I have been using MAC for close to 20 years. It was a little niche brand back then, and way ahead of its time. The counter girls (and some boys) were outrageously made up, and I would feel a cross of desire and fear to visit the counter. Everyone looked so glam, so chic and so put together… I felt dowdy and unworthy even though I myself worked in a beauty department. That was also a long time ago when a drug store carried only drug store makeup… many things have changed since then my Foxy Friends! If you are a Canadian reader, or visit Canada, you will know that our drug stores have staggering beauty departments that fulfill all of you beauty wishes!

I ventured into MAC more often once a good friend started working there. My addiction was Studio Fix Powder in C20. I went though one every two weeks and often looked almost doll-like with my thick layer of base…. I loved that look and it is definitely one that you can only rock before any fine lines or wrinkles start to set in, so I am glad I wore it in my youth.

Over the years I have tried almost every product they have, and often return to replenish. I guess recently though, MAC fell off of my radar as more and more new niche brands have been popping up all over the internet. Then, someone I know that works at MAC offered their new eyeshadow palettes for me to try out. I welcomed the gesture as I had just been thinking that week how my eye shadow collection was going either too old or too boring or too colourful (I know… first world problems strike again). 

Imagine my delight when the palettes arrived! This absolute angel sent me not one, not two, but THREE of their new palettes to try out!!! That would be 39 NEW eyeshadows in total! Oh boy did I need this… I had been busy having two babies in an 18 month span and so much of my creativity and zest for beauty products had been put on the back-burner while I figured out how to keep the tiny humans alive and quiet.

So, to get you up to speed on what I received (as per MAC website desciptions):

• Purple Times Nine – This well-edited palette features a colour wave of petite purple hues that offer countless shade combinations. It provides an array of textures from matte to satin to frost for creating a variety of looks for both day and night. The saturated, soft and smooth hues are all packaged in one compact for easy portability. Retails $48 CAD, value of $63.

• Eye Shadow X 15: Cool Neutral – An Eye Shadow Palette in fifteen cool shades: Flounce, Sweet Allure, Sun Tweaked, Blackberry, After Dusk, Pick Me Up, Crushed Clove, Cozy Grey, Deception, Brun, Silver Fog, French Clay, Cumulus, Pearled Earth and Black Tied. The highly pigmented powder formula applies evenly, blends and builds beautifully. Retails $99 CAD, value of $192.

• Eye Shadow X 15: Warm Neutral – An Eye Shadow Palette in fifteen warm shades: Hey, Warm Breeze, Gingersnap, Dark Brew, Dance in the Dark, Brule Vanilla Extract, Honey Lust, Amber Lights, Saddle, Lemon Tart, Butterfudge, Creative Copper, Unwind and Divine Decadence. The highly pigmented powder formula applies evenly, blends and builds beautifully. Retails $99 CAD, value of $192.

The gold I used in the corner here looked awful on camera, but cool in real life

Immediately I am drawn to the purples. I looooove to wear purples and they look so good with my eye colour. They make my hazel eyes POP and purples pick up on my flecks of green. I have to confess something that I am slightly devastated by though… I have an aversion to purple eye products. Something about the pigment cause my eyes to start to tear and get a little red, and the longer I leave them on, the more intense the ouch factor gets. I was truly hoping that these ones would be different, or that perhaps I had outgrown my sensitivity. Alas, I had not. I played with this palette one day and it looked so pretty, but by the end of day my eyes were telling me “no-go”. Sigh…. at least I tried.

This is a rare soft look for me, and I loved it. Wish I could wear purples!

Full disclosure: I tried them more than once to make sure. These two photos represent two looks I created with them.

That said, this palette of 9 shadows also comes in three other collections with the focus on Amber, Navy and Burgundy. The pans are slightly smaller than a normal MAC eyeshadow, but unless it’s a favourite you never use up a whole pan anyhow. At $48 these are great little collections with a range of intensities and textures in each palette, and I would not hesitate to pick up all four. They are a great way to get a ton of colour options that you can use on their own or pair with neutrals.

Did someone say neutrals? Yes, I know that was me and my obvious segue to discuss the Warm Neutral and Cool Neutral palettes. First of all, these babies have 15 eyeshadows in each one! This is ahhhh-mazing! As far as I am concerned they are both MUST HAVES for any artist kit, and I think the average person should have at least one of these. You can create ENDLESS looks and even use them in conjunction with any pops of colour you want. I love that there are shimmers and mattes, and the only thing I would change is to have more mattes in the Neutral Warm, but that’s just me.

These larger collections are simply stunning and I wish they had created these years ago. I would have saved a ton of money over choosing all the individual shades myself and paying full price for each one. I am so impressed with MAC for releasing “value sets” that give the avid purchaser a chance to get something extra.

NOTE: Not posting pics of me wearing the neutral palettes at this time as going forward you will be seeing a lot of them! If you follow me on Facebook or Instagram all of my latest looks are created using one of the neutral palettes.

So it’s you turn now Foxes, have you tried any of these MAC palettes yet? Do you have a fave eye shadow palette already? Do tell….