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MAC x Brooke Shields Gravitas Eyeshadow Palette Review, Photos, Swatches

MAC x Brooke Shields Gravitas Eyeshadow Palette
MAC x Brooke Shields Gravitas Eyeshadow Palette

MAC x Brooke Shields Gravitas Eyeshadow Palette ($85.00 for 0.68 oz.) includes fifteen eyeshadows that range from pale, white-beige to plum to matte black. The palette contains some permanent shades as well as some new shades. It was quick to sell out on launch day, but the palette is currently available at Nordstrom. It should be available at other retailers like Dillard’s, Bloomingdale’s, and Macy’s. Overall, I think it’s a good palette with only one major miss (Carbon), but the majority were fairly pigmented, blendable, and easy to work with. They pair well together, and there are a lot of different combinations to be made. It is a warmer-toned palette, and there are only a few more colorful shades, so it is primarily a neutral palette–which there are numerous options out there (past and present), so it’s not necessarily a must-have, but that’ll depend more on what palettes you already have.

It has 15 full-sized eyeshadows (0.05 oz. usually, though Veluxe Pearl eyeshadows are 0.04 oz.), so if you bought them individually, it would contain $240 worth of eyeshadows; and if you could buy them in pan-form only to build your own palette, it would contain $150 worth of eyeshadows, plus the cost of an empty 15-pan eyeshadow ($2 for the insert, $8 for the empty palette, so $10 in total). Either way, it is a fantastic value as far as MAC eyeshadows and palettes go, though there are certainly many mid-to-high-end palettes to choose at this price point. The pans are not removable, and they appear to be glued in like the other 15-pan pre-made palettes (I tried to remove six, but they weren’t budging).

Pretty is described as a “sofot golden peach beige [with a Satin finish].” It’s a warm-toned beige with a pearly sheen. It had decent color payoff and applied smoothly, though it could have been more pigmented. It wore well for eight hours before fading. See comparison swatches / view dupes.

Soft Brown is described as a “soft golden peach brown [with a Matte finish].” It’s a warm-toned, medium reddish-orange brown with a matte finish. It had nice pigmentation and applied smoothly without being powdery. The color didn’t start to fade until after eight and a half hours of wear. This shade is permanent. See comparison swatches / view dupes.

Expensive Pink is described as a “pink with duochrome [with a Veluxe Pearl finish].” It’s a copper-shimmered coral with a frosted finish. This shade is permanent. It had good color payoff, though the texture wasn’t quite as buttery as my permanent single, and it didn’t seem as shimmery (which made it appear darker). The color wore well for eight and a half hours. See comparison swatches / view dupes.

Clove is described as a “mid-tone golden brown [with a Satin finish].” It’s a medium-dark brown with subtle, yellow undertones and a mostly matte finish. It had nice color payoff with a soft, finely-milled texture that wasn’t powdery and was blendable. The color wore well for eight hours. See comparison swatches / view dupes.

Satin Taupe #2 is described as a “taupe with silver shimmer [with a Frost finish].” It’s a light-medium taupe-brown with warm undertones and a frosted sheen. This shade is permanent, but it is so much lighter than the permanent version I have. It seemed to have decent color payoff, but it wasn’t consistent in color to past iterations of the shade. See comparison swatches / view dupes.

Canter is described as a “soft neutral gold [with a Frost finish].” It’s a brightened, pale yellow gold with a metallic sheen. It had great color payoff that went on smoothly, while it had a buttery consistency that was easy to work with. This shade lasted for eight and a half hours on me. See comparison swatches / view dupes.

Luscious is described as a “neutral bronze [with a Frost finish].” It’s a coppery orange with a frosted shimmer. It had so-so pigmentation with a thinner, slightly dry, consistency–at least it wasn’t stiff to work with. The color lasted for eight hours on me. See comparison swatches / view dupes.

Antiqued is described as an “ash brown with bronze [with a Veluxe Pearl finish].” It’s medium-dark, reddish brown with warm undertones and a soft, frosted finish. It had nice color payoff with a soft, smooth consistency that was easy to apply. It wore well for eight and a half hours. This shade is permanent. See comparison swatches / view dupes.

