MAC Bleuluxe Veluxe Pearlfusion Eyeshadow Palette ($40.00 for 0.14 oz.) is described as shades of “metallic silver with pearl, light blue, blue with pearl, purple blue with pearl, black with blue pearl.”

Bleuluxe #1 is a sparkling, pale silver that almost leans warm. Dry, it’s very sheer and sparkly; wet, it’s semi-sheer to semi-opaque and needs to really be pressed and worked into the lid to smooth it out. Bobbi Brown Tinsel is less sparkly. NARS Silver Factory is a cream product. NARS Flowers 2 #1 is less sparkly.
MAC Guise is darker. MAC Extra Silver is more metallic. MAC White as Snow is similar but loose. Giorgio Armani #17 is darker. See comparison swatches.

Bleuluxe #2 is a cool-toned, silver and blue-shimmered blue with a hint of gray. It has a very sparkly finish. Applied dry, it’s very sheer; applied wet, it is semi-opaque but needs to be pressed and crushed on the lid to smooth out the color. Maybelline Seashore Frosts has a golden duochrome/shimmer and is a cream product. Clinique Big Blue is less sparkly, cream. theBalm Matt Horowitz is more matte. Urban Decay Strip is lighter. MAC Blue Moon is less sparkly. Chanel Destination is less sparklly, cream. See comparison swatches.

Bleuluxe #3 is a navy blue with a blackened base and multi-colored sparkle. Applied dry, it was kind of chunky and sheer, while applied wet, it was semi-sheer and smoother. This was a shade I needed to layer and pack on to get to be opaque on the lid. Tom Ford Cobalt Rush #2 is bluer. Le Metier de Beaute Sapphire is lighter, brighter. See comparison swatches.

Bleuluxe #4 is a blackened navy blue with a pearly shimmer. It was sheer when applied dry, and it intensified to semi-opaque color when applied damp. Bobbi Brown Blue Onyx is darker. MAC Shop & Drop is darker. MAC Thru the Night is similar. MAC Blue Storm is lighter. Burberry Midnight Blue is lighter. Make Up For Ever #81 is bluer. See comparison swatches.

Bleuluxe #5 is a medium-dark black with a dusting of blue pearl. It had semi-opaque color when applied dry, and it was slightly more intense when applied wet. The texture was very smooth, and this was the best shade of the five. MAC Dark Dare is a bit darker. Sugarpill Stella is more shimmery. See comparison swatches.

The new Veluxe Pearlfusion eyeshadow formula is widely varying from shade to shade, palette to palette. The overall quality really depends on the finish, and I’m sure it won’t surprise you, but the heavier the sparkle is, the lower the performance. These can be used both wet and dry, with dry application yielding “sheer coverage with a soft, sparkling finish,” and wet application yielding “a super saturation of colour that glistens with metallic brilliance.” The texture is supposed to feel “creamy and lightweight.”

Anyone who loves MAC’s Pressed Pigment formula and has no issues with the sparkle-factor and resulting fall out (that I’ve experienced, at least) with them with likely enjoy these, too, as overall, they’re finer but still very sparkly and the finish certainly reflects and catches the light nicely. But there is fall out, and if you loathe any fall out, I’d probably skip this launch entirely. If you can deal with some, they may be worth checking out. The texture varies from so soft that the powder turns a little crumbly and becomes difficult to smooth out (you really have to press it, or crush it with a brush or sponge-tip applicator) to soft, creamy, and intensely pigmented. There were shades that made me, “Oooh” and “Ahhh!” when I swatched or applied them.

I wore #2 on the inner lid, #3 on the middle of lid, #4 on the outer lid, and #5 in the crease–all used with a wet application and MAC’s 239 brush. I didn’t experience any creasing over a twelve-hour period, and fading didn’t become noticeable until after nine and a half hours of wear; all quite impressive. There was some fall out during application, but because they are used wet, and none of those four needed significant pressing/crushing prior to application, it was minimal and easy to clean-up. I did have continued fall out throughout the day and by the end of eight hours, there was a moderate amount of sparkle underneath my eyes. The sparkle is finer, so it’s not as obvious as larger glitter particles can be.

The price point seems a bit high, and it’s hard to really know how long an eyeshadow will last you until you’ve used it endlessly. Normally, MAC’s full-size powder eyeshadows contain 0.05 oz., and the quads (that also retail for $40) contain 0.19 oz. (Veluxe Pearl eyeshadows are normally 0.04 oz., which is usually why quads aren’t 0.20 oz.), so this palette is smaller at 0.14 oz. Unless you regularly finish your eyeshadows, I don’t think you’ll actually feel the quantity difference–and if you have a larger stash, you may appreciate that there are five shades in this.

MAC Bleuluxe Veluxe Pearlfusion Eyeshadow Palette

MAC Bleuluxe Veluxe Pearlfusion Eyeshadow Palette

MAC Bleuluxe Veluxe Pearlfusion Eyeshadow Palette

MAC Bleuluxe Veluxe Pearlfusion Eyeshadow Palette

MAC Bleuluxe Veluxe Pearlfusion Eyeshadow Palette

MAC Bleuluxe #1 Veluxe Pearlfusion Eyeshadow

MAC Bleuluxe #1 Veluxe Pearlfusion Eyeshadow

MAC Bleuluxe #2 Veluxe Pearlfusion Eyeshadow

MAC Bleuluxe #2 Veluxe Pearlfusion Eyeshadow

MAC Bleuluxe #3 Veluxe Pearlfusion Eyeshadow

MAC Bleuluxe #3 Veluxe Pearlfusion Eyeshadow

MAC Bleuluxe #4 Veluxe Pearlfusion Eyeshadow

MAC Bleuluxe #4 Veluxe Pearlfusion Eyeshadow

MAC Bleuluxe #5 Veluxe Pearlfusion Eyeshadow

MAC Bleuluxe #5 Veluxe Pearlfusion Eyeshadow

MAC Bleuluxe Veluxe Pearlfusion Eyeshadow Palette