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MAC Cinder Eyeshadow Duo (Prabal Gurung) Review, Photos, Swatches

MAC Cinder Eyeshadow Duo
MAC Cinder Eyeshadow Duo

MAC Cinder Eyeshadow Duo ($40.00 for 0.06 oz.) is a smoky duo with one more frosted, taupe shade and a more satiny, charcoal gray. The quality is decent but not excellent, and at this increased price point, they really ought to be top notch. The packaging is hefty and substantial, and you can certainly feel as if your money is going towards it.

Cinder (Left) is described as a “smoky cool grey [with a Lustre finish].” It’s an almost sooty, taupe with subtle, warm undertones and a frosted sheen. It had a slight sparkly consistency that is expected from the Lustre finish, but it actually had better payoff than most Lustres, and the eyeshadow looked smoother on the skin. The color wore well for almost eight hours with a bit of fall out. MAC Divine Rule (LE, $15.00) is lighter. Urban Decay Angel (LE, $18.00) is lighter. Charlotte Tilbury The Rock Chick #2 (P) is darker. Chanel Tisse Rivoli #1 (P) is darker. LORAC Chrome (P) is similar. MAC Silver Dawn (LE, $19.50) is darker. bareMinerals Cheers (V2) (LE) is similar. Urban Decay Vaporize (LE, $18.00) is darker. Urban Decay Derailed (LE, $18.00) is grayer. Urban Decay Mushroom (P, $18.00) is darker, grayer. See comparison swatches / view dupes.

Cinder (Right) is described as a “dark charcoal [with a Matte finish].” It’s a dark charcoal gray with neutral-to-cool undertones and a matte finish. The major problem with this shade was that it had a thinner, drier, and more powdery texture, which resulted in sheerer color coverage and made it harder to blend out on the skin. This shade showed signs of fading after seven and a half hours of wear. Too Faced Black Licorice (LE, $16.00) is similar. Dior Pied de Poule #3 (P) is similar. LORAC Navy #7 (LE) is darker. LORAC Charcoal (P) is lighter. MAC Gravel (LE, $15.00) is similar. MAC Typographic (P, $15.00) is lighter. MAC Soot (P, $15.00) is lighter. MAC Nehru (P, $15.00) is cooler-toned. Guerlain Les Gris #1 (P) is cooler-toned. bareMinerals Amnesia (P) is cooler-toned. See comparison swatches / view dupes.

See more photos & swatches!

MAC Cinder Eyeshadow Duo
MAC Cinder Eyeshadow Duo

MAC Cinder Eyeshadow Duo
MAC Cinder Eyeshadow Duo

MAC Cinder Eyeshadow Duo
MAC Cinder Eyeshadow Duo

MAC Cinder Eyeshadow Duo
MAC Cinder Eyeshadow Duo

MAC Cinder (Left) Eyeshadow
MAC Cinder (Left) Eyeshadow

MAC Cinder (Left) Eyeshadow
MAC Cinder (Left) Eyeshadow

MAC Cinder (Right) Eyeshadow
MAC Cinder (Right) Eyeshadow

MAC Cinder (Right) Eyeshadow
MAC Cinder (Right) Eyeshadow

29 Comments

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Mariella Avatar

To be honest, I’m sort of glad this is not great because just looking at it in the pans, these colours have so much appeal. I find this whole collection to be overpriced (because of the name and packaging, neither of which means squat to me) but the shadows themselves look so pretty. Shame they don’t perform. I suppose maybe we should give thanks that the darker shade isn’t Carbon! 🙂

Christine Avatar

LOL! Thank goodness there’s no Carbon in any of the duos. The shades would have to be A territory, and they might need to be “less basic” or else SUPER versatile/perfect basics to really consider – unless the packaging appeals, since so much of the price goes towards that.

Katherine T. Avatar

I think this is overpriced for the quality. You can choose 2 great MUFE Artist Eyeshadows with Kit for $ 34 at Sephora, so why would I pay $40 for 2 so-so eyeshadows from MAC? MAC’s packaging does look better, but what really counts is how the shadows look on the eyes.

Rachel R. Avatar

Oh, dear. That gray is just…Carbon’s little sister. I really like the lighter shade, even though it’s taupe. 😉 Seriously, it’s pretty, but totally dupeable.

Nicole Avatar

These colors had so much potential so this is really disappointing. Why does MAC seem to slack when it comes to palettes and duos? A lot of their individual eye shadows are great so I really wonder why their quality drastically declines in a palette.

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