MAC Daphne Guinness Pigments Reviews, Photos, Swatches

Christine — Wed, 14 Dec 2011 22:38:06 +0000

MAC Aurora Pigment

MAC Daphne Guinness: Pigments

With the Daphne Guinness collection (due in-stores on December 26th), there are three shades of MAC Pigments ($20.00 for 0.15 oz.): Aurora (pinked taupe), Circa Plum (frosty dirty mid-tone lavender), and Nebula (dark greyed brown with pearl).

Aurora is a neutral-cool, rose-tinted brown with a frosted finish. It shimmers nicely, and it can be used wet or dry; when applied wet, you’ll have a smoother, more metallic finish. It kind of reminded me of how Urban Decay Tease looked like in the pan, so MAC Quarry is similar in hue but with a matte finish. MAC MaltL is like a lighter cousin. Urban Decay Toasted is a bit more bronze. Also reminded me of a less brown MAC Gold Stroke.
Circa Plum is a rosy plum with a frosted finish. The one I have and swatched is from when it launched previously, so it’s possible that it may vary in color compared to the new release. Wet ‘n’ Wild We’re Blasting Off is similar but less plum. MAC Tendersmoke is less pink.
Nebula is a deep, dark taupe with a little hint of brown around the edges, but it loses some of the brown you’d expect from taupe because of how dark it is–it’s still there, and when you apply it dry, it’s more noticeable. When applied damp, it has a more metallic finish and depth. Dry, it’s a bit like MAC Legendary Black. MAC Bloodline is lighter.

MAC Pigments are designed to be worn softly or more intensely as well as with a formulation that makes it apply to the lid. It’s also supposed to be long-wearing. These shades applied well whether dry or wet (and I tested Nebula on the eye, because it seemed sheer when swatched, but it was very intense–too intense, actually, for the look I was going for), as they all have good color payoff. The textures are soft and smooth, which helps increase how blendable they are. I don’t get perfect wear out of pigments without some sort of adhesive base (like MAC Mixing Medium) or an eyeshadow primer–after eight hours, there is some minor creasing and fading, but if I do wear some sort of base, I don’t have either issue.