MAC Maleficent Eyeshadow Quad ($44.00 for 4 x 0.05 oz.) has four, permanent shades of eyeshadows and is housed in a specially-packaged quad with the collection’s design on the palette’s lid. All four shades were fairly good with decent to good color payoff, mostly blendable, and all lasted eight hours on me. he eyeshadow quad contains four permanent shades, so you could purchase these shades right now for $10 per pan, plus the empty quad for $8, which would run you $48, so you would save $4 if you went with the Maleficent quad, and it would come with special packaging. However, if you purchased everything separately, you would be able to remove the shades from the quad at your leisure, whereas the pre-made quad will come with the shades glued in. If, perhaps, you didn’t love all four shades, you could also substitute another shade from the permanent range that would suit your needs better.

Personally, I was terribly disappointed in this collection–particularly since we saw what MAC released for Venomous Villains–and its abundance of permanent products for such a small collection. If it had been a small, well-edited release with new and interesting shades, that would be have amazing. This just feels like a missed opportunity.

Goldmine is described as an “intense gold with shimmer.” It’s a medium-dark, yellow-orange gold with a frosted, metallic finish. It had good color payoff, though it wasn’t fully opaque, and the texture was fairly soft and smooth. It wore well for eight hours on me. Inglot #430 (P, $6.00) is darker. bareMinerals Remix (LE) is similar. OCC Triptych (P, $14.00) is more metallic. Chanel Pearl River #3 (LE) is similar. MAC Gaelic Gold (LE, $15.00) is darker. Disney by Sephora Triton (LE) is lighter. MAC Gilded Night #2 (LE, $21.00) is more glittery. See comparison swatches / view dupes.

Ground Brown is described as a “dirty deep brown [with a Matte finish].” It’s a medium-dark, subtly red-toned brown with a matte finish. The texture was really smooth, but it has a tendency to skip slightly. It applies and is easiest to blend if you use a fairly fluffy blush to apply it. This shade lasted for eight hours on me. Kat Von D Shadow Box (P) is more muted. Tarte Dream in Chocolate (LE) is darker. Too Faced Triple Fudge (P, $16.00) is similar. Laura Mercier Espresso (LE, $23.00) is darker. Chanel Charming #4 (LE) is similar. bareMinerals Boardroom (LE) is darker. MAC Embark (P, $15.00) is darker. Make Up For Ever #162 (P, $20.00) is similar. Inglot #326 (P, $6.00) is similar. See comparison swatches / view dupes.

Concrete is described as a “muted taupe brown [with a Satin finish].” It’s a medium-dark, muted brown with a gray-ish overcast but still has some warmer, brown undertones. The texture was soft, smooth, and it had good pigmentation. This shade wore well for eight hours on me. Kat Von D Shadow Box (P) is warmer. Tarina Tarantino Delightful #5 (P) is similar. Chanel Charming #4 (LE) is warmer. Too Faced Dark Chocolate (LE, $16.00) is darker. Urban Decay Secret Service (P, $18.00) is lighter, warmer. NARS Bali (P, $24.00) is more matte. MAC Cross-Cultural (LE, $15.00) is warmer. MAC Charcoal Brown (P, $15.00) is similar. Benefit Quick, Look Busy (P, $20.00) is similar. See comparison swatches / view dupes.

Carbon is described as an “intense black [with a Matte finish].” It’s a medium-dark black with mostly neutral undertones and a matte finish. It’s worth noting that Carbon is usually a subpar black eyeshadow, and it’s often terrible when it is placed in a pre-made quad, but this might be the most pigmented, softest, and best iteration of Carbon I’ve come across. It’s not without its flaws, compared to other black eyeshadows on the market, but it is significantly improved from past releases. See comparison swatches / view dupes.

MAC Maleficent Eyeshadow Quad

MAC Maleficent Eyeshadow Quad

MAC Maleficent Eyeshadow Quad

MAC Maleficent Eyeshadow Quad

MAC Goldmine Eyeshadow

MAC Goldmine Eyeshadow

MAC Ground Brown Eyeshadow

MAC Ground Brown Eyeshadow

MAC Concrete Eyeshadow

MAC Concrete Eyeshadow

MAC Carbon Eyeshadow

MAC Carbon Eyeshadow

MAC Maleficent Eyeshadow Quad