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MAC By Request Eyeshadows Reviews, Photos, Swatches (2013 Edition)

MAC Eyeshadow
MAC By Request (2013) Eyeshadows

MAC Ashbury Eyeshadow is described as a “matte taupe grey [with a Matte finish].” It’s a cool-toned, gray-brown with a hint of green (at least on my warmer complexion; I think it will be less apparent on cooler skin tones) and a matte finish. It had good color payoff and had a soft, smooth feel. Urban Decay Pistol is shimmery. NARS Bali is darker. MAC Legendary Black is darker, shimmery. MAC Concrete is darker. Inglot #348 is much darker. See comparison swatches.

MAC Butterscotch Eyeshadow is described as a “matte warm beige [with a Matte finish].” It’s a warm-toned, muted yellow with a matte finish. It had good color payoff, and the texture was very soft though slightly powdery. Bobbi Brown Banana is very similar. NARS Misfit #1 is lighter. Estee Lauder Bronze Dunes #1 is lighter, shimmery. See comparison swatches.

MAC Chill Eyeshadow is described as a “soft white with shimmer [with a Satin finish].” It’s a brightened, cool-toned white with a seemingly matte finish (I really didn’t see any shimmer!). It had decent to good color payoff, and it was fairly smooth and not too powdery. Sugarpill Tako is matte. MAC How to Marry is more shimmery. MAC Vellum is cooler-toned, shimmery. MAC Crystal Avalanche is shimmery. bareMinerals Five Star is more shimmery. Inglot #373 is matte. Bobbi Brown White is matte. See comparison swatches.

MAC Diesel Eyeshadow is described as a “cool grey frost [with a Frost finish].” It’s a medium-dark gray with a frosted finish. It had decent to good pigmentation but the texture was just a bit dry. Giorgio Armani #21 is very similar. Urban Decay Asphalt is less shimmery. Bobbi Brown Gunmetal is darker. See comparison swatches.

MAC Fiction Eyeshadow is described as a “muted green with shimmer [with a Frost finish].” It’s a warm, olive green with a fine gold and olive green shimmer. It had good color payoff, and the texture was soft and just a smidgen dry. It seemed better than my original Fiction, though. Clinique Whopping Willow is warmer. Urban Decay Jealous is greener. theBalm Lead Zeppelin is less green. Urban Decay Mildew is warmer. NARS Taiga #2 is darker. MAC Greensmoke is greener. Guerlain Coup de Foudre #1 is warmer. bareMinerals Eureka is warmer. Inglot #419 is more shimmery. See comparison swatches.

I wore these shades together, and they were very true-to-form for MAC eyeshadows.  They lasted well for seven to eight hours with some slight fading after eight to nine hours–the mattes tended to fade a bit faster than the more shimmery shades. Voting begins later today on MAC’s Facebook.

Chill

LELimited Edition. $17.00.
B+
B+
8.5
Product
8.5
Pigmentation
9
Texture
8.5
Longevity
4.5
Application
87%
Total

Diesel

LELimited Edition. $17.00.
B+
B+
8.5
Product
9
Pigmentation
8.5
Texture
8.5
Longevity
4.5
Application
87%
Total

MAC Ashbury Eyeshadow
MAC Ashbury Eyeshadow

MAC Ashbury Eyeshadow
MAC Ashbury Eyeshadow

MAC Ashbury Eyeshadow
MAC Ashbury Eyeshadow

MAC Ashbury Eyeshadow

MAC Ashbury Eyeshadow

MAC Ashbury Eyeshadow
MAC Ashbury Eyeshadow

MAC Butterscotch Eyeshadow
MAC Butterscotch Eyeshadow

MAC Butterscotch Eyeshadow
MAC Butterscotch Eyeshadow

MAC Butterscotch Eyeshadow
MAC Butterscotch Eyeshadow

MAC Butterscotch Eyeshadow

MAC Butterscotch Eyeshadow

MAC Butterscotch Eyeshadow
MAC Butterscotch Eyeshadow

MAC Chill Eyeshadow
MAC Chill Eyeshadow

MAC Chill Eyeshadow
MAC Chill Eyeshadow

MAC Chill Eyeshadow
MAC Chill Eyeshadow

MAC Chill Eyeshadow

MAC Chill Eyeshadow

MAC Chill Eyeshadow
MAC Chill Eyeshadow

MAC Diesel Eyeshadow
MAC Diesel Eyeshadow

MAC Diesel Eyeshadow
MAC Diesel Eyeshadow

MAC Diesel Eyeshadow
MAC Diesel Eyeshadow

MAC Diesel Eyeshadow

MAC Diesel Eyeshadow

MAC Diesel Eyeshadow
MAC Diesel Eyeshadow

MAC Fiction Eyeshadow
MAC Fiction Eyeshadow

MAC Fiction Eyeshadow
MAC Fiction Eyeshadow

MAC Fiction Eyeshadow
MAC Fiction Eyeshadow

MAC Fiction Eyeshadow

MAC Fiction Eyeshadow

MAC Fiction Eyeshadow
MAC Fiction Eyeshadow

34 Comments

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faerieevenstar Avatar

I’m a little disappointed with all of these. They’re a little… dull not to mention easily duped. Fiction is probably the most exciting. *sigh* At least my wallet is happy. Last year I went a bit nuts.

