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MAC Smoky Plum Crushed Metallic Pigment Kit Review, Photos, Swatches

MAC Smoky Plum Crushed Metallic Pigment Kit
MAC Smoky Plum Crushed Metallic Pigment Kit

MAC Dazzlesphere Smoky Plum Crushed Metallic Pigment Kit

MAC’s Dazzlesphere Collection launches on November 10th, and the next set I’m reviewing is MAC Smoky Plum Crushed Metallic Pigment Kit ($32.50 for 0.40 oz.), which contains four shades: Light Violet (pale violet), Grape (purple), Seasonally Cool (sparkling taupe), and Misty (pale silver). Crushed Metallic Pigments are described as having “intense colour payoff” with “medium coverage” and “highly reflective metallic sparkle.” They are “creamy, crease-resistant, [and] long-wearing.”

  • Seasonally Cool is a subtly cool-toned bronze. The gray tint is minor, so it comes off as more of a brown than it does a taupe. This one has a fair amount of sparkle, so I did encounter some fall out when it was applied dry, but this was lessened when it was applied damp. Similarly, it’s sheerer when applied dry and much more intense when applied damp. It’s similar to Urban Decay Lost and Make Up For Ever #15.
  • Misty is a bright, lightened silver with a strong, metallic finish. It’s slightly sheer when applied dry and more opaque when applied wet. Giorgio Armani #12 is similar but cooler-toned.
  • Light Violet is a pink=lavender with a metallic shimmer-sheen. It’s very, very chunky; I did not find I could really “crush” these into becoming smooth, even on my arm. It reminded me of a much pinker Kitschmas. The color is also similar to theBalm Curtain Call. It’s warmer and pinker than Stacked 1.
  • Grape is a rich, red-toned purple with a softer but still metallic sheen. It had good color payoff both dry and wet, with the metallic finish coming out more when it was applied wet. It’s more vibrant and red-toned than Stacked 1. MAC Plush is similar but a touch darker and less metallic in finish. MAC Half-Wild is redder. Inglot #446 is less purple.

In my experience, these pigments wear well as long as you ensure you’ve really “crushed” them against the skin/lid. I’ve worn them with and without a base and the difference is minimal. There is some noticeable but relatively minor fading after eight hours when applied without a base (or mixing medium). For more on how they wear, please see this post where I went in-depth on that particular characteristic.

I loved the smoothness and vibrancy of Grape, while Light Violet was one of the worst shades out of the three sets entirely. It was very gritty and chunky–it was much harder to work with and extremely prone to fall out. I also had some fall out issues with Seasonally Cool from the sparkle when used dry, but it was lessened if it was applied damp. Generally, the finishes are extremely frosted, metallic-like, and add a lot of oomph to a look–but they may be better when mixed and matched with other finishes (like mattes) for more textural contrast as all of these at once can almost look heavy on the eye.

MAC Smoky Plum Crushed Metallic Pigment Kit Review, Photos, Swatches

B-
8.5
Product
8.5
Pigmentation
8.5
Texture
8
Longevity
3.5
Application
82%
Total

MAC Smoky Plum Crushed Metallic Pigment Kit
MAC Smoky Plum Crushed Metallic Pigment Kit

MAC Smoky Plum Crushed Metallic Pigment Kit
MAC Smoky Plum Crushed Metallic Pigment Kit

MAC Smoky Plum Crushed Metallic Pigment Kit
MAC Smoky Plum Crushed Metallic Pigment Kit

MAC Smoky Plum Crushed Metallic Pigment Kit
MAC Seasonally Cool Crushed Metallic Pigment

MAC Smoky Plum Crushed Metallic Pigment Kit
MAC Seasonally Cool Crushed Metallic Pigment

MAC Smoky Plum Crushed Metallic Pigment Kit
MAC Seasonally Cool Crushed Metallic Pigment

MAC Smoky Plum Crushed Metallic Pigment Kit
MAC Misty Crushed Metallic Pigment

MAC Smoky Plum Crushed Metallic Pigment Kit
MAC Misty Crushed Metallic Pigment

MAC Smoky Plum Crushed Metallic Pigment Kit
MAC Misty Crushed Metallic Pigment

MAC Smoky Plum Crushed Metallic Pigment Kit
MAC Light Violet Crushed Metallic Pigment

MAC Smoky Plum Crushed Metallic Pigment Kit
MAC Light Violet Crushed Metallic Pigment

MAC Smoky Plum Crushed Metallic Pigment Kit
MAC Light Violet Crushed Metallic Pigment

MAC Smoky Plum Crushed Metallic Pigment Kit
MAC Grape Crushed Metallic Pigment

MAC Smoky Plum Crushed Metallic Pigment Kit
MAC Grape Crushed Metallic Pigment

MAC Smoky Plum Crushed Metallic Pigment Kit
MAC Grape Crushed Metallic Pigment

33 Comments

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corallista Avatar

Grape looks lovely! I do like the idea of the these crushed pigment stacks. Surf the Ocean from the Surf Baby Collection was one of recent purchased and every shade from that stack is amazing!

Christina Tran Avatar

Haha! I was just going to comment that the detail shot of Light Violet reminds me of a fibrous, shaggy carpet up-close. 🙂 Too bad that colour is not that pigmented.

Chelle Avatar

That’s funny… I was just thinking to myself how STUNNING I thought the pure close ups are. I love seeing the texture zoomed up on my screen.

jennifer Avatar

the light purple picture is amazing lol looks like abstract art or something 😛 is the silver in this the same or close to the surf the ocean stack silver?

Amrita Avatar

I love crushed pigments, they’re beautiful, but thats just my opinion 🙂 Just use a base underneath of the same colour, or something like Milk from NYX to make the colours pop if they’re on the more sheer side 😀

Aurore Avatar

I tried them yesterday and they are all so beautifully pigmented ! The seller told me to apply them directly with my fingers : used like that all of the shadows were awesome, much better than applied with a brush

Hannah Avatar

Same with me.
I brought these yesterday and swatched on the back of my hand with my finger they are lovely, especially grape.
But apply them with a brusb, and they just loose a lot of impact.

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