July 12, 2011

MAC Colourizations Pro Palette Eyeshadow Review, Swatches, Photos

Show of hands who’s excited about MAC Colourizations?

This is a selection of eight Pro Palette Eyeshadows that contain two shades of shadow each.

At first I wasn’t particularly excited about these as I was thinking Suite Array which was great packaging but really a poor formula. However, flash forward and the idea of a dual shadow palette that included two full size MAC Shadows at quite a nice price…well, I was quickly convinced these sounded like a treat.

Let’s take a look and find out the real details!

Ummmm…

Maybe I’m nuts or too much makeup passes by my desk lately but I’m not particularly thrilled with my once beloved MAC lately as the formula on products seems to somehow have changed. Could be me though.

The Colourizations Pro Palettes seem to be lacking something. The formula varies from shadow to shadow and finish to finish and some of the shades lack pigment plus the ease of use and blendability just isn’t up to par with the normal MAC Eyeshadow range in my opinion.

I find it irritating that MAC kinda copped out by simply naming these “Double Feature 1, 2, 3…” and so on and so fourth. I’d have liked individual names for the shadows. I’m positive some of these shades look like they could be in my stash already so I wonder if the “Double Feature” namesakes are a clever little mask to keep us from checking our current collections for shades we already own.

The finishes on these vary with a mix of matte, veluxe pearl, frost, and satin so it’s a mixed bag of formulas and you can choose your favorite finish but the problem is you’d never know which is which since MAC fails to label the boxes with the finishes. So you can either A. depend on your own knowledge of finishes and go to the counter to haul. B. Hope your MA knows her finishes. or C. Check references online prior to heading to your counter. As I mentioned above the formula varies so I felt like some of the mattes were a tad on the chalky side where as other finishes had excellent color pay off but a formula that blended very patchy and uneven.

Another thing that threw me for a curve ball are the shade pairings. I’m not very good at cocktailing colors and I depend on either inspiration from brands for my pairings or my favorite beauty blogs. Personally I felt like these had some rather odd pairings that I couldn’t really work.

  • Double Feature 1

This duo contains a bright buttery yellow (veluxe pearl) and an aubergine purple (frost). I really love this this duo as it works fabulously on my brown eyes. The yellow shade blends beautifully however the purple blends patchy.

  • Double Feature 2

This duo contains a bright lime green (veluxe pearl) and a stormy grey (frost). The lime green is buttery and blends lovely however the grey is a rather interesting frost as it feels almost semi-matte to me as shows poorer pigmentation due to this.

  • Double Feature 3

This duo contains a mid tone teal (matte) and a deep chocolate (satin). Both of these shades have a poorer formula as they blend patchy and I had a very difficult time building color up.

  • Double Feature 4

This duo has a deep forest green (veluxe pearl) and a beige-y brown (matte). I find the green blends out beautifully and yields excellent color pay off but the matte proves a irritating to work with.

  • Double Feature 5

This duo contains a frosty peach (frost) and a dark brown green pearl (frost).

  • Double Feature 7

This duo contains a bright fuchsia (frost) and a cool toned black (satin). Again we suffer one shade working great and the other not so much. The fuchsia has a soft formula that blends easily where as the cooler black feels semi-matte to me and applies patchy on lids.

  • Double Feature 8

This duo contains a fiery orange (frost) and a deeper navy (satin). Both shades have a hard texture and definitely do not feel like the MAC normal range as they are hard and yield very little color payoff without press hard into the pan.

I can’t say I’m particularly thrilled with any of these. I want to rave them rather badly but overall they just don’t seem to be doing the trick for me. MAC makes some superior eyeshadows but I fail to see that formula in any of the Colourization Pro Palettes.

It’s a mixed bag of product here with a disappointing formula. You might be tempted by the two full size shadows at $25 each though which would normally set you back $14.50 each but I doubt that makes up for a formula that’s sadly lacking.

MAC Colourizations hits stores August 4th, 2011.

I’m very eager to hear your thoughts on these after you’ve tried them as maybe I’m the nitpicky one here.

Note: This post will be updated with more images shortly.

About the Muse

Isabella MuseIsabella is just an average everyday geeky girl who doesn’t blend her eyeshadow correctly, wears too much blush, and hopes she never finds her holy grail products because she likes the thrill of the chase so much. Her mission is to bring you super honest reviews on makeup, skincare, fragrance and all things beauty. She’s in no way an expert on the topic and she sure as hell isn’t a super model. But she’s passionate about makeup and is seeking like-minded individuals that like pina coladas, getting caught in the rain, and ones that enjoy spending hundreds of dollars at Sephora without feeling buyer’s remorse. If you’re that person feel free to reach out and leave a comment or follow me on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and Bloglovin‘.

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Comments

  • Wendy

    I’m having dreams of the chartreuse and bright pink playing on my eyelids… but $50 for two eyeshadows? Meh. I wish they released these in pan form and you could pair them how you wanted.

      • Wendy

        I should have clarified, I meant I would need to pay $50 to get the two shades I want together LOL

        • the Muse

          ooo sorry ;-D gotcha ;D! the shades are all offbeat to me…mismatched…or maybe I lack creativity

  • Dana

    I think most of these look really shabby and not MAC like at all. Very cheap and I agree with the mismatched shades. Not to sound like MAC has a conspiracy, but maybe they mismatched so people would buy more duos for the single colors that want in each. ; ) ha.

  • Misato-san

    i like feature 1 and 3 but I will skip this collection for sure because it lacks of… consistency and vibrancy. those shades are really common to me, and in its permanent range MAC owns other versions that are better than these for sure!

  • Telle

    I am with Musebeliever…I am also generally not hugely thrilled with Mac this year…I would have likes another collection like digipops…maybe the holiday collections will be something to squeal over

  • MRSB

    Maybe I’m nuts! I actually liked this collection. I bought DF 4 and DF 7. I love the color combos and I’m thinking about buying more. I like the combos because I don’t have to think about combos. I truly wanted 6 of the 8. Hmmm….maybe I should rethink this, but I do love them. To each their own I guess…LOL!

    • the Muse

      I’m glad to hear it MRSB def to each his/her own ;-D sometimes stuff works for others that doesn’t for me and vice versa ;-D enjoy them hun!