zainab Avatar

I’m kind of surprised that these were popular enough to warrant a second release. Doesn’t MAC already have colours a lot like these ones? I wish they’d offered ‘Firespot’ a second chance.

Lee Avatar

These are the colors people have been asking for? I don’t hang around MAC fan forums much anymore but I’ve never heard of any of these. Huh. Fiction is interesting but the rest look so dupable.

Christine Avatar

I think these are shades that MAC culls and picks, and then the “by request” part comes as customers vote from the lists, so they’re picking the ones off of the list. I remember googling for “Tomango” and “Ashbury” when they released the first two shades from each grouping, and pretty much nothing existed so I don’t think anyone has been campaigning on forums for them!

Lee Avatar

Last year, it seem like it was mostly “legendary” colors; I’d been hearing about Moth Brown for years and I was so thrilled to finally get my hands on it. Same for Moxie. They must’ve change their strategy this year.

Christine Avatar

Yes, last year’s was more representative of what you might expect to see brought back. I know in speaking with them about the initial list that they very much wanted to go back in history. There are some shades from the 90s that I remember hearing about at least on occasion, but I hadn’t heard most of these (and google searches turned up next to NOTHING on them!) – not even as a whispered favorite of old, you know? Like Icebox, Phase, Riot, etc. are all shadows that came out in the screw-top jars that I remember people spending $50+ on to get. I think this would have been a better collection where MAC merely paid tribute to their history through a curation of old favorites or picks that work for now as well as back then. I really just wish the eyeshadows had more variety in shades and/or less dupable shades. With such an extensive catalog, it’s hard not to dupe yourself, but did we really need a white eyeshadow or another orange-red lipstick?

Mariella Avatar

Christine, do you know if these will be available in-store or only online? I hate it when they do launches that are “online only”…no matter how good the descriptions or swatches, I like to see and feel the product and get an idea of how it “plays” for me.

Kelsey Avatar

As seems to be the theme on the forums, I’m sitting an the “meh” fence for these. If I had to choose, I guess I’d say butterscotch… but honestly, these all have never near dupes in the permanent collection… I don’t understand why mac would expect us to get stoked for this.

tzwiggy Avatar

I have wanted Fiction for such a long time. I alsi remember wanting Chill way back when I was starting my collection, but it is a pretty dupable shade, and not one I’d expect to see in a collection like this. I guess my top 3 picks would be 1) Fiction, 2) Ashbury, 3) Diesel. Butterscotch is completely uninteresting to me.

cloudburst Avatar

I have Butterscotch and Chill from way back when. I hope Butterscotch gets voted back, as it’s a great base shade (similar to Soft Ochre Paint Pot). Fiction and Ashbury would be good too…but Chill is really boring.

They should also do this for blush – I would love to see Prism, Harmony and Emote make a come back.

Liz Avatar

Hmmm, Fiction is the only one I really like, and I already own it. I think they could’ve picked more interesting shades, but I guess it’s hard to make everyone happy.

Andrea Avatar

Bit underwhelmed with these! I picked up two eyeshadows from the last MAC By Request (Jete and Mothbrown) and was excited for this round, seems like I’ll be passing though.

Lee Avatar

Yeah, I really miss the Starflash shadows and wish they’d rerelease some. Style Snob was my holy grail taupe and it dropped and shattered last year. 🙁

KaseyCannuck Avatar

These colours are rather blah.
I would like to see a thorough By Request collection with a variety of products, like paint pots, blushes, MSF’s, Fluidlines, etc, with customers requesting which products they would like to see come back. There should be a period of time where requests can be made for any and all products that we want to see re-released, then the top ten from each category put out to vote on, to get the final three for each product. We would get the chance to ask for the return of unique and beloved products, some of which may not be so dupeable.
I also think these should be made permanent to give everyone a chance to buy them.
This would make “By Request” truly by request!!

Carmen Avatar

i can’t believe how bland and dupeable these shadows are! Really, MAC? A few look like shadows already in MAC’s roster. Very disappointing!

Annie MUA Avatar

I am actually rather happy with the picks.
We are talking 90s and I find this is such a vintage, classic collection, with an historic “importance”..
I would love to work with butterscotch.

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