MAC Semi-Precious Mineralize Eyeshadows Swatches, Photos, Reviews (Part 1)

Christine — Fri, 24 Jun 2011 19:16:28 +0000

MAC Semi-Precious Mineralize Eyeshadows

MAC Semi-Precious Mineralize Eyeshadows Swatches, Photos, Reviews (Part 1)

MAC Semi-Precious Mineralize Eyeshadows ($20.00 for 0.07 oz.) includes twelve, limited edition shades: Blue Sheen (melange of navy, black, peach), Clarity (melange of light pink, off-white green, gold, and black), Dark Indulgence (melange of forest green and black), Faux Gold (melange of coral, gold, lime, bronze), Golden Gaze (melange of gold and black), Hint of Sapphire (melange of pink, violet, teal, copper, blue), Jade’s Fortune (melange of bright yellow, blue, lime, black), Mineral Mode (melange of white base with copper and gray), Quartz Fusion (melange of soft pink, silver, deep pink), Rare Find (melange of violet, brown, gold), Smoked Ruby (melange of burgundy and black), and Unsurpassable (melange of green, teal, purple, and copper). This post features Blue Sheen, Clarity, Golden Gaze, and Hint of Sapphire. I will post Jade’s Fortune, Mineral Mode, Rare Find, Smoked Ruby, and Unsurpassable in the next post. I do not currently have Dark Indulgence, Faux Gold, or Quartz Fusion, and I will post those when I am able to purchase them.

Blue Sheen is a blackened navy blue with a blue and violet sheen when applied dry, and it takes on a much bolder, brighter midnight blue with a slightly metallic sheen when applied wet. This is the kind of blue MAC has released several times in the past. It is very comparable to Inglot #428 and Make Up For Ever #308, while it is deeper than MAC Deep Truth. Make Up For Ever #81 is very similar to the dry swatch. It is deeper and has a richer blue than MAC Blue Flame or MAC She Who Dares.
Clarity is a barely-there green-tinged gray with flecks of green and gold shimmer-sparkle when applied dry. It’s not very useful when applied dry–there is just so little color payoff. When applied wet, it’s a deeper charcoal gray with green and gold shimmer and slightly metallic sheen. The most comparable shade I could think of was Inglot #444, but it’s browner and has no real green shimmer/sparkle.
Golden Gaze is a dark, molten gold with a black base peeking through. It’s very similar in color whether used dry or wet, and when used dry, it still has fantastic color payoff. It tends to bind better and therefore have a smoother, more metallic sheen when applied wet. Urban Decay Rush is a little bronzer, less gold. I saw some readers mention Giorgio Armani Khaki Pulse, but this is nothing like it. It has some of the same qualities as Make Up For Ever #148, but it is deeper, darker, richer. This is one of the standout shades of the nine I’ve seen. It’s most comparable to MAC Gilt by Association, but it has a stronger gold sheen and a much smoother texture.
Hint of Sapphire is a sheer purple-casted gray with multi-colored flecks of shimmer when used dry. Like Clarity, there really isn’t much to it when used dry. When applied wet, it is a deeper silvered gray with a purple cast and teal and copper shimmer. I found it applied a bit unevenly, though. It’s a darker version of the purple side of MAC Midnight Madness, while MAC Polar Opposites is less silvery but rather similar in color. Inglot #434 is very similar, without the multi-colored shimmer, while Giorgio Armani #1 does it better with more dimension that actually translates on the eye (and far better color payoff).

Every year, I fall prey to mineralize eyeshadows. Truly, I do. They always look spectacular in their pots, but I’m nearly always disappointed with the actual end results. I wish I could say I was really impressed by these, but overall, they’re decent to good, but they’re not the best eyeshadow I’ve ever used. Whenever I use mineralize eyeshadows wet, they do dry down to a color that’s in-between the dry and wet swatches. The majority do not retain the dimension, color payoff, or finish of the wet swatch after an hour or two. It’s not like the go from hero to zero, but it’s not quite the same.

I did two separate eye looks so I could test more eyeshadows within the same time span. I wore Jade’s Fortune, Golden Gaze, and Smoked Ruby on one eye with Hint of Sapphire and Blue Sheen on the other eye. After three hours, everything looked a little faded, with Hint of Sapphire being the biggest culprit. I also had a fair amount of fall out, and for me, the fall out was more annoying than the fading. The fading was noticeable to me, but it wasn’t over-the-top and it didn’t get much worse by the eighth hour. One possible method to combat some of the fall out of these is to use a stickier base (I used Urban Decay’s Eden) or when using them wet, wet with MAC’s Mixing Medium.

With mineralize eyeshadows, I think it’s appropriate to expect that color payoff will tend to be sheerer/softer and overall less intense compared to when they are used wet or damp. (On the other hand, the majority of MAC’s Mineralize Eyeshadows have decent color payoff when used dry.) However, Clarity and Hint of Sapphire are barely showing up when used dry. Over an eyeshadow base, Hint of Sapphire came together a little better but still needed to be packed on. On pigmentation, Clarity would earn 4 and 10 (dry/wet), so an average of 7, while Hint of Sapphire would earn 4 and 7.5 (dry/wet), so an average of 5.75. Both Blue Sheen and Golden Gaze would earn 10s across the board, which ends up with an average for the four at 8.2, which I rounded up to 8.5, because two of these are exceptionally well-pigmented. I chose to round-up because these are on the edge of C+/B- as an overall rating, and I don’t think these are bad enough to earn a C+.

MAC continues to improve the overall formula of their mineralize eyeshadows each year, and I think picking up some of the more exceptional/complex shades may be worth it, these don’t out-perform your regular pressed powder eyeshadows to make the price tag for “baked” worth it. I found the majority of these to be too marbled to use shades individually, so I only used them mixed.