshadow Quad
Pre-packaged is gorgeous.
Self-serve is just . . . no words. How does it even go from the pan to the skin like that? I’ve never seen anything like that.
Oh, the MAC Evil Eye Eyeshadow Quad was full of gems like Self-Serve, LOL!
Oh bummer! I do have a highlighter like that, I do have a yellow like that… I don’t have the blue and the dark grey. I hoped this quad would bring that all together, but I neeeeed a well-performing grey to make it worth the money.
I know what you mean. I want to buy it just for the Pre-Packaged, but I can’t justify it because I have something like the other two and that gray-brown is useless. It swatches like it’s sealed.
The look you did is gorgeous! Too bad I’m deathly afraid of bright eyeshadows! A bright liner on the other hand? Love.
Pre-packaged is such a gorgoous shade. But what are MAC thinking releasing something as terrible as Self-serve? If it can’t even be swatched what hopes do we have of actually being able to use it? It looks so nice in the pan as well. Oh well at least the other 3 shades are good 🙂
There’s an mistake in the text!–> MAC Plushglass ($19.50 for 0.14 fl. oz.) includes these shades: Laundry Daze (light yellow), Colour Added (bright yellow), Pre-packaged (muted turquoise), and Self-Serve (deep grey).
Thought I should let you know!
Such a gorgeous quad! Shame that self-serve is so horrible!
Thanks, Cindy!
I am going to get this just for the other 3, Laundry Daze, Colour Added and Pre-Packaged. I wish that Self-Serve was a better shadow, but considering how great the other 3 are, I can’t pass them up. Especially that blue. Pre-Packaged seems like such a gem of a color from your swatch!
Besides, $38 divided by 3 is a little over $12.00 each (in the US), so to me the other 3 are worth it. Ok just trying to justify buying this, but still, can’t help loving those or that look you came up with Christine! 🙂
Is pre-packaged similar to mac strike a pose?
They look like they may be similar! 🙂 http://www.temptalia.com/mac-love-that-look-collection-swatches
Christine, do you think Pre-packaged Eyeshadow is similar to Strike A Pose eyeshadow from the Love That Look Collection?? And between these 2, which do you think suits dark brown eyes the most? It’s so disappointing, of the quad Pre-packaged is the only color stunning to me, but 38 dollars for one eyeshadow, I have to pass… :((
They do seem like they’re similar! 🙂 http://www.temptalia.com/mac-love-that-look-collection-swatches
Between Pre-packaged and Strike a Pose? Either should suit! Dark brown eyes go with everything 🙂
… It’s sad that I’m too busy being astonished that the *majority* of shades work. 😐
That said. I want it. I don’t think I have much like Colour Added and Pre-Packaged, but probably enough like Self Serve already; so SS is no big loss?
At first I was a little confused why this palette got a B- until I scrolled all the way down X( why does mac always like to include horrible shades in their pre-made quads??
I was reading this and going OMG everything looking great,maybe this will be my first MAC quad, and then the bomb appeared! Too good to be true. LOL
I just bought this quad online and was super surprised at how impenetrable Self-Serve is! Considering the other three are gorgeous, I’m still satisfied with the quad as a whole. One thing Self-Serve benefits from is that even with its stubbornness, at the very least it can be used as an outlining shade – place it in the crease to get the general idea of where to place a more pigmented gray/black shade. Still though, the texture of the shadow itself is like smooth paper! What the heck is going on at the testing labs? lol
Just be careful placing it in the crease – that’s how I applied it and it did NOT want to blend out at all, so it looked harsher than I wanted!
I actually said “OY” when I got to the last color. That’s atrocious. Not cool, MAC.
You and me both, Nora! I was all like… “WAIT NO WHAT NOOOO NOOO THIS IS GOING TO BE A BAD GRADE NOW NOO DON’T DO THIS TO ME MAC!”
Best quad in a LONG time… and then they put in self-serve. Why MAC, why?!
Oh my gosh, what is the point of a shadow like Self-Serve? If it were more pigmented it would have made a great powder eyeliner for the shadow set. At least the other three shadows are nice (Pre-Packaged is amazing!)
Self Serve looks meh… The rest are really pretty. And the look you did for this is GORGEOUS!! Nice job 🙂
Thanks, Tara!
