MAC Big Bounce Shadow Review, Swatches, Photos
I’ve been muddling around with a few shades of the new MAC Big Bounce Shadows from the MAC Flighty Collection. Yesterday I wore a shade out and today I’m wearing another shade.
I think I’m about ready to share my thoughts here…
Take a look!
A luminescent wash of shadow with a whipped mousse cream texture available in sixteen shades.
There’s no real definition for Big Bounce Shadows. It’s an eyeshadow, it’s a color wash, it’s an eye gloss….you can’t really define it in my humblest opinion.
The formula isn’t really a whipped mousse in my opinion as mousse has a certain density to it and these are pure thick liquid joy. The texture is a thicker creamier metallic paint-like substance. An artist would have a field day using these to paint with as the shades are so vibrant and gorgeous and the formula is oh so thick and creamy.
The shades I tried were:
- The Cool Elite (White with Silver Pearl)
- Up the Ante (Copper with Gold and Silver Pearl)
- Reward Yourself (Bright Peach Coral with Gold Pearl)
- Spread the Wealth (Dirty Olive with Gold Pearl)
- Count Your Assets (Ric Blue Purple with Multicolor Pearls)
If you start playing around and swatching them you’ll instantly fall in love with the unique formula. They swatch amazingly well and have a super pigmented finish with a liquid metal-like effect with plenty of shimmer and sparkle in the mix. They swatch extra nicely but this is oh so deceiving…
I actually disliked them in a major way sadly even though I really wanted to love them. Please keep in mind this is my experience with the product and you might find results differ when you try them but the fact is they remain wet for far too long to easily work with.
I started off by applying a touch of color to my lids with my finger and blending out. They slip and slide badly around my dry eyes so I can imagine what they’ll be like on oily lids. The color is so emollient that it’s difficult to get it to show up on the lid because of the formula chasing around the lid as you blend out. You’ll notice patchy skin areas with no coverage if you blend too much and the formula proves difficult to build up because it remains dewy to the touch for so very long with hardly any dry time. You can head into an hour of wear and the finish still seems to remain tacky and dewy to the touch.
If you apply with a shadow brush you work the color onto your lid a bit easier and pat it into place but I find this method a chore and again the formula is too thick and wet to apply with a patting motion as it migrates around a hell of alot when patted into place.
For the most part they act more like an eye gloss or a wash of some sort and are extremely messy to work with. Most of the finishes have a high pearl/pigment content that reflects shimmery and glittery when blended out so building up color can result in a disco ball effect.
In my swatch photos (I took alot of swatches photos so you could see the finish and overall formula of the product) I applied a ton on my arm so you can get a feel for the texture and I also blended them out so you get a better feel for the shades. If they applied as well as they swatched I’d be a happy camper but sadly the formula proves really difficult to work with my in experience with them so far.
- Anyone who likes a sheer wash of color on lids.
- Anyone who likes working with eye glosses.
- Anyone who likes exploring new, unique shadow options!
- Anyone who’s in a rush in the morning to get their makeup on (these take time, effort, and know how to get into place correctly).
- Anyone who wants a cream shadow that dries down and makes a good base for powder (the dry down seems like it never happens here).
- Anyone with oily lids (they slip, slide, and migrate all over the place on dry lids, I imagine they’ll prove even worst for oily lids).
Mind you, I’m no expert at working with a medium like this but in my experience with the product they just seem a big old chore to get into place correctly. The formula is just too thick to work with and I find it really difficult to get them into place correctly so you actually see any color pay off. In my tries with the shades I ended up with a sheer wash of color that had a ton of sparkle and shimmer to it and in some cases I ended up with the skin showing on my lid since they blended out so badly. Patting color into place is an option but I find that the dry down is incredibly long or just not happening but maybe I’m doing something wrong here.
I’ll continue playing with these because the idea is unique and interesting but so far I call disappointment.