MAC • Tartan Tale: 6 Beauties Play It Cool • Palettes

Where To Buy?

violetnights on 4/20/2013 2:42:00 PM more reviews by violetnights

Age: 25-29   Skin: Dry, Fair-Medium   Hair: Brown, Wavy, Fine   Eyes: Brown    

This palette is junk. I bought it a few years ago and despite continued desperate attempts to make it work it found its way to the back abyss of my makeup collection. I noticed it a few days ago, tried it out again, still rubish. I even searched youtube for tutorials, there was only one; it had <1000 views and looked patchy brown/gray. Of course it did. Every color looks brown/gray, as a swatch and on the eyelid, and yes over primer. The pigmentation is horrendous, the formula is dry, awful blending, and as I discussed every color (except the grapey medium purple) looks gray/brown and ugly as sin. The purple color looks okay, but its formula, pigmentation, blendability, etc. is still a disgrace. Completely worthless. I used to love their holiday palettes, look forward to them, and treat myself every year. I noticed the quality going down, color choices getting lazier (lots of repeats, etc.) and after this piece of junk I quit buying them for good.

    Was this review helpful to you? Yes   No

krixikraxi on 7/21/2012 9:41:00 AM more reviews by krixikraxi

Age: 19-24   Skin: Other   Hair: Other   Eyes: Other    

SUCH A SHAME!

The grayish-purple colours look soooo pretty in the compact - as, in general, palettes in beautiful COOL shades are so hard to find, I was so much looking forwand to trying this product!

BUT WHAT A HUGE DISAPPOINTMENT! - The colour pay off is SO POOR! It is a daily fight in the bathroom every morning with this palette!!! You can hardly get any powder on your applicator or brush - needless to say that it is practically impossible to make it show up on your lids, not to mention to achieve a smooth and covering colour application.
Trying to use them wet or with primer makes the situation only worse! You cannot even start to "spread" the colour on your lid, as pigments will clump as soon as they touch the skin!?
And do not dare to touch this palette with a wet brush - the colours start to encrust and form a strange solid layer, that you litterally have to scratch off, to get access to the powder again!
I have never experienced anything comparable to this with any other eyeshadow!?
As I did not want to believe that the performance of such an expensive product could ever be so dreadful, I tried it over and over again! So often, I just wanted to throw away the whole palette - but every time I gave it another chance, it was the same deception again... :(

Keeping in mind that this is a MAC(!) palette, I cannot understand how they can account for a product of such bad quality!?

    Was this review helpful to you? Yes   No

rubytitania on 12/15/2011 5:12:00 PM more reviews by rubytitania

Age: 25-29   Skin: Combination, Fair, Cool   Hair: Red, Relaxed, Medium   Eyes: Green    

Maybe I just got a dud, but this is hands-down the worst MAC product I have ever purchased (and I own a lot of MAC!)

The colours look beautiful in the pan but without exception are dry, chalky and sheer. They are almost impossible to get to show up on the skin. I had to scratch away at the surface of them to get some loose powder to get them to show up at all. On the skin the colours all look similar. Instead of the distinct shades you see in the palette they just become a muddy mauve-grey mess. A horrible, horrible waste of money.

    Was this review helpful to you? Yes   No

catn2kittens on 7/29/2011 12:03:00 AM more reviews by catn2kittens

Age: 36-43   Skin: Sensitive, Fair   Hair: Black, Straight, Fine   Eyes: Green    

I only just bought this, as it was a great price on ebay and my 2009 cool palette (which is very similar), is starting to run a bit low.

Pigmentation is great, and the shadows are blendable and true to the colours in the pan.

Creasing: With respect to the reviewer below, I did notice that To the Ball, the top right dusty lavender colour, tends to crease on me by lunch time, and I don't normally have that problem at all so I was surprised.

I have not had trouble with the other colours creasing or fading so far, but I have not used Hold my Gaze or Altered State yet (I have these in the 2009 palette and they are fine but you can never tell). I will update if they crease.

    Was this review helpful to you? Yes   No

eleonoraditoledo on 6/5/2011 7:50:00 PM more reviews by eleonoraditoledo

Age: 44-55   Skin: Normal, Olive, Warm   Hair: Black, Wavy   Eyes: Brown    

I have the gray/purple combo: Silverware, Hold My Gaze, To the Ball, Altered State, Magic Moor, Heather Belles. Very beautiful colors that all work together . . . if only they'd work! This starts absorbing into my skin as soon as I put it on . . . and after just about an hour, it's all worked into my crease. Yuck.I've tried a shadow primer and powdering my lids, but to no avail. I've never had shadows move like this on me. I usually use the gift shadows from Lancome, and this is the first time that I've actually paid for a shadow -- the palette was too pretty to pass up! And the packaging is adorable. But I am SO disappointed. I don't suppose MAC gives refunds? In any case, STAY AWAY. DO NOT buy this. It's a complete waste of money. I'm going back to the gift shadows at Lancome.

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.     Was this review helpful to you? Yes   No

*TOP REVIEWER* syeung2 on 2/13/2011 11:18:00 PM more reviews by syeung2

Age: 36-43   Skin: Combination, Fair-Medium, Warm   Hair: Black, Straight, Medium   Eyes: Brown    

LE, Oct 2010, Tartan Tale Collection


Silverwear (F) - metallic pale lavender-silver with lots of frost in its finish

Hold My Gaze (F) - light grayed khaki with soft celadon frost

To the Ball (S) - dusty lavender or grayed purple with satin finish

Altered State (VXP) - medium-dark grape purple with violet sheen, good pigmentation

Magic Moor (VXP) - blackened plum, nicely pigmented

Heather Belles (S) - darkened charcoal gray


Product - Much prettier in person, IMHO - the colors are rich and sumptuous. Hold My Gaze is really an unusual (and gorgeous) shade. Overall, the pigmentation is decent throughout the palette, though Heather Belles didn't wear as dark as expected on me (AAB/NC25).


Packaging - Square compact in black plastic with mostly-blue tartan plaid fabric on the lid and MAC coat of arms emblem glued onto it. (I would have preferred the lid pattern to at least hint at the color scheme inside though...) Full size mirror under the lid. There does not appear to be any kind of clasp to keep it shut, but it does stay shut on its own so there's probably a hidden magnet somewhere. Six pans of color and a brush well for the included small e/s brush (which appears to be an unnumbered SE 213) with black handle. Packaging size and interior layout mimics Smoke and Mirrors and other recent square 6-pan eye palettes from MAC. Retails for $36.


Overall - Gorgeous assortment of neutral-to-cool shades for daytime or for a soft heathered purple smokey eye for evening.



(click on "continued" for pic)

    Was this review helpful to you? Yes   No