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MAC Semi-Precious Review Round-up
MAC Semi-Precious Review Round-up
Here are links to all of the Semi-Precious reviews 🙂 I won’t be doing any comparisons or overall review/recommendations until I have the full collection reviewed and comparisons swatched. I did list extensive dupes for all products that have been reviewed so far, and if you are eager for comparisons, please consider dragging around products in The Swatch Gallery, because we really built it so that you could that any time you want and not have to wait for me! 🙂
- Cremesheen Glasses
- Lipsticks
- Mineralize Blush – Feeling Flush
- Mineralize Blush – Pressed Amber
- Mineralize Eyeshadows (Part 2)
- Mineralize Skinfinish – Goldstone
- Mineralize Skinfinish – Pearl
- Mineralize Skinfinish – Rose Quartz
Love that you can drag the pics around in the Swatch Gallery – brilliant idea!
So far from your swatches..I will only going to try 3 eye shadows and one Mineralized skin finish
I am not loving anything in this collection. I will pass.
Feel the same but I have She Who Dares and Ruby smoke. I do like the look of Mineralize Skinfinish Pearl & Rose Quartz.
Rose Quartz, Feeling Flush and that strawberry pink lipstick!!!! Im curious about the brushes though.
I want one MSF =) preferable the Pearl one. maybe 3 shadows (blue sheen, faux gold and golden laze or smoked ruby). The Warmth Coral blush is interesting too. The brushed look interesting too =)
Thanks for all the fab swatches Christine. I am hoping to get 2-3 of the brushes, the 2 dark glosses and maybe the pink blush. I am torn with the shadows. I was originally planning on getting mineral mode, rare find, saphaire and maybe quartz fusion. Do you think I am better investing in a couple of the Armani shadows that are similar? Also would hint of sapphire be like a subtle version of the Armani shadow which is a similar colour ie would one be a day look and the other a night look cause I love the colour….
Quality wise, yeah, Armani’s Eyes to Kill are better, IMO.
This collection just doesn’t float my boat. Brushes, maybe.
The Mineralize Skinfinish in Rose Quartz is really calling to me. I waaaaant that! This is my first hard core case of MAC lust. lol I might have to get it. 🙂
Hey Christine !
Can i compare the MSFs too on the swatch gallery with other highlighters ? How do I do that ?
The MSFs have more color payoff, so none of them are listed as highlighters – they’re more like blushes with higher shimmer finishes than anything else. You could compare by brand (MAC) and see all MAC shades show up.
Glad that I’m not craving anything from this collection. 😀
Thanks so much for the roundup. =D
Just “Pear”l MSF. It seems like it’ll make a nice shimmery highlight and blush in one. That bright blue eyeshadow looked nice, too, but I would never use it. Everything else is passable.
Leaving it.
The one shadow that caught my eye – Hint of Sapphire – seemed to be the worst of the lot. Rose Quartz is darker than I’d hoped it to be. Oh well. Good for my wallet 😀
I am disappointed in the eye shadows. It’s the only thing I really wanted. Will have to check them out IRL.
I have a question about the Goldstone MSF, I’m quite fair, actually NW20 to be precise and I already have one gold MSF in Gold Deposit and I was wondering if Goldstone would do anything different on my skin than Gold Deposit does? Also could Goldstone be good during different seasons or would you see that one as just a summer kind of shade? For my Gold Deposit it seems best to me in just the summer time and I wouldn’t feel that I needed just another gold summer MSF.
Only Smoked Amethyst has caught my eye, although I’m a little worried about the frost finish- for some reason, MAC’s frosts make my lips look pus-filled. Not a good look.
I’m really glad that you’re not going to stop doing dupes and comparisons now that you have the swatch gallery up. I love the swatch gallery but there’s really nothing better than seeing swatches side by side in the same photo 🙂
I’m not terribly impressed with the eye shadows, though I’m sure I’ll find at least one I want. I love the MSFs, Cremesheen Glasses and I’m sure I’ll get one of the lipsticks. Overall, I think it’s a pretty neat collection. I like the whole gemstone theme.
I was so excited about this collection, but after seeing your swatches I’ve been able to cut down my list by a lot!
