MAC Cham Pale Initial Swatches and Review Part I: Special Reserve Highlight Powder, Caviar Dreams Eye Shadow Palette and Paint Pots

For MAC Champ Pale Initial Swatches and Review Part II: Lipstick, Lip Gelee, Complete Comfort Creme and Lip Conditioner SPF 15, CLICK HERE.

For MAC Cham Pale Additional Swatches (under sunlight), CLICK HERE.











Here is the first installment of swatches and review of the MAC Cham Pale collection. I know it's been a long time coming, I apologize as I had been out of town. I'm now busy playing catch up!

Special Reserve Highlight Powder


Rose Olé, Chez Chez Lamé

See swatches and review after the jump




This is an interesting new highlighter from MAC. It was made to look like crumpled silk sheets to my eyes. I believe the sheen of this product is in between that of the mineralize skinfinish (MSF) and the beauty powder. It is not as metallic as the MSF, so this is good news for those who are not comfortable with too much metallic frost. However, it is not a soft sheen like that of the beauty powder. It still has that obvious sheen, but not as frosty as that of the MSF. If I compare it to both the MSF and the beauty powder, however, the Special Reserve Highlight Powder (SRHP) would be closer to the beauty powder in terms of shimmer and finish.


Rose Olé





Rose Olé is beautiful. It is a soft pink highlight with gold shimmer that is not metallic so it is perfect for a soft shimmer on the cheekbones or anywhere you need highlighting.


Chez Chez Lamé



Chez Chez Lamé is a soft gold with silver shimmer which is probably a more universal shade than Rose Olé, as it can suit both cooler and warm skintones. The softness of the sheen would be a real hit.


Rose Olé, Chez Chez Lamé









The Shades Of U Rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars

Caviar Dreams Eyeshadow Palette





Brule, Retrospeck
Et tu, Bouquet?, Caviar Dreams

 




Brule, Retrospeck
Et tu, Bouquet?, Caviar Dreams









True to the theme of this collection, this eyeshadow quad features champagne-colored shades and includes a pink-tinged shimmer and a pewter crease color. I am kinda glad that they included one satin shade, Brule (a soft creamy beige) to balance the shimmer of the other eyeshadows. I have Brule in a pan which is a part of the permanent line. I use this to blend gradient colors to show seamless transition from lighter to darker colors.

Et Tu, Bouquet? is a repromote from the A Rose Romance collection. It is a frosted pale pink gold. Retrospeck is a beached blonde frost which is not a favorite because it has very little color payoff. My favorite shade from this quad is Caviar Dreams because it is the perfect neutral crease color for me - a dirty frosted pewter that looks amazing as an outer lid shade.

At first, I really wasn't impressed with this quad, mainly because there were two shades from the permanent line, Retrospeck and Brule. However, I used the quad with one of the paint pots underneath (I used Vintage Selection), and the colors really popped. They became a lot more vibrant and pigmented with the paint pot as base. I guess if you want to maximize this palette's potential, do not forget to use a colored base underneath to make the shades come to life.

The Shades Of U Rating: 4.0 out of 5 stars

Paint Pots

 






Dangerous Cuvee, Vintage Selection




Dangerous Cuvee


Vintage Selection


Dangerous Cuvee, Vintage Selection







I have tried two paint pots from this collection, Dangerous Cuvee and Vintage Selection. These are frosted paint pots, which is good if you don't want your paint pots to dry up pretty quickly, as my cream/matte ones dried up way too fast. Dangerous Cuvee is a frosted cool grey that seems to have some blue undertones to my eyes. It is great with smokey eyes and even neutrals. Vintage Selection is a frosted dirty peach that pretty much goes with anything. I used this paint pot as base for my eyeshadows from the Caviar Dreams palette, and it really made the shadows apply like a dream and the colors more vibrant.

All in all, I am liking the products from this collection, especially the Special Reserve Highlight Powder and the paint pots. I wasn't too impressed with the color payoff of two of the shades from the Caviar Dreams palette, but the paint pots as base tremendously improved the color payoff.

The Shades Of U Rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars

Watch out for Part II of the swatches and review.

Note: Media samples were provided by a representative of the company for consideration and evaluation. All opinions are 100% mine.