MAC for Miss Piggy Eyeshadow Swatches, Photos, Reviews

MAC for Miss Piggy is a small, online-only collection that will launch November 14th, 2011 both for North America as well as select international locations at maccosmetics.com. There is really only one new product, as the two other pieces from the launch include Rapidblack Penultimate Eyeliner (permanent) and #36 Lashes (permanent).

That new shade is Miss Piggy Pink, which MAC describes as a “mid-tone blue pink” with a frost finish. It’s a cool-toned, blue-based pink that has a little lilac in it; it does pull just a little purple in some lighting. The finish looks more like a satin than frost, because it’s a very subtle sheen rather than an overt frosted finish. Of course, the real issue is the dry, stiff texture that delivers sheer, uneven color that’s as difficult to work with as it is to swatch. It took about eight applications to achieve the color shown in the look pictured below; I don’t mean patting the brush once on the top of the shadow and flicking it against the lid–I mean swirling and jabbing the brush against the eyeshadow to loosen the powder and then patting, not sweeping, onto the lid to pack on the color. Possibly even taking a palette knife and scraping off a layer to pack onto the lid. I can get it to work, but boy, the amount of effort and unnecessary time spent on it, is disappointing when you’re shelling out $15 for it.

If you picked up MAC Angel Flame Eyeshadow Quad a couple of months ago, then Feather Pink is very, very similar but with better color payoff–it even has the same satiny sheen. Wet ‘n’ Wild We’re Blasting Off is lighter and more bubblegum-like.

In all honesty, this collection looks like something that happened at the last minute. I envision a scenario where MAC HQ gets a call from the Muppets HQ about, “Hey, we’d love to collaborate, can you turn this around in a few weeks?” We’ve seen MAC collaborate many, many times with iconic figures and celebrities, from Barbie to Wonder Woman to Disney’s Villains, and I felt like you could see the thought process, the theme, how things were intertwined. There’s no special packaging, no real MAC spin or take on Miss Piggy and everything she embodies. Pink for Miss Piggy seems expected, and if that is the only product you’re going to put out, it seems like a missed opportunity to do something really special.  Or at least knock-your-socks-off quality? I didn’t grow up with The Muppets, and without something more to pull me in, this is a total pass.

MAC for Miss Piggy

MAC for Miss Piggy

MAC for Miss Piggy

MAC for Miss Piggy

MAC for Miss Piggy

MAC for Miss Piggy

In the look above, I used Miss Piggy Pink eyeshadow on the lid with theBalm All About Annie eyeshadow in the crease and Burberry Trench eyeshadow to highlight above the crease and on the brow bone, which were all applied over NARS Smudgeproof Eyeshadow Primer. I used Hourglass Film Noir mascara on lashes and Bobbi Brown Dual-Ended Eyeliner in Black/Silver (black side only) on the lower lash line/water line.  I packed and packed and packed (x8) the pink eyeshadow to get this vibrancy.