MAC Temperature Rising: Temperature Rising Eyeshadow Palette

Yesterday, MAC released a new collection in stores called Temperature Rising, which is their major colour launch for Summer. It is inspired by "a sensual, seductive rooftop society [that] comes out to play... where a rare breed of seduction emerges from the sultry heat of the day.... Bathed in neon, high on glamour, the look of polished penthouse perfection shimmers against a glowing skyline... The scene sizzles with glistening bronzed perfection." Temperature Rising is comprised of two parts, Colour and Face, which consists of a total of 26 products across two displayers. This collection sees the release of two eyeshadow quads, both of which are new and limited edition. They come in special edition bronze rubberized packaging with matching secondary cardstock boxes. Each palette contains 5.6 grams of product and retails for $52.
Top row: Performance Art and Temperature Rising; Bottom row: Swelter and Beauty Marked
Performance Art, Temperature Rising, Swelter, and Beauty Marked

Performance Art is a medium warm pinked mauve with subtle gold shimmer in a Veluxe Pearl finish. This is a re-promoted shade from last year's Styleseeker collection. The texture is soft, silky, and finely-milled, and goes on smoothly and evenly. It has high pigmentation and opaque colour pay-off. It can be layered and blended out easily. It is more pink than Shale, lighter and more frosted than Quarry, and lighter and more pink than Sable.

Temperature Rising is a light-medium pinked peach with copper sparkle in a Lustre finish. This is a new and limited edition shade. The texture is on the slightly dry side, but it goes on smoothly and evenly. It has medium-high pigmentation and semi-opaque colour pay-off. It can be layered and blended out easily. It is less orange than Arena, darker and more pink than Naked Lunch, lighter and more peach than Expensive Pink.

Swelter is a medium-dark cool-toned muted violet in a Frost finish. This is a new and limited edition shade. The texture is soft, silky, and finely-milled, and goes on smoothly and evenly. It has high pigmentation and opaque colour pay-off. It can be layered and blended out easily. It is darker and more purple than Shale, more grey and more frosted than Purple Haze, and cooler and less sparkly than Trax.

Beauty Marked is a dark blackened burgundy with burgundy and copper sparkle in a Velvet finish. This is a permanent shade. The texture is quite dry and stiff, so it can go on patchy and unevenly. It has high pigmentation and opaque colour pay-off. It can be layered easily, but due to the stiffness of the texture, it can be difficult to blend out. It is more blackened than Sketch, and more reddened than Shadowy Lady.

Whereas MAC's past few Summer collections have been brighter and more playful in general (e.g. last year's Hey, Sailor!, 2011's Surf, Baby!, 2010's To the Beach, 2009's Style Warrior, etc.), I love the sultry, more seductive shades in Temperature Rising. The namesake palette is, like the Bare My Soul quad, incredibly wearable across all skintones; there aren't really any "wildcard" colours here (for those who want brighter shades, check out Art of the Eye instead). The colours in the palette aren't the most unique and most of them can be easily duped, but you can create a variety of eye looks with it, from a soft, natural look to a full-blown sexy smoky eye. However, the real miss here is Beauty Marked, which is not only a permanent shade, but has a dry and stiff texture that leaves something to be desired. In the pan, Beauty Marked looks gorgeous with a complex sparkly finish, but when blended with other shades, the sparkle just doesn't translate and ends up looking like a soft black. To really see the nuances of the shade, it's best packed on top of a emollient base, like a Paint Pot. The colour combination in Temperature Rising is classic and works really well together and can really be worn all year 'round, but the inclusion of Beauty Marked just doesn't make the palette worth the retail price, in my opinion.