Psyche is described as a “shimmering golden olive [with a Frost finish].” It’s a muted, medium-dark olive brown with warm undertones and a frosted finish. It had good pigmentation that went on smoothly and evenly. The color stayed on well for eight and a half hours. See comparison swatches / view dupes.

Carbon is described as an “intense black [with a Matte finish].” It’s medium-dark black with a matte finish, but there’s no real surprise that it looks splotchy, uneven, and is hard to work with as the texture is difficult to blend and the color payoff is weak. I actually feel like Carbon is too stark in this palette, and it would been great to have Typographic in its place (which is a better eyeshadow as well, but the softer quality to it would have worked nicely with the palette’s shades). This shade is permanent. See comparison swatches / view dupes.

Shroom is described as a “soft beige with shimmer [with a Satin finish].” It’s a light beige with warm undertones and a frosted finish. It had excellent color payoff with a soft, blendable texture that wore well for eight and a half hours. This actually had better pigmentation than the permanent single I have. This shade is permanent. See comparison swatches / view dupes.

Persuade is described as a “mid-tone cool grey brown [with a Matte finish].” It’s a medium-dark taupe brown with cool, gray undertones and a matte finish. It had decent color payoff, though it was at least buildable to opaque color with two to three layers, and the texture was soft and only a smidgen powdery. It wore well for eight hours. See comparison swatches / view dupes.

Plummed is described as a “shimmering dark plum [with a Veluxe Pearl finish].” It’s a medium-dark plum-berry with warm, reddish undertones and a pearly sheen. It had good pigmentation, and it applied evenly and blended well. This shade showed signs of fading after eight and a half hours of wear. See comparison swatches / view dupes.

Lofty is described as a “cool blackened brown [with a Satin finish].” It’s a medium-dark, taupe brown with cool, gray undertones and a semi-matte finish. It had good color payoff with a soft, finely-milled texture that was just a little powdery. The color wore well for eight hours before fading. See comparison swatches / view dupes.

Pepper is described as a “dark charcoal [with a Velvet finish].” It’s a deep, dark purplish-gray with almost neutral undertones–like the undertones seem slightly warm, but there’s a lot of darkness and gray that it appears almost cool-toned. It had nice pigmentation, and it applied very smoothly, while the consistency of the powder was very finely-milled and blendable. It stayed on well for eight hours. See comparison swatches / view dupes.

Pretty

LELimited Edition. $17.00.
B+
B+
8.5
Product
8.5
Pigmentation
8.5
Texture
8.5
Longevity
5
Application
87%
Total

Satin Taupe #2

PiPPermanent in Palette. $17.00.
B+
B+
8.5
Product
8.5
Pigmentation
8.5
Texture
8.5
Longevity
5
Application
87%
Total

MAC x Brooke Shields Gravitas Eyeshadow Palette
MAC x Brooke Shields Gravitas Eyeshadow Palette

MAC x Brooke Shields Gravitas Eyeshadow Palette
MAC x Brooke Shields Gravitas Eyeshadow Palette

MAC x Brooke Shields Gravitas Eyeshadow Palette
MAC x Brooke Shields Gravitas Eyeshadow Palette

MAC x Brooke Shields Gravitas Eyeshadow Palette
MAC x Brooke Shields Gravitas Eyeshadow Palette

MAC x Brooke Shields Gravitas Eyeshadow Palette
MAC x Brooke Shields Gravitas Eyeshadow Palette

MAC x Brooke Shields Gravitas Eyeshadow Palette
MAC x Brooke Shields Gravitas Eyeshadow Palette

MAC x Brooke Shields Gravitas Eyeshadow Palette
MAC x Brooke Shields Gravitas Eyeshadow Palette

MAC x Brooke Shields Gravitas Eyeshadow Palette
MAC x Brooke Shields Gravitas Eyeshadow Palette

MAC x Brooke Shields Gravitas Eyeshadow Palette
MAC x Brooke Shields Gravitas Eyeshadow Palette

MAC x Brooke Shields Gravitas Eyeshadow Palette
MAC x Brooke Shields Gravitas Eyeshadow Palette

MAC x Brooke Shields Gravitas Eyeshadow Palette
MAC x Brooke Shields Gravitas Eyeshadow Palette

MAC x Brooke Shields Gravitas Eyeshadow Palette
MAC x Brooke Shields Gravitas Eyeshadow Palette