Does Pre-Packaged have any similarities to the Deep Blue Green pigment? I love that color, but I’m not into the rest of the quad
No – Pre-packaged is very, very blue – Deep Blue Green is pretty green! http://www.temptalia.com/mac-mischief-makers-pigmentglitter-sets-reviews-photos-swatches
More blue? Great
Thanks! I’m going to mix some of the Deep Blue Green pigment with Blue Storm and see what I get. This color has inspired me to play around with what I have on hand!
I’m sure you can dupe it if you’re willing to mix! 🙂
i wanted this quad mainly for pre-packaged but couldn’t justify the cost. i hate it when mac does these quads and i only want one eyeshadow from it!!! i was so tempted to get it at the preview party as pre-packaged kept calling to me, lol. i ended up not getting it though.
Deep Truth is much bluer, lighter.
The look you did was gorgeous! I’ve never seen anyone wear yellow that nicely 🙂
Thanks, Melinda!
The only eyeshadow I really like out of this quad is Pre-packaged
Love all of them but the grey. Might be worth getting. Can you remove the shadows in these palettes/are they magnetic like the ones you make yourself? Because then you could swap in a decent colour :/ Money wise it is still worth it for the three shades I guess. Arghhhh, why Mac, why?!
I believe these are glued in!
Thank you. That’s such a shame!
Omg I literally CRINGED when I saw the last one
Pre-packaged and Colour Added are SOOO gorgeous!!! Any dupes??
Wow, you managed to get a beautiful look out of it! But I can’t believe Self-serve. The swatch is one of the worst I’ve ever seen on Temptalia.
I still want this because the color combination is unlike anything I have in my stash, but even if you really pack Self Serve on like say with a pencil brush to darken the outer v would it still be uncooperative?
I used a pencil brush, haha, in an effort to make it work better. The pigmentation is OK, not great but not as bad as the swatch, but it doesn’t blend at all.
that yellow is awesome!
Self-Serve…OY. 🙁 I have some MAC shadows that come off like that, and they tend not to get used. Thankfully, I’m not too devastated by Self-Serve since I really only like Pre-packaged out of the three quads.
Thanks so much for the swatches, and that is a great look on you!
besides being a satin finish v. a veluxe pearl, how does Laundry Daze compare to MAC Dazzlelight?
Laundry Daze has a yellow-green cast!
Whoa Self Serve is terrible.
Would Self-Serve maybe work as part of an eyebrow powder blend, since drier textures tend to work better for that?
(And yes, this is me trying to come up with excuses to buy that quad for the other shades.)
It’s sooo stiff to work with!
Oh wow, another great quad! Pre-packaged is absolutely gorgeous, I kind of want it in my life.
That yellow scares me though. xDD Definitely have to see it in person, and then Self-Serve…. hmm. This one’s a maybe.
How is it even possible to make such a bad eyeshadow is my question? I so wanted this quad but now I think I’m gonna pass. :/ What the…???
How does Colour Added compare to Sun Blonde? Thanks! (:
Way less yellow!
I notice that you always do your eyeshadow looks the same. You have an inner lid, a lid color, crease color, and highlight. And repeat the shades on the lower lid. Is this the order that you do your eyeshadow makeup in? What is your order?
It’s just a quick and easy order for when I’m testing and it’s the only flattering shape on me, IMO – this takes about 5-10 minutes at most. It really just depends on the finishes. I did the crease first, then lid, then outer corner and finally highlight.
I know you only have the products you get to go off of, but the quad I swatched, the grey was nice and performed well. Random!
Thanks for the review, Christine. I love the color combination in this quad and I think I will buy that one, because I don’t own any yellow and teal color.
I don’t know if you just received a dud or what, but I saw MakeupByTiffanyD and she swatched this and every single color swatched beautifully.
so I just got my quad. You’re all correct Self-Serve looks much nicer in the pan. I DID make it work nicely with the Shadestick “Cupcake”, as well as Sharkskin and Imaginary Paint Pot. I love Colored Added!
Yay!
Hi Christine,
Could you please tell me the difference between “Three ring yellow” and “Color added”? Does it make sense to purchase both colors and which color do you think is prettier and more suiting?
Thnks!!
I wouldn’t get both, though they are subtly different. Either would work!
Surprisingly I had no problems working with the self-serve. I bought the quad on impulse then decided to look up reviews later and became really worried after reading your and a few other reviews. My only complaint is that when I blend it, it practically disappears.