I’ll be getting Gem of Roses, One of a Kind, Geo Pink, Looks Like Sin (maybe), Feeling Flush (maybe), Warmth of Coral, maybe a MSF and a couple of eyeshadows (because they look so nice in the pan). I also want all of the brushes!
On a project 30 pan soo passing 🙂
unfortunately Hint of Sapphire is just as awful in real life as it is in the swatch. I actually found the problems to be similar to the big bounce shadows. The consistencies are different but the problems are the same. Creasing and fading to the point where it is SO not worth $20. You know when you are painting and you go over the same area and the brush ends up picking the product back up instead of depositing more paint? Same effect here.
I did also see Faux gold and the dark green one. The faux gold looks very pretty and to me had a velvety consistency. The dark green one was almost black, not very green.
Yep!! You can just barely touch the eyeshadow to “blend” and it’ll disappear 🙁
I think you have to judge based mostly on how it looks dry – the shades that are pretty pigmented when used dry tend to work better than shades that are barely there like Hint of Sapphire.
Overall, though, at $20 a pop, there are better alternatives out there. You shouldn’t have to spend so much time WORKING to get a MAC eyeshadow to work for you – not at $20.
Thanks, as always, Christine for all of the swatches and reviews! 🙂
For some reason, I just can not get into any mineralize products-from MAC or anyone else. I’ve tried really hard, but they just don’t jive with me.
The only one I ever loved was By Candlelight from last summer, but it dropped and broke on me. 🙁 I also tried a MSF natural and it totally broke me out-so I returned it. 🙁
I guess generally, I do love MAC, but their mineralize stuff makes me nervous… I worry about it breaking me out or just breaking. ha!
Christine, I think I remember you saying MSF break you out. Does anything happen to your skin/eyelids when you use the mineralize eyeshadows? Thanks!
I have no problems wearing the eyeshadows! 🙂
I want Pearl MSF, Rose Quartz MSF, Gem of Roses l/s, & Geo Pink l/g :).
I went today and was able to see them in person at the Mac counter at Nordstroms and they let you pre-order there, so I ordered smoked ruby, golden gaze, and mineral mode I think this one will make a nice highlight color. I liked dark indulgence and blue sheen as well but I have the Urban Decays Black Pallet and it has similar colors, imo plus my birthday is in August and Im hoping I get a couple more products with some birthday money 😉
hi christine, i’m not sure if you know but this person is posting your reviews and pictures on their blog! here is the link
[link removed]
Thanks for letting me know, Rebecca!
Mmm, so far I am only liking Pearl MSF enough as to want it…I’ve never been a fan of mineralize eyeshadows and I agree with Christine the price vs amount of Cremesheen Glasses is discouraging, so most probably I will only get an MSF, either Pearl or another if I like it better when I see it in person!
Will you be doing a review on the Brushes Christine?
Most likely, but it just depends on when I’m able to buy them!
Hey Christine, have you played around with any of the brushes? I am interested in the 128 but im not sure what it is meant to do? Do you have any info, for example is it a blush brush/bronzing brush, and what is the difference between the different fibres on each side? Thanks, great work on all the swatches!
Oops, just seen your comment above! I await your brush review eagerly 🙂
Wow. Thank you for these swatches, I was so looking forward to this collection, they look so gorgeous. It’s really disappointing to see how blah most of them are. I think Blue Sheen and Smoked Ruby are going to be my only purchase.
thanks for all your hard work you make planning for and dealing with collections so much easier can’t wait to hear your recommendations
well, my grand total for this collection will come to $285. most i’ll have ever spent on a mac collection. oh, well. so excited.
I always love your recommendations – are you doing some this time?
My local MAC has this collection in store now! 😀
I first thought that Geo Pink would be close to Strange Potion, but it was not. It was a bright shimmered orange-y coral that looked so glossy juicy on my lips. So pretty! It also felt light-weighted and not sticky.
And I picked up Pearl MSF, too. It was amazingly beautifully glowing. I swatched it and just felt in love with. <3
Thank you for the best swatches as always, Christine!
can you do a must-have, nice to have… for this collection, like you usually do? i guess you’re done reviewing all products, rt?
Yes!!! please!!!