MAC x Brooke Shields Gravitas Eyeshadow Palette
MAC x Brooke Shields Gravitas Eyeshadow Palette

MAC Pretty Eyeshadow
MAC Pretty Eyeshadow

MAC Pretty Eyeshadow
MAC Pretty Eyeshadow

MAC Soft Brown Eyeshadow
MAC Soft Brown Eyeshadow

MAC Soft Brown Eyeshadow
MAC Soft Brown Eyeshadow

MAC Expensive Pink Eyeshadow
MAC Expensive Pink Eyeshadow

MAC Expensive Pink Eyeshadow
MAC Expensive Pink Eyeshadow

MAC Clove Eyeshadow
MAC Clove Eyeshadow

MAC Clove Eyeshadow
MAC Clove Eyeshadow

MAC Satin Taupe Eyeshadow
MAC Satin Taupe Eyeshadow

MAC Satin Taupe Eyeshadow
MAC Satin Taupe Eyeshadow

MAC Canter Eyeshadow
MAC Canter Eyeshadow

MAC Canter Eyeshadow
MAC Canter Eyeshadow

MAC Luscious Eyeshadow
MAC Luscious Eyeshadow

MAC Luscious Eyeshadow
MAC Luscious Eyeshadow

MAC Antiqued Eyeshadow
MAC Antiqued Eyeshadow

MAC Antiqued Eyeshadow
MAC Antiqued Eyeshadow

MAC Psyche Eyeshadow
MAC Psyche Eyeshadow

MAC Psyche Eyeshadow
MAC Psyche Eyeshadow

MAC Carbon Eyeshadow
MAC Carbon Eyeshadow

MAC Carbon Eyeshadow
MAC Carbon Eyeshadow

MAC Shroom Eyeshadow
MAC Shroom Eyeshadow

MAC Shroom Eyeshadow
MAC Shroom Eyeshadow

MAC Persuade Eyeshadow
MAC Persuade Eyeshadow

MAC Persuade Eyeshadow
MAC Persuade Eyeshadow

MAC Plummed Eyeshadow
MAC Plummed Eyeshadow

MAC Plummed Eyeshadow
MAC Plummed Eyeshadow

MAC Lofty Eyeshadow
MAC Lofty Eyeshadow

MAC Lofty Eyeshadow
MAC Lofty Eyeshadow

MAC Pepper Eyeshadow
MAC Pepper Eyeshadow

MAC Pepper Eyeshadow
MAC Pepper Eyeshadow

MAC Eyeshadow
Luscious (inner lid), Expensive Pink (middle of lid), Antiqued (outer lid), Lofty (crease),
Plummed (crease), Pretty/Shroom (brow bone), Luscious (lower lid), Urban Decay Deep End (eyeliner)

MAC Eyeshadow
Luscious (inner lid), Expensive Pink (middle of lid), Antiqued (outer lid), Lofty (crease),
Plummed (crease), Pretty/Shroom (brow bone), Luscious (lower lid), Urban Decay Deep End (eyeliner)

MAC Eyeshadow
Psyche (inner lid), Satin Taupe (middle of lid), Plummed (outer lid), Persuade (crease), Pepper (crease),
Soft Brown (above crease), Shroom (brow bone), Urban Decay Crave (eyeliner)

MAC Eyeshadow
Psyche (inner lid), Satin Taupe (middle of lid), Plummed (outer lid), Persuade (crease), Pepper (crease),
Soft Brown (above crease), Shroom (brow bone), Urban Decay Crave (eyeliner)

96 Comments

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Mari Avatar

Thanks for the review! I noticed that carbon is not a good black eyeshadow… which black eyeshadow is your favorite?
Ps: Sorry about my english, Im from Brazil. Love your blog, I read everyday!
😉

Christine Avatar

For MAC, it is well-priced (in the world of MAC and what they’ve charged on other palettes, both this size and smaller), but if you consider other brands like Urban Decay, Too Faced, LORAC, etc. then there are lots of options at $50 or so as well! (Not too many at $85!)

impekkable Avatar

Hi, I’d like to know if the quality of the permanent shades is the same as the singles. You have mentioned that a couple of them have a different pigmentation payoff but apart from that would you rather pick the single refills or would they do just as fine(barring Carbon).
I’m happy to have just 8-10 mac shadows but I like the fact that I will get quite a few extra for the same price in the palette and I could still go for a custom 4-pan to choose the rest of the key shades I’d like as long as the quality is at par with the single mac shadows.

