MAC Semi-Precious: Mineralize Eyeshadows

MAC's Semi-Precious collection sees the release of twelve new and limited edition shades of Mineralize Eyeshadow, of which I got eight. The Mineralize products in the Semi-Precious collection feature the use of four new finely milled gems to bring new colour and dimension: bronzite (golden-bronze), pyrite (golden), lepidolite (lilac), and tourmaline (black). They are housed in regular black packaging with clear lids. Each Mineralize Skinfinish contains 2 grams of product and retails for $23.50.

Clockwise (from bottom): Blue Sheen, Dark Indulgence, Smoked Ruby, and Golden Gaze

Blue Sheen, Dark Indulgence, Golden Gaze, and Smoked Ruby

Blue Sheen is a blend of navy, black, and golden peach. When swirled together, it's a dark navy blue with a violet sheen. The pigmentation and colour pay-off are decent, though perhaps slightly patchy going on initially. This shade will show up more vibrantly and bluer when used wet. It is similar to Deep Truth, but darker and with a violet edge.

Dark Indulgence is a blend of forest green and black, and looks exactly like what you think it would when swirled together, a blackened forest green. The pigmentation and colour pay-off are excellent, and there isn't much of a difference in terms of colour when used dry or wet, though perhaps the metallic sheen will be more pronounced when used wet. There's nothing really similar in the permanent eyeshadow line-up; the closest would be Humid, but much, much darker.

Golden Gaze is a blend of gold and black. When swirled together, it's a dark molten antique gold. The pigmentation and colour pay-off is phenomenal here, and it looks exactly the same when used wet or dry. I found that this shade was the best of the bunch: applied smooth and evenly and blends very well. There's nothing similar to this in the permanent eyeshadow line-up; it's like a much, much darker version of Woodwinked. It's also similar to Gilt by Association Mineralize Eyeshadow from the Style Black collection in 2009, but much smoother and more pigmented.

Smoked Ruby is a blend of burgundy and black. When mixed together, it's a blackened brown with a burgundy-brown sheen. The pigmentation and colour pay-off is excellent, and looks exactly the same when used wet or dry. It does apply smoothly and evenly, though it's a little less blendable than Golden Gaze. There isn't anything similar to this in the permanent eyeshadow line-up; perhaps if Embark was deeper and more metallic. It's a darker version of Spectacle of Yourself Mega Metal Eyeshadow from Peacocky.

Clockwise (from bottom): Faux Gold, Rare Find, Clarity, and Quartz Fusion

Faux Gold, Rare Find, Clarity, and Quartz Fusion (swatched wet with Fix+)

Faux Gold is a blend of coral, gold, deep raspberry, and bronze. When mixed together, it's a medium warm copper brown. I did find it a bit gritty and not as pigmented, smooth, or even as I would expect from a Mineralize Eyeshadow. That having been said, it is easily buildable, and looks much more vibrant and rich and opaque when used wet. It's like a darker, less gold version of Amber Lights.

Rare Find is a blend of violet, brown, and gold. When mixed together, it's a purple plum with a hint of mauve and multi-coloured shimmer. I found this shade to go on really sheer and gritty, so it does require some work to get it to look more pigmented. This looks infinitely better used wet, which gives it a much better colour pay-off, and looks more rich and vibrant. It looks like a hybrid of Star Violet and Shale.

Clarity is a blend of light pink, white, green gold, and black. When mixed together, it's a smoky green-grey with green and gold shimmer. This was probably the worst shade of the bunch in terms of finish and texture. Barely there pigmentation, gritty, and hard to blend. Used dry, it's almost fruitless to get it to build up in colour. Used wet, however, it's quite a lovely shade that has dimension and depth. I probably wouldn't use this shade dry at all. When used wet, it looks like a more grey version of Greensmoke.

Quartz Fusion is a blend of soft pink, silver, and raspberry pink. When mixed together, it's a raspberry pink with flecks of silver-white glitter and shimmer. This shade goes on quite sheer and very gritty. The pigmentation is better than Clarity, but still requires quite a bit of work to get decent colour pay-off. The finish actually reminds me of a Lustre finish, just in terms of the grittiness. Like Clarity, Quartz Fusion looks infinitely better used wet, but I actually find that the grittiness still shows through. It's such a beautiful shade, which is why it's disappointing that the texture is so hard to use. There isn't anything very similar to this shade in the permanent eyeshadow line-up; maybe if Swish and Hepcat had a very glittery baby.

It seems like the quality of these Mineralize Eyeshadows are all over the place. On the one hand, there are some beautifully pigmented, smooth, and easily blendable shades (Golden Gaze, Smoked Ruby, Dark Indulgence). On the other hand, there are some terribly sheer, gritty, and uneven shades (Clarity, Quartz Fusion, Rare Find). It was kind of disappointing to see such poor texture and pigmentation in nearly half of the shades in this collection, especially considering that they are cost $23.50 a pop. My only must-have from this collection is Golden Gaze, which gets top marks all across the board.