MAC Semi Precious, part 1

MAC has a great big collection launching on July 4th. It’s called Semi Precious and it is all about the minerals. Because the collection is large (and the MSFs were a little more difficult to track down), I’m going to break this collection into two posts. Part 2 will be up tomorrow.

I thought we could start by talking about the totally amazing new mineralize eyeshadows, the lips, and the brushes in this collection.

MAC has come such a long way with their mineralize shadows. Three years ago, mineralize shadows could be chunky, glittery, and sometimes needed a little extra help to adhere to your skin. MAC has really improved the formula since those days, and these shadows are dazzling. I swatched these dry, without any kind of base or primer, and I couldn’t believe the smooth texture, the complexity, and pigmentation they delivered.

Mineral Mode is a frosty pink (that reflects white/silver). Unsurpassable is a complex, dirty sea green (sea blue-green) with blue and gold sparkles. Jade’s Fortune is a somewhat-sheer grey-blue-purple with tiny multicolored purple-blue-gold-green sparkles. Hint of Sapphire is periwinkle (light blue-purple) with tiny multicolored blue-pink-purple sparkles. Clarity looks like a butterfly’s wing in the pan, and is just as magical on the skin. It’s somewhat sheer, blue-grey with green and blue sparkles. It conceptually reminded me of the second shade in the Surf the Ocean pigment stack; grey at one angle, magical fairy green at another.

Golden Gaze is a very smooth, frosty antiqued (browned, almost olive) metallic gold. Faux Gold is orange shimmer with tiny gold multicolored sparkles. Quartz Fusion is bright pink frost with slightly bigger silver sparkles. Rare Find is purple taupe shimmer with tiny multicolored sparkles. Blue Sheen is insane. It’s intense, smooth sapphire shimmer. It looks like one solid color, but in sunlight you can see it’s full of tiny blue and pink sparkles. Dark Indulgence is an intense, blackened green shimmer. Smoked Ruby is a smooth, deep, red-brown frost. Each of these is $20.

There are four lipsticks ($14.50 each). Lush Amber is a sheer warm beige pink. I found the color to be nudifying, but sheer on my lips. Gem of Roses is flamingo pink. One of a Kind is a sheer berry mauve. Musky Amethyst is deep red-wine-purple with red sparkles.

There are five Cremesheen Glass lipglosses ($18.50 each). Pure Magnificence is milky white-pink. Natural Flare is nude peach tan with tiny shimmers. Geo Pink is red coral with tiny shimmers. Looks Like Sin (a repromote) is browned red berry, or raisin rose. Richly Revered is browned purple berry, or browned plum.

Oh. Em. Gee. The brushes. MAC created four limited edition brushes for this collection, and I could have stood in the store petting them all day — they are so ludicrously soft and lovely. Like Batman villain Two-Face, each one is one thing on one side and something else on the other.

The natural hairs are for powder products; the synthetic are for wet/cream products (but hey, use them as you see fit!) — both are super soft. For a closer look at the head shape of each brush, click to view the image at full size.

The 234 is a long-ish shadow/concealer brush (whose shape reminds me most of the 194 concealer brush, I think). It’s $22.50.

The 235 is an eyeshadow laydown brush, $30.

The 128 is a blush brush, slightly smaller and denser than the 129 blush brush. It’s $32.

The 179 is an angled buffer, $47.

Tomorrow: part 2 of the collection!