Could you tell me how the palette would rate if you didn’t take Carbon into account?
Thanks Christine.

Christine Avatar

It would probably bump it up to a higher B+, maybe an A-?

If you’re really dedicated to MAC eyeshadows, it’s a palette worth considering since it’s cheaper than buying singles. The problem is at $85, there are a lot of palettes at the $50 price point (or a little more) that are better from other brands.

impekkable Avatar

Thank you.
No, not dedicated to MAC, just wanted to see what the shadows are like, being cult and all that. Maybe, I’ll try a custom quad with sketch or deep damson, bronze or antiqued, handwritten or Swiss chocolate, and soba or soft brown.
Might also consider lorac pro 1

impekkable Avatar

I’m definitely going to let you know 🙂
At this moment, I’m considering either the Mac Gravitas palette or the Lorac Pro 1 and a Mac custom quad.
If you had to pick one of the above two options for wear time and wearability and warm colours, what would you pick (custom quad could have anything you like)?
Does wear time include colour remaining true to original over time in your review (it probably does)?
Thanks.

Mocha Avatar

You knoooow…I shouldn’t want this since I have a bunch of similar colors and far too many neutral palettes to only have two eyes….but I do. LOL!

Meghan Avatar

I think the palette looks gorgeous, although I missed out & won’t be hunting it down. However I can’t understand how carbon gets into every palette. MAC should just give it up already – it’s like they’re trying to unload a bad product onto customers with every new release!

Andrea Avatar

I’ve gone through 4 or 5 pans of satin taupe in my life. And everytime I see it, I feel the same way. Gosh, I love that shade… Then I pick it up and realize… Yep! Satin Taupe alright.

Mariella Avatar

I also have Shroom as a single and I was always unhappy with it (Stila Starlight is so much better; Shroom, despite its icon status, is disappointing) so it’s nice to read they’ve made it better in this palette. I’m wondering if “Satin Taupe #2” is so numbered to distinguish is from the original (much like some of the pigments – there’s Naked and then Naked Deep came out). It looks lovely. The combo of too many orangey shades, shades I already have and CARBON make this a “no way” for me though I wonder if Satin Taupe 2 might be released as a single (I’d like that).

Christine Avatar

I’ve added the number myself, just because I really think it is too drastic of a departure from the permanent single, so that it’ll have its own entry in our database (with its own dupes, because the dupes for the shade as it swatches in this palette are definitely different than the ones for the single!). I don’t know why it’s so much lighter in the palette!

Mariella Avatar

Oh my – I thought it was MAC’s own designation but good call, Christine. It actually looks like a very nice colour (though nothing like the “real” Satin Taupe) which probably explains why I’ve got dupes! (g)

Deb Avatar

I wish there was as much difference between my Satin Taupes as there are yours; this new one is only very faintly lighter, and only if I look in good natural light. I bought my Satin Taupe single about a year ago; I wonder if they’ve been adjusting the formula over time? I’d have loved two very different versions.

Helene Avatar

I’ll have to see how much this palette will be here, but I do want it. I’ve been holding Antiqued and Soft Brown thinking that I must have them, specially Antqued. I only have two of the shadows already, and they are favourites that gets a lot of use.
I really love Pepper and Plummed and apart from dear old Carbon all the shades did quite well in the grading. Oh, and I don’t have Carbon 🙂

xamyx Avatar

$115 on eBay isn’t that bad, all things considered, LOL! I think I’d actually pay that amount… There are some shades in here that I really like, and a few others I’ve considered picking up, so even at $115, I’d really have to consider it! The funny thing is, I haven’t touched my MAC shadows in 2+ years…

