MAC Tartan Tale: Dashing Lassies Eyeshadow Palette

Dashing Lassies Eyeshadow Palette ($36.00) is a rather neutral, slightly warmed up palette.

This palette includes six eyeshadows: Bronze (copper penny), Buckwheat (frosty medium brown), A Dashing Lassie (metallic milk), Magical Mist (metallic taupe), Showstopper (dark brown), and Once Upon a Time (metallic vanilla).

• Bronze is a rich metallic bronze with a copper-bronze sheen.  It has a frost finish, and it looks the same as the permanent shade of Bronze, despite the different descriptions.  This is the nicest and most pigmented shade of the six–but you can get it on its own, too.
• Buckwheat is a medium-dark brown with soft green-gold shimmer.  It has a frost finish, and it was originally launched with Naked Honey in 2009.  The pigmentation is decent, but it could be a little richer. Sable seems like it would be the closest dupe from the permanent range.
• A Dashing Lassie is a frosted soft white with beige sheen.  It has a frost finish. The pigmentation is decent, and it could be used as a highlighter on light to light-medium skin tones; it may be too ashy as a highlighter on darker skin tones.  It’s similar to Dazzlelight, perhaps not as white.
• Magical Mist is a mushroom-y taupe with a metallic sheen.  It has a lustre finish, but it doesn’t have the typical gritty texture of lustre eyeshadows–very little fall out as a result.   I can’t think of any great dupes from the permanent range for this.
• Showstopper is a dark, cool-toned sooty brown.  It has a matte finish, and it has been launched on numerous occasions.  Even though it swatches rather sheer, it works decently as a crease shade to darken the lid.  It’s just been in so many palettes and launches, I wouldn’t be surprised if you already had it somewhere in your stash!
• Once Upon a Time is a semi-sheer champagne.  It has a veluxe pearl finish.  It’s very sheer for a veluxe pearl–looks more like a lustre in terms of color pay off.  It’s a more metallic version of Ricepaper.

The palette contains 0.19 oz. worth of eyeshadow along with a tiny 213 brush, which means you’re paying $190/oz.  In comparison, if you were to buy potted eyeshadows, MAC eyeshadows run at $290/oz. and pans run at $230/oz.  These palettes do offer a little more bang for your buck than if you were to buy shades individually.

The best part about this palette is how well the shades coordinate with each other.  It’s very much variations on browns and beiges, and all but Bronze run on the neutral to neutral-cool end of the spectrum.  Unfortunately, pigmentation seems to be lacking severely in two of the shades, and pigmentation is only top notch in one.  I don’t think this palette is a must-have; at this price tag, I’d recommend Urban Decay’s Naked Palette instead for a solid neutral palette that’s not only a good deal but full of quality, too.

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• Product: 24/30
• Value: 9/10
• Ease of Use: 4/5
• Packaging: 4/5

RECOMMENDATION: The shades go together well, but too many of them are on the sheerer side of things.  Given MAC’s penchant for pigment, it seems at odds with what one would expect to see in their palette.

AVAILABILITY: October 28th at MAC Stores/Counters

MAC Tartan Tale: Dashing Lassies Eyeshadow Palette

MAC Tartan Tale: Dashing Lassies Eyeshadow Palette

MAC Tartan Tale: Dashing Lassies Eyeshadow Palette

MAC Tartan Tale: Dashing Lassies Eyeshadow Palette

MAC Tartan Tale: Dashing Lassies Eyeshadow Palette

Top row: A Dashing Lassie, Once Upon a Time, Magical Mist; Bottom row: Bronze, Buckhweat, Showstopper

Left to right, top to bottom: Magical Mist, Showstopper; Once Upon a Time, Buckwheat; A Dashing Lassie, Bronze

A Dashing Lassie, Once Upon a Time, Magical Mist

Bronze, Buckhweat, Showstopper