November 19, 2014

MAC Keepsakes Eyeshadow Palette Review & Swatches

This was provided to me by a brand for review and I receive a small commission if you shop using the links in this post but all opinions are my own.

MAC Keepsakes Eyeshadow Palette1

As with year’s past we get new, limited edition Holiday 2014 Eyeshadow Palettes from MAC. The MAC Keepsakes Eyeshadow Palette is the traditional MAC Holiday Eyeshadow Palette with six shades of eyeshadow that we get ever year. The thing about the Holiday eyeshadow palettes is they are not only affordable but also house a nice selection of shadows that pair up well together. However, after a while they actually become a little repetitive from year after year if you purchase them every season.

I’ve always loved them but unfortunately quality has gone downhill in recent releases and I think if the rest of the shade selections in this release is as bad as the MAC Keepsakes Eyeshadow Smoky Eyes Eyeshadow Palette you might be able to skip ’em!

MAC Keepsakes Palette

MAC Keepsakes Eyeshadow Palette2

MAC Keepsakes Shadow Palette

I’ve only tried the Smokey Eyes color selection in this release. There are a few others to choose from so don’t base this review on all the palettes because who knows the other shades might just be better. But….as I said…MAC has gone down considerably in quality with some of these palettes.

MAC Keepsakes Eyeshadow Palette6

MAC Keepsakes Eyeshadow Palette7

The MAC Keepsakes Smoky Eyes Eyeshadow Palette comes housed in a gorgeous sparkly white and black compact. I mentioned in a few of my MAC Holiday 2014 reviews how much I love this year’s packaging with the cute Victorian Cameo that’s embedded in each compact or gift box. Unfortunately I hated this compact. It’s very difficult to open and the border of pearls that surrounds the palette is very loose and will likely fall off at some point if you open and close it open. For some reason you really need to dig a nail under the ridge of the compact to get it to open because the clasp adorned with the MAC logo is useless to pop the palette open. I dunno if this is a fluke or if all the Keepsakes Eyeshadow Palettes are like this but it deserved mentioning!

The Smoky Eyes Palette is more a neutral selection of shades versus a more traditional smoky eye look. You get pretty shades of copper, beige, lighter browns, tans, taupes. There is a black and a shimmery white shade which can be considered more traditional smoky colors but seem a little out of place with the other warmer shades here. There are both limited and permanent shades in this palette but the permanent shades are in no way as wonderfully formulated as their full size versions.

MAC Keepsakes Eyeshadow Palette

MAC Keepsakes Eyeshadow Palette (Smokey Eyes)

MAC Keepsakes Eyeshadow Palette swatches

MAC Keepsakes Eyeshadow Palette Swatches (Carbon, Forgery, Divine Rule, Nobel Spirit)

MAC Keepsakes Palette swatches

MAC Keepsakes Eyeshadow Palette Swatches (Satin Taupe, Fancy Dress, Kid, Honey Lust)

You get eight shades total here and aside from maybe one or two colors I thought all of them were dry, dense, and applied patchy. Pigment is ok on the shades but I felt they applied poorly and sheerer out considerably one on my eye. Honestly, there isn’t a ton of redeeming qualities in the formula here and you can definitely see MAC did something or another different with the formulation because this simply isn’t how MAC Eyeshadows perform, feel, or apply.

Again, I haven’t tried any of the other MAC Keepsakes Eyeshadow Palettes but I sure do hope they are better than the Smoky Eyes ones because this is a total skip and disappointment!

The MAC Keepsakes Eyeshadow Palettes are available now on counters or online at Nordstrom.com.

Did you purchase any of the palettes?

What was your experience?

This was provided to me by a brand for review and I receive a small commission if you shop using the links in this post but all opinions are my own.

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

  • Sjofna

    I think these palettes look so pretty, but I’ve seen a couple other reviews that had the same thing to say about them. Disappointing, but thank you for your honest opinion and swatches; I always look forward to your reviews.

  • Emma

    When you find a product like this disappointing do you take it back or keep it? 🙂

  • Emily

    This is gorgeous!! I love the shades, but could you recommend a different palette with shades relatively close to this with better quality? thanks!!

    • Isabella Muse

      Urban Decay Naked is a good place to start, plenty of great taupes, browns, golds, coppers!

      • Genevieve

        I would agree with this – UD Naked or Lorac Pro 1 are both excellent for neutrals. UD Naked 2 is more cool toned -if that is what you like.

    • kimmyyy

      Also, just in case you’re interested in a cheaper option (but still great quality), you could try out the Coastal Scents Revealed palette! 🙂

  • Genevieve

    This seems to be the trend Isabella – so many of biggest brands are offering substandard products for maximum prices. All in neutrals too. I am wondering whether the urge to put out so many products per season is seeing them skimp on the quality. The latest UD, Tarte, MAC etc have been ordinary. Such a shame.
    Thank you for your honest reviews Isabella, it saves us all a lot of money!

    • Isabella Muse

      aw my pleasure and I agree. There’s been a lot of bigger palette items launching with sub par formulas from bigger brands lately!!!!!!

  • barbara

    I was so excited when I saw that these were going to be released as I own NOT ONE mac item. I thought this would be a great way to try some of their products for less. I bought all 3 eyeshadow palettes and both face palettes from the keepsakes collection the morning they were released. When the package arrived I thought the heavens would open up when I opened them, but sadly I was SOOOOO let down by ALL 5 of them. Shadows were very dry, powdery, and didn’t apply well. The plum shades were patchy. The face kit has 2 highlighters in it. one cream and one powder that doesn’t even show up. The only thing good out of any of them was the lipstick, which I couldn’t justify keeping a 50 dollar face palette for 2 small lipsticks I had to apply with a brush. I kept them for 3 weeks, using them everyday trying different primer and really trying to talk myself into liking them in some way so I could keep them, but I finally just had to say to myself, will I miss these if I didn’t have them, and the answer was NO, I would never have pulled them out to want to use them as they sucked big time. I even called MAC and the Nordstrom beauty line to see if I maybe got a dud or something and they both said that they were great products. well I don’t know who they are fooling but elf eyeshadows are better than these were. Sorry MAC. I so wanted the gravitis palette, but it sold out before I could even blink, maybe next time. I know this is a long comment but when I saw what Muse wrote I was very excited to see it wasn’t just me who felt this way.

    • Isabella Muse

      aw barbara I’m so sorry! at one time the mac holiday palettes were simply amazing but quality has gone down hill considerably. I am so so sorry! Both Nordstrom and MAC have an excellent return policy so if you purchased from either you should return them and get your $$ back! So sorry 🙁

  • barbara

    I did get them through Nordstrom, and I hated to return them but I did. I forgot to say that I also got the brush set in extra dimension. I was a little disappointed it was travel size, I was expecting regular size brushes, but I ended up keeping them as they do work good, they are cool looking, and I wanted at least something from the collection. LOL. I was looking at the 15 pan eyeshadow palette in warm neutral. It looks nice. Do you have any advice on this one?

    • Isabella Muse

      I haven’t tried the 15 pan! I was going to buy it when it but I was a little scared to do so and be disappointed so I skipped it. Typically I like their travel size brushes but those too have been going down hill lately although this year I was happy with the set I tried 😀