Hex Avatar

Honey I bought it IN STORE for just over $115 with tax here in Canada. If I were selling it on eBay, which i’m considering, I calculated that I would want at least $210 to make a good profit. That’s still under what someone here would pay for 15 individual eyeshadows + tax + the price of a palette + the palette insert. I don’t think I would be regretting the purchase if i got it for $85 like in the US but for the price I payed i’m definitely regretting it. There’s like 3 shades I’m never gonna touch: expensive pink, luscious and antiqued. Not to mention carbon which sucks here, and I already have as a single. I also already have Satin Taupe. I should’ve just got a UDNaked2 which I’ve wanted forever. I also want to try to hunt down the MUFE 30 years 30 Artists 30 Eyeshadow palette if I can.

ana isabel Avatar

i don´t know, I have mixed feelings about this one,…in my opinion, it doesn’t have anything special, nothing that i haven´t seen before from mac..(but plummed and pepper looks cute though), it has just a few new shades :S and the packaging seems old fashioned to me….

Marlene guzman Avatar

Great review but I still can’t decide if I want to get it althought I do want it. I don’t have many mac eye shadows other than the Malificent pallette and Swiss chocolate single. I’m relatively new to high end makeup, maybe a year into collecting and I have some great palettes already(lorac 1&2, urban decay 1&3 and both small naked ones, chocolate bar and some other small ones) Problem is I’ve been lusting after makeup geek eye shadows. I wouldn’t mind spending the money on this Mac palette as I love the shades and it’s a great deal for Mac but does my collection NEED it? HELP!!!! I really so want it and I need to up my color range.

Sam Avatar

Honestly, I have too many neutral palettes but this palette is calling my name. arrggghhh. I am waiting for it to hit the store to grab one and swatch them in store before I commit but its pretty likely that this baby is coming home with me. Have you tried applying carbon wet?

Juliana Glumac Avatar

This launched online in Australia yesterday so maybe it will be in stores next. If people think it’s expensive in the US, it is much more expensive here. The Gravitis pallette is $195.00. Crazy!

Kari Avatar

i bought this on the mac launch day and it just arrived today! i’m so excited to use it. i only have four mac shadows, with one being permanent (typographic, ironically lol) so i’m happy to have some of the most loved~ perm. eyeshadows now. i’ve only swatched a few but so far they all seem lovely- but i haven’t gotten to carbon yet haha i’m scared…

Joanna Avatar

I might consider this if I didn’t already have a bunch of the permanent shades as singles. I wish they’d release singles of Pepper, Lofty, Psyche, Canter and the rest of them. The non-permanent ones are pretty fantastic.

The Satin Taupe change is weird- they’ve done this a few times, and I don’t get it. Satin Taupe is one of their best sellers. People will notice the difference. Just call it a new shade with a new name. A new, non-permanent shade is more incentive to buy, no?

xamyx Avatar

I’ve been contemplating going back to something similar to my natural hair color, which is a deep auburn, and if I land this palette, it may give me the push I need, LOL! I plan on dropping by my local Macy’s/MAC counter this week, so fingers crossed!

About Carbon, I’ve been thinking about it a bit over the last few days, and I wonder if its texture/formula is actually *intentional*, that it’s designed to be more of a “blending” shade (ala NARS Daphne, Outremer), just to intensify other crease shadows, and making it softer would make it too pigmented & messier…

Vivian Avatar

This palette is so beautiful! I love the slight rosy hues in some of the colors. I also love the amount of matte colors. Some palettes just can’t get the right shimmer to matte ratio!

Rachel R. Avatar

I’m so on the fence with this. I don’t own a lot of MAC. The MAC shadows I do own are brights, so it would be nice to try the neutrals. I do own a lot of neutrals from other brands, but not as warm as these. It’s a lot of money, but a great deal as opposed to buying separately. Decisions, decisions, decisions…

fancie Avatar

I really wish MAC would stop including Carbon in every palette. It just brings the value down lol. Overall, this palette looks great though! If it manages to stick around on Nordstrom for a little bit I’ll eventually snap it up. I don’t need it but it has a lot of nice colors and all the perm shades (minus Carbon) were on my shopping list anyway

zFashionizta Avatar

I got my palette and although I love most of the colors in it I would love to swap out the orange shades.

Do any of you think I can remove the shadows that I do not want without ruining the pallette?

We try to approve comments within 24 hours (and reply to them within 72 hours) but can sometimes get behind and appreciate your patience! 🙂 If you have general feedback, product review requests, off-topic questions, or need technical support, please contact us directly. Thank